Believe it or not, I probably bought the Tenere 700 because of Pol Tarres. I saw a video of him on YouTube doing insane things with it. At the time I was riding a DRZ, and watching him jump and ride like that touched something in me.
Looking back, it was all about self-fulfillment. Those videos sell you a feeling of pure power, freedom, raw life. I think a ton of people bought this bike because of Pol Tarres, even though most of us can barely manage ten percent of what he does on it. But it makes you feel like a warrior, knowing that in theory you're on a machine that can do impossible things.
I connected with the bike very quickly. The engine is amazing. It saved me so many times on steep rocky climbs, in tight spots where my skills ran out and the engine just pulled me through. And it's a beautiful machine.
I bought a 2021 model, and back then it was very basic. Simple suspension, stripped-down setup. Over time I really started to feel those limits, especially in the suspension.
One day I had a ride that almost ended very badly. I was in the desert and hit a small ditch in the trail. The front wheel went straight in, the suspension bottomed out completely, and on the rebound it threw me hard to the side. The bike slammed into a rock. I walked away without a scratch, but we were going fast. It could have been ugly.
That's when I started noticing other things, like how top-heavy it is. Get into a weird angle and the weight of the fuel tank up top makes it very hard to hold. I'm not a small guy, and I'm definitely not weak, but I really felt it.
The final straw came on a trip when the bike went down on a single trail. The trail was at a difficult angle and the bike was fully loaded with gear: a mattress, a small tent, food, drinks, bags. I could not lift it by myself. I tried, but the angle was impossible. Only when a friend arrived and we both pushed with everything we had did we get it up.
That moment taught me something. Weight is a massive factor. If you can't lift your own bike, you depend on other people for your adventure. For me, that's a red line. It's a limit that can ruin a ride.
I kept the Tenere for almost a year. A lot of love, a real connection, but those limits eventually pushed me on to a KTM 690 Enduro R.
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