What a difference a day makes. Or rather, a night of torrential rain after months with barely a drop. The other evening I was taking the Ténéré World Raid for a gentle off-road route on sun-baked trails in Bedfordshire, impressed by how effortlessly it dealt with gravel farm roads and bone-dry tracks through the woods.
For a big bike the Yamaha had been impressively manageable, aided by the generous, easily controlled torque delivered almost from idle by that ultra-flexible twin-pot engine. The lanky suspension had flattened the hard-packed bumps, and the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres had been untroubled by the gravel and dust.
But it’s very different today, after I’ve splashed down a few back-roads
