Last weekend I said good-bye to a faithful and understanding companion. Always a source of unconditional support, we shared many wonderful experiences. At the same time, I welcomed a successor who I’m sure will also stand the test of time and accompany me to many people and places, yet TBD. And yes, I’m talking about motorcycles.

While some riders have the luxury of multiple bikes, I had to decide on one. Although fun, making the choice was anything but easy and took a couple of years. Since I was happy with my FZ1, I was willing to wait until just the right one came along.

Choosing a bike is a very individual decision and each rider has to select the right bike for him/her. Expecting I’ll continue to ride long distances and want to have something suitable for highway, backroads and gravel, I knew an adventure touring bike was next. Then I narrowed it down to a Triumph Tiger, BMW- one of the GS’s or the R1200RT , and the Ducati Multi Strada. Interestingly, Yamaha wasn’t even in the running until I saw the Ténéré at a spring motorcycle show. I even tried the Harley-Davidson Street Glide, just to be sure I had covered all my bases.

Here was what I looked for (in no particular order).

1. Price. Initial outlay, maintenance, accessories.
2. Seating position. An upright seating position for both short and long distance comfort. Allowance to shift around and change position periodically.
3. Power. Admittedly, most bikes have way more power than I’ll ever use. But when I’m out there and need to call on power for defensive maneuvers, I want to know it’s there.
4. Suitability for long distance travel. Included in this category are fuel capacity, availability of retailers, parts, overall comfort, maintenance frequency.
5. Dealer location. I live in a rural area. Since I put on quite a few miles, maintenance has to be done more often. If the nearest retailer is an hour away, it’s very inconvenient, especially if I have to leave my bike there. It means arranging a ride back and forth – there’s 4 hours each for me and my chauffeur without even considering scheduling around work.
6. Weather protection. Without going for a full touring bike, it had to offer as much protection as possible from wind and weather.
7. Versatility. I don’t want my bike to restrict what roads I’m going to take. I’ve been in precarious situations before when I’ve followed a call down a road my bike wasn’t designed for.
8. Physical characteristics. Adventure touring/dual sport bikes tend to be taller so seat height, preferably without alterations was important. Also a consideration was the overall weight, the weight distribution and the balance.
9. Reliability. The greater the reliability, the lower the likelihood it’s going to leave me stranded and the lower the maintenance costs.
10. Simplicity. This is getting more difficult to find on a bike. I enjoy doing the work myself as much as possible. Simple also means there’s less to go wrong. And less time at the dealer and lower maintenance costs. Ironicially, I wanted to get away from a chain drive, although this wasn’t a high priority.

And that’s how I ended up with the Ténéré. There are lots of excellent bikes out there and it’s not easy to chose. When I finally saw this bike and sat on it, and then took it for a test ride, I knew immediately it was my next bike.

Now it’s here and it’s every bit as fantastic as I knew it would be. It was a fond farewell to my FZ1 but I know it’s gone to a good home where it will be well looked after and enjoyed.