The Rise of the Tenere

It appears I bought a Tenere from someone who knows less about bikes than I do. Despite Davenport’s insistence that I try and install a carb float on my old KMX125, I haven’t really grasped the essence of fixing your own. In that instance it appears that the bike n beer session may have prospered from less beer and more bike know how. You can imagine our joy when we managed to fit the float and kick the bike over.....and at the time we could only imagine it; as the second we kicked the bike over it revved way beyond normal parameters and the kill switch got hit before we got sprayed with molten Kawasaki.

Mad Jim, who bless him may be incontinent on your furniture after absinthe (allegedly) but is pretty good with bikes later informed us from the hospital to which all our bikes used to go that we had indeed fitted the carb up the wrong way. Who knew they had a way?? Certainly not me.

So I have embarked on restoring a slightly worn Tenere 660 (now to be known as The Mighty Tenere) bought from a man by the side of the road in Tema. I ought to explain I am in Ghana. So there is no Mad Jim back up or Davenport pontification out here it is just me and the machine.....oh and Robbo who has taken The Mighty Tenere for a quick burn and has fixed some bikes before but used to ask his mate’s dad for the difficult answers. I figure though as a source of moral support he could be invaluable.

The first set back was the registration and I say the first because I expect more not because this has already become a tale of woe. Normally when you buy a bike in the UK he gives you the reg papers signs his bit you sign yours and away you go happy as Larry. At worst, as in the case I lost the papers to my Varadero before selling it, you write a polite letter to the DVLA and they rectify the problem. Not so Ghana, it involves many many visits to people places and offices only to find out that the guy you bought it from for USD1600 wasn’t in a place to sell it; who was is anyone’s guess. I will keep you posted on this factor.

So today after spending a little time just getting the thing to fire with my team of pushers; namely the driving and grounds staff of Ethimex SA Ghana Branch. I have had a closer look at the electrics. Now I did ask for counsel from Facebook friends as to whether to go the trial and error route or the manual route. They wisely almost exclusively said manual; but the Davenport factor came in and I just wanted to tinker. This is crazy as he helped me fit a float upside down and often has bikes in various states of disrepair (never buy a bike with a warranty it spoils the fun). So I have gone the trial and error route n the initial stages. The fairing os off and neatly stacked.Results:

1.Yellow and black wire not attached to yellow and black wire; here in lies the answer to why only one of the iconic twin headlights of desert raider bikes works.

2.There is a small grey wire which is attached at neither end, use....pretty obscure but I have removed it and as long as it wasn’t balancing the bike I think we can live with it.

3.Dangling red and black end (insert your own gag here) yes it seems the “mechanic” that sold me The Mighty Tenere isn’t big on connecting two ends of a cable. Infact I think from discovery four that potentially the light came from a different bike.

4.The fairing mounting is sheared off at the base giving it a flappy effect in anything other than first gear - I think somebody has dropped this at some point.

5.There is a connecter just above the crank case that doesn’t appear to be connecting.

So down to Game, the local superstore to pick up epoxy resin, electrical tape, tie wraps and gaffa tape. Oh yes there will be tie wrap and gaffa action that would make a Hollywod hostage taking bank job film look tame. So to the Batmobile!!! Well the pick up.