Yamaha has been out of the running in the big-capacity adventure-bike market for years. But now, with the Super Tenere XT1200Z, Yamaha is back with a bang, says Trevor Franklin in Motorcycle News.
The Super Tenere's "genuine go-anywhere ability" means it is a serious contender for the market leader's crown, BMW's "tried and trusted" R1200GS Adventure. The Yamaha may be more expensive, but it still a serious alternative: it has a better all-round ability, with "the chassis to make a joke of twisting roads when the need arises", and has a "brilliant" two-cylinder, 1,200cc engine.
It is truly a "bike for all seasons", agrees Roland Brown in The Sunday Times, a sort of "two-wheeled Range Rover". It's as "tough as a three-day-old baguette, especially when kitted out with sturdy aluminium pannier cases", and is tall and heavy, yet still a "doddle to ride".
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It's as happy on a motorway as in the Sahara, and will chug along effortlessly at 80mph, with plenty of acceleration up to a top speed of 130mph. This is a "fine and distinctive machine that gives the BMW serious opposition as a commuter, tourer or globe-shrinking all-rounder".
Price: £13,500.
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