The mighty T700

Spoiler alert: this post will be of zero interest to those who don't ride a motorcycle; also probably of little interest to those that do. You have been warned.......!

The Yamaha T700, my bike of choice for this trip. The mods I have made are an attempt to turn it into a more "overland" orientated bike. They are:

Yamaha Tenere 700 (2020) Weight: 204 kg.

1. Acerbis 22/23 litre tank. Weight: 3.2kgs (minus weight of stock tank 4.6kgs....needs verifying!) Net weight loss (of EMPTY tank)= -1.4kgs (approx).

Combined with the camel tank; this should give an approx 27 litre capacity, with a theoretical range of 450 to 480 miles (450 miles being realistic??). The weight of the Acerbis is actually less than the stock (although when full with the extra 6 or 7 litres, it will add approx. 20 kgs worth of fuel (27.5 litres) as opposed to the 16 litres of the stock tank which would weigh approx. 12 kgs. So an extra 8 kgs when fully fuelled (less the weight saving of the tank itself).

2. Camel Tank (5 litre)  Fitted before the Acerbis tank. Works very well, although the OEM fuel filler cap didn't provide the best airtight seal to form the necessary vacuum. The filler cap on the Acerbis solved that issue.

Weight (dry): 3.4 kg.

5 litres petrol = 3.69 kg (approx. / maybe??)

3. Tubeless Wheelset (Bartfactory)  A showstopping puncture on a ride out convinced me of the benefits of tubeless over tubed tyres. Fitted with Moto-Master "Flame" brake discs; another weight saving effort.

Weight (complete built wheels/tyres etc.) is apparently heavier than stock. I'm putting this down to the new tyres having more rubber on them than the old, worn ones I weighed. Anyway, it is unsprung weight🤔. 

Tyres fitted are currently Motoz Tractionator GPS  (tubeless).

4.  Adventure-Spec Aluminium crashbars. Weight: 2.8 kg.

5. Adventure-Spec Bashplate. I have Ad-Spec on my old XT and was very happy with it, so opted for same again for the T7.

Weight: 2.2 kg. (Minus weight of OEM: 0.75 kg.) Net weight gain: 1.45 kg

6. Hepco & Becker Centre Stand. After a real struggle to re-mount the rear wheel after a puncture; I opted for a centre-stand. Heavy, but at least the weight is carried low.

Weight (including fixings): 4 kg.

On balance, the advantages and convenience of a centre stand outweigh the extra weight. Hepco & Becker seems to be the lightest option at around 4kgs (including fixings). 

7. Barkbusters hand/lever guards. Weight 1.234 kg. (Minus weight of OEM: 0.825 kg)

Net weight gain: 0.4 kg

8. Adventure Spec Soft Luggage Racks.  Weight 1.7 kg.

9. OEM Chain guide

10. Exan TITANIUM slip on exhaust. A search on the internet suggested that, while looking good and saving more weight, Carbon exhausts are less durable and less crash/drop resistant than Titanium.  As the aim is to make an overlander; a robust exhaust was important, not something that looks good but becomes unusable after some abuse. 

Weight 2.22 kgs including link pipe and all fixings.(minus weight of OEM exhaust 4.9 kgs. APPROX.)

Net weight LOSS -2.68 kgs. APPROX.

11. SW Motech crash bar bags. Having failed to find a satisfactory solution to fitting a tool tube, I opted instead for soft bags on the crash bars to carry tools, waterproofs, disc lock and other small miscellaneous items. 

Other modifications:

TUTORO chainoiler.

LED indicators (front). After a collision with a pheasant (?) which obliterated my front left indicator; I decided that as I had to replace them anyway, I may as well get LEDs. The price doesn't seem too dissimilar to stock. Weight difference, I guess, is negligible. 

Vibrating head stock fix. From tenere700.net (a great resource).

MPG (possible): I seem to be getting up to about 17.5 miles/litre (27×17.5 = 472.5 miles). Up to 80 MPG unladen (how much that drops when fully loaded remains to be seen).

While I have tried to keep the additions to the bike as low weight as possible; combined, they are beginning to make the kgs pile up. So, soft luggage and pack light (and lay off the pies)!!

KIT CARRIED

Rally Raid T7 Spanner. Combined front/rear wheel removal tool.

Soundtrack: "Silver Machine" - Hawkwind