Riders optimize motorcycles to their own preferences. Some want speed, some want to be nimble, and some want comfort. Reliability is the single most important attribute for us. Fortunately, while still relatively young, the Tenere and its engine have proven to be reliable on their own. The primary challenge I face is weight management. Between Surak, myself, additional parts (i.e. crash bars), and myself fully kitted out, this motorcycle hauls around approximately 330 lbs. All that weight places additional stress on the entire machine, so dealing with weight is a recurring theme among all the modified components of this bike.

Tires are a dead horse that shouldn't need to be beaten much more, but I will evangelize tire size. The stock rear tire is a 150/70, but I use a 140/80. Yes, it wears a bit faster, but a 140/80 averages $150 and a 150/70 averages $250, or about 66% more. A 150/70 lifespan isn't close to 66% greater than a 140/80, so 140/80 it is. With the extra weight, I have a tendency to bend rims. Because of this and notoriously soft OEM rims, swapping out was important. Oddly, given the prices at the time, it was almost the same cost to order a brand new set of wheels as it would have been to re-lace the OEM hubs, so I ordered a set from Off-the-Road.

Fuel capcity became an issue when we ventured into the desert. Not only did distances increase, but riding through sand decimates fuel economy, so the Acerbis 23L tank became a necessity.

The downsides to this tank is that it vents through the cap (making a tank bag difficult to use). The stock cap has the typical connector for a vent tube, but the Acerbis locking gas cap vents itself. Unfortunately with the locking cap, when I drop the bike, fuel leaks directly onto the handlebar switch assemblies. Additionally, polyethylene is porous, so adhesives placed on it eventually fail.

The Tenere's suspension is known to be light, and I have a great deal of weight. Improving suspension was extremely important. I wanted heavier springs, better valving, and more travel. My initial plan was to have my forks revalved and resprung, but through a series of fortunate events, I wound up with a set of 48mm triple clamps and lugs, made by Camel ADV, to adapt KYB SSS forks to the Tenere. Suspension 101 did all of the work on the components, including installing the lugs.

I paired this with a Tractive +25mm rear shock, and the combination is amazing. The most apparent difference is how planted the bike was: no more wallowing and inadequate rebounding. Although the bike is a bit taller and I'm still learning and tweaking the new setup, I have much more clearance, and the ride is extremely smooth. For me, this is imperative because it keeps Surak safer and also reduces strain on the bike itself.

Protection conflicts with weight management. The more protection you slap on, the more weight you lug around, and the harder you fall. This Tenere came to me with a set of lower crash bars that had no cross-member for bracing and was woefully inadequate for our riding style. I swapped out for braced but aluminum bars, knowingly compromising bending strength to shed weight. Unfortunately, while the bars stayed straight, the mounting tabs didn't, and while bars are easy to bend back out, the tabs weren't.

After this failed experiment in minimalism, I turned to the Hepco & Becker Tank Guard Extreme crash bars. They have two cross-members (one below the headlight and one below the radiator) and effectively create a cage for the front end of the bike. There isn't as much lower protection, but from the year of experience I had dropping my bike with different crash bars, all hits occurred up top where these bars have the most protection. This also allows them to be a bit lighter than full upper and lower crash bars.

They've been put through their paces since being installed and have not budged a single millimeter.

The Camel ADV Gut Guard protects the underbelly of the bike. There's not much more to say other than it's bomb-proof, and I've spent time trying to bomb it.

Camel ADV's Rally Bend pipe supports a lighter muffler and importantly moves it up high and inward, tucking it away behind the luggage.

Lastly, HighwayDirtBikes makes the most robust handguards available, period. The handlebars often impact first when dropping the bike, and with the weight I have, most others immediately bend. The mirrors are also awesome.

Besides simply reducing weight, the placement of weight matters. Distributing smaller luggage forward of the rear axle optimizes suspension performance, makings getting to things easier (versus having everything in one bag), adds a bit of padding for the entirety of the bike, and keeps the overall width of the bike a bit smaller.

