I had one of the press bikes out for an hour this afternoon and on the whole thought it was pretty good. It's been a couple of years since I last rode a 1200GS but from what I can remember it felt pretty similar but with more feel through the front end. Jumping from the 660 to the 1200 the bodywork seems to be far out in front of you but you soon get used to it.
When I first got on and pulled away it felt a but gutless. The ECU was switched into the "Touring" mode. Switching to "Sport" mode gave it better throttle response. I'm not really sure when you would want to use the Touring mode as even in Sport mode the engine was slow revving enough to offer good control. It has a real time MPG indication on the instruments and I was getting better economy in sport mode than touring! Driving out of roundabouts you can occasionally feel the traction control sorting out the rear tyre but it was unobtrusive.
From the spec sheet I was expecting the bike to be heavy but it actually felt fairly light with the weight carried low down like the GS. A & B roads are handled with ease. I would have hoped for a lot more drive from the engine compared to the 660, however it seems to be one of those bikes that masks its speed because of how smooth it is.
The brakes are excellent and do a great job of slowing the bike down quickly. Just using the front brake the bike felt super stable. I tried a couple of emergency stops and you could just feel the ABS taking over. Unlike some systems there is only a very slight feel of pulsing from the ABS but I probably noticed that due to me wearing thin summer gloves.
After riding my 660 for a couple of years I felt that the seat was too low. I stopped and took the seat off but couldn't figure how to raise it. Although not uncomfortable I felt my knees were in an odd position. Standing up on the pegs while traversing a farm track actually felt more comfortable than the 660. The rear brake lever and gear lever would need adjusted for me but no big deal. After changing up gear and getting the balls of left foot back on the peg I kept putting my foot on top of the hinge of the gear lever which was a bit annoying.
Overall, was impressed with the Super Tenere. For two up work and carrying luggage it will be a much more realistic proposition than the 660. However, it is twice the price of the 660 but don't it isn't twice the bike.
Yamaha have tried hard to build an alternative to the Big Mans Wanger but with the current economic climate and the Yen/Pound exchange rate they are going to be struggling to get the share of the market that they deserve. It reminds me of when the first 1000cc Fazer came out - excellent bike but sales suffered due to the list price.
I still think that the 800GS is the bike they should have been aiming to beat which is what the original SuperTenere could evolved into if Yamaha hadn't dropped it all those years ago.
Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).
Don't see them selling many at that price.
