I was a little tentative when first given the opportunity to ride the ADVMoto Yamaha Super Tenere to March Moto Madness in Tellico Plains, TN this past spring. Coming off my DR650, the Super Tenere is a much larger and heavier bike than I am used to.

Within minutes of taking a shakedown ride on the bike, I was amazed how well the bike handled and how easy it was to ride. On that sunny 65 degree afternoon, I knew my enjoyment of the five day trip to Tennessee was going to be  worlds better riding the Super Tenere than my DR650.

ADVMoto project Super Tenere heads up the team.

Two weeks later, on a blustery Wednesday morning with the mercury hardly poking above freezing, we departed Northern Virginia and started heading South. The Sargent Cycle World Sport heated seat was just what the doctor ordered, and proved to be a valuable asset over the next 5 days. With the seat temperature on high, my rear was toasty and comfortable for the ride ahead.

The riding position is very comfortable and it is like riding down the highway on your favorite chair. The Madstad adjustable windscreen does an excellent job of deflecting the wind over my helmet, maintaining body heat in the cold temperatures. 

After a slight delay from a broken chain in teh group, we finally rolled into Willville Motorcycle Camp in Meadows of Dan, Virginia for the night. Will, the camp owner, was an excellent host as we enjoyed dinner, sitting by the campfire telling lies sipping fine bourbon, and finally crashed out for the night in sub freezing temperatures.

Demo setting up for some water crossing shots.The next morning we woke up to temperatures in the high 20’s and a nice layer of frost on the bikes. Despite the low temperatures, the Shorai battery effortlessly brought the ADVMoto Super Tenere to life and I quickly set the Sargent Cycle heated seat to high.

We took a slight detour through the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and the Metzeler Karoo 3 tires kept me firmly glued to the road when cornering at speed. The Karoo 3’s are much quieter than a full knobby, but did start to hum in the 55-65 mph range. The Karoo 3’s are more rounded off on the edges than a dirt-only knobby, allowing a good degree of lean angle in the corners while maintaining an excellent contact patch.

The Tenere loves to corner and quickly snaps back up to attention when you roll out of a corner onto a straightaway. After a brief stop for lunch after passing through Gatlinburg, TN, we finally made our way to Tellico Plains to shut it down for the day.

Josh checking out the leverage on a stagecoach handbrake.Friday morning came and it was time for some fun with the sun shining and the temperature hitting the 60’s. We took to the dirt roads and trails and I was amazed at how well the Tenere handled everything we encountered. The Karoo 3’s really seemed to like the dirt and with the traction control turned on, the bike really hooked up. When riding through whooped out areas at higher speeds, I would recommend turning the traction control off. If the rear wheel looses traction and is in the air, it tends to jerk the bike and has a slight stutter when it comes back in contact with the dirt. With the traction control off, it effortlessly powered through the whooped out dirt never missing a beat.

We went through several water crossings and the Tenere handled them with ease, giving me even more confidence in the bike's capabilities. The rest of the day was spent riding some incredible dirt and paved roads in the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains, but finally it was time to head back to camp.

Saturday morning with temperatures in the 60’s, it was sadly time to break camp and head back North. The bike was loaded and ready to head out. Naturally, as soon as I swung a leg over the saddle, down came the rain. We rolled out of camp and headed for the Cherohala Skyway hoping the weather would improve but this would not be the case. The temperature dropped and fog set in, so we were not able to fully enjoy the beauty of this ride.

When we hit the Tail of the Dragon, the rain really started to come down. With a fully loaded bike at moderate speeds taking on all of the Dragon’s 318 turns, I never felt either of the tires slip. I was really impressed with the traction control and braking on this bike. On wet asphalt, I felt it gave me the confidence to push the bike a little harder than I normally would have given the conditions.

If you haven’t done any riding in this part of the country, add it to your bucket list. I will be making a return trip and hopefully the weather will cooperate more on the second go around.

Silke Crombie giving both herself and the Beemer a bath. The rest of the trip back to Northern Virginia was raining and just above freezing. Saturday night we had enough of the cold and opted for the comfort of a hot shower and a real bed at a hotel. We must have looked like a group of drowned rats when we entered the hotel lobby and definitely got the “those guys are crazy” look from more than one person.

When we arrived back home the following day, we discussed how miserable and cold we were riding over the last few days, but the camaraderie and stories eventually won out as the discussion turned to how much we were looking forward to doing the trip again next year.

For the full article on all the mods done to the ADVMoto Yamaha Super Tenere, visit the "Souped Up Super" article here.  

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