On the nose is a fender bag that simply holds a tube and patch kit. On the crash bars are Kriega OS-6 bags. These hold my wet weather and cold weather gear - the perfect padding for a fall. The rear Kriega OS-18 bags hold the bulk of my life: clothes, cables and batteries, cookware, and some tools that need to be kept safe (air pump, multimeter, etc.). These bags sit high enough up that the bike doesn't crush them if I drop it. The contents displace slightly, but smart packing prevents any damage. The middle bags are one-offs that someone had made and sold. They're 11L and, as the easiest to get to, hold frequently-used items or the one-offs: dog bowls, snacks and kibble, extra water, zip ties, beer for camp, etc. Since I travel with a mirrorless camera, a tank bag is begrudgingly a must for me in order to have easy access to the camera. Being unable to find a tank bag that fit my camera and that didn't interfere with my crotch when aggressively leaning forward, I wound up with a Wandrd Rogue 6L Sling. It's padded, water resistant, and has zero interference while riding.

The way Surak rides on motorcycles has changed drastically over time, but this carrier has seen only minor tweaks since being built in 2021. Check out this in-depth video of Surak's carrier if you're interested in more details. The carrier itself is made from carbon fiber and G10 fiberglass panels bolted on to a frame of angle aluminum and steel, along with some tabs on top for structure and three mounting points. The panels have cutouts for MOLLE webbing, so lighter items can be attached around it for quick access. With this construction, it's both extremely light and easy to replace parts on, though this hasn't been necessary.

It sits atop a heavily modified Black Dog Cycle Works Helo Pad that includes extra support off the sides and mounting points - one on either side and one on the rear. Additionally, I added a total of seven plastic springs on the bottom. I've been fortunate enough to have folks help me along the way with the carrier. The quick-detach pins were a modification, and after switching from its original bike (my old KTM 1290) to the Tenere, the mounts had to be modified slightly. It's fun looking at it and remembering all the people who have had a hand in what it is now.

Since I spent an immense amount of time mapping and navigating, I needed a tablet. Sometimes making changes to a motorcycle creates unwanted issues, and between my large handguards and swapped-out handlebar, the bar was impacting my dash on full lock. I was interested in a rally-style tower, but they're all fairly expensive and none of them has everything I need. Because of this, I decided to make my own comprehensive replacement of the front-end, including the headlight, its shroud, and dash mount. I added adjustability for the dash and included a AMPS-compatible, two-position, and pivotable mount for a navigation device.

In addition to addressing these specific problems, it wound up being a fun engineering project. I've been running the first prototype for a few thousand miles now with no major issues, but I will be tweaking it into a final design. The intent was to make something strong, functional, under $900, and easily buildable, since I had no access to a shop. All machined parts were produced by SendCutSend and the additional hardware was sourced from McMaster-Carr and a few trips to a local Ace Hardware, so it assembles like a Lego set. The panels can be produced out of a few different materials, including 7075 aluminum (used on this prototype) and carbon fiber. I used a single Baja Designs XL80, but the design is meant to accommodate two stacked lights from most manufacturers (Denali, Ruby, etc.) with only requiring different-sized spacers. The XL80 has built-in dimming, is brighter than the OEM light with the high beam on, is cheaper than the OEM light, and weighs significantly less.

The designs are available here, but are currently being revised. Contact me if interested.

This area is extremely subjective since everyone's ergonomics are different, but there are some improvements that I think are pretty universal. I got Camel ADV's "The Fix" as a replacement for a mangled brake pedal. If for nothing else, The Fix is tucked out of the way and has not bent, despite the right side being the one where I predominately drop my bike. As per their claim, the pedal does have a much better actuation than the OEM pedal. The shorter travel equates to a more positive feedback, even through MX boots.

Eazi-Grip Tank Grips have also made a substantial improvement while standing. The Tenere's metal tank winds up being extremely slippery. I have had previous grips start to wear off, but the material of these is robust. Unfortunately, the Acerbis fuel tank is plastic and ever-so-slightly permeable. The tiny amount of vapor that escapes eventually degrades any adhesive on the tank, so I periodically have to re-glue the tank grips on. It's simply a trade-off for the tank, and fortunately I can go several months at a time before I have to worry about it.