Scouting made easy

By Réhann Coetzee

When Yamaha launched its competitor in die large dual-purpose segment in 2010, it was quite a thing. At that stage the market belonged to BMW’s 1200 GS (as it still does) and its only competitor was KTM’s 990. It was generally accepted that the KTM was more suited to serious off-roading, but the BMW was the bike to have if comfort (and fuel consumption) meant anything to you.

Yamaha launched its 1200 duallie at a price that made it clear that it meant business. Fully kitted with luggage it cost less than a naked 1200 GS. Two things about the Yamaha stood out: its incredible suspension and its ABS brakes that couldn’t switch off. It delivered more or less the same power as the BMW.

In 2014 Yamaha launched the XT1200ZE update that had 82,4kW (an increase of 1,5kW), some cosmetic changes and electronic control for the suspension. The changes weren’t huge and might have been a little disappointing, especially as far as power output is concerned, as the BMW now had 92kW and KTM’s 1190 a rude 112kW. The ABS still couldn’t switch off, but demonstrations during the launch function showed that it stopped really quickly on a loose surface.

Although the test route was not very long, my lasting impression was of the sublime suspension.

A riding friend and I recently had to scout dirt-road routes for a weekend tour to the Eastern Free State and Yamaha’s head office was kind enough to lend me one of their demonstration units. The bike was fitted with Metzeler Karoo 3 tyres. They are considered suitable for 50/50 on- and off-road use and are my absolute favourite tyres, even though their off-road bias means that you are unlikely to get more than 4 500km use out of a back tyre.

We left Johannesburg and rode down the N3 to Heidelberg where we turned off and headed to Deneysville. Outside Deneysville we got on the dirt and rode towards Heilbron. The road conditions vary from Karoo-like “dirt highway” to detours around road works. Although locals must be happy, bad news for us was that the road was being tarred. Some late-season rains also kept the going exciting and muddy patches kept my attention where it should be.

I was very unaware of the fact that the Yamaha has “only” 82kW. That doesn’t give it anything like a bad power-to-weight ratio. It’s just that I’m used to big duallies delivering more than 92kW – my own Triumph Explorer kicks out a healthy 101kW. I had visions of landing in a spot of bother and then not having the power to ride out of it… (with special reference to the old adage: “When in doubt, gas it. It might not solve the problem, but it will end the suspense.”)

I am glad to report that in the 350km of dirt roads covered the first day, I didn’t have a single scary moment. Not one. The suspension simply soaks up undulations, loose surface and even moderately sized potholes. So my worrying about not having enough power to ride out of trouble was, frankly, ridiculous.

My friend who rode with me has better skills and more experience than me and rides his BMW R1200 GS Adventure as if it is a little motocross bike, but even he was impressed with how comfortable I was where the going got a little tougher. I have always felt the BMW 1200 Adventure was the bike with suspension that made you feel you were riding in a tour bus with plush suspension when crossing big distances on dirt. And I can speak from experience, because I have ridden one over 3 500km of Karoo dirt highways. But I have to say, the Yamaha Super Ténéré is the real tour bus.

Not that it doesn’t handle well in the tough stuff, it really does. Without trying, I spent quite long distances at 100km/h or more on the dirt and went through most corners and bends at 90km/h. All in all, it is the most underrated dual-purpose motorcycle on our market.

It has lost out a bit in the race to build the funkiest, most modern bike, though. The all-digital instrument cluster is not state of the art anymore. It doesn’t have specific riding modes (except for Sport and the senseless Touring), although the traction control has three settings. And sadly, you do feel its 265kg when it has a full tank of petrol. But I still feel the bike is not getting the recognition it deserves.

The suspension can be customised to 84 different combinations, but I settled for just “Soft” and the preload set to two people on-board. And it worked very well on- and off-road with my not-inconsiderable weight on it. The seat is wide and flat and very comfortable and has two height settings. It has ample wind protection and the windscreen can be manually adjusted.

Because the 1200 parallel-twin is not the most modern on the market anymore, fuel consumption doesn’t quite compare with the competition, but I managed to average 5,9l/100km (16,9km/l) for the return trip, portions of which were ridden very enthusiastically.

Personally I couldn’t really get comfortable with the linked braking system’s ABS that can’t switch off. I don’t mind dragging the back (or front) wheel and although the ABS gives truly impressive braking distances, not being able to steer the sliding back wheel unsettled me a little. But this is not enough to put me off the bike.

My test bike was the XT1200ZE, with the electronic suspension, but Yamaha also offers the XT1200Z that has manually adjustable suspension. And the Z sells for a laughable R184 950. Very worthy of consideration!

Technically speaking: Yamaha XT1200ZE

Engine	: 1 199cc, parallel twin, DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Power	: 82,4kW @ 7 250rpm / 117Nm @ 6 000rpm
Gearbox	: 6-speed, shaft
Fuel tank	: 23 litres
Seat height	: 845mm / 870mm
Tyres	: 110/80/19 front, 150/70/17 rear
Brakes	: 310mm double disks front, 282mm single disk rear
Weight	: 265kg (wet)
Price	: R199 950