2019 Tenere Tragics: High Plains Run

What’s a Ténéré devotee to do while twiddling his thumbs, waiting for a new 700? Get out and ride with the Ténéré Tragics, of course. Andrew ‘Clubby’ Clubb took a big drink from the fountain of the famed Ténéré spirit.

- Andrew Clubb

Patience is a virtue, right? If you’re a Ténéré Tragic, patience is ingrained into your DNA. It’s been the best part of a decade since a new model Ténéré hit the showroom floor and Tragics have been going spare waiting for the much-hyped 700 to become a production reality. Plenty of Tragics will be at the head of the queue for the CP2-powered, twin-cylinder adventure bike when it arrives in Australia in December – woo-frickin’-hoo!

But the waiting has been painful, no two ways about it. At least we Tragics have been able to share the pain, getting together each March for the annual Ténéré Tragics run.

This year’s ninth annual festival of Ténéré goodness, dubbed the Ténéré Tragics High Plains Run, drew a sold-out pack of 80 riders for a five-day, 2000km romp from Cessnock in the NSW Hunter Valley to Thredbo in the NSW Snowy Mountains. And despite the wait for the seventh heaven of the new 700, everyone enjoyed a rip-roaring good time.

In at the deep end

It goes without saying the Tragics are a keen bunch. They’re brought together by the Ténéré spirit that can trace its origins back to 1983, when the first XT600ZL Ténéré was unveiled to the world. Based on Yamaha’s much modified XT550/600 Dakar Rally race bikes of the day, the fat-tanked Ténéré struck a chord with overland touring riders across the globe and tales of Ténéré travels are these days the stuff of legend.