In the world of long distance motorcycle riding, we often use the acronym FARKLE.
When we get a new motorcycle that we plan to ride for tens of thousands of miles each year, we customize it by adding parts and accessories to help us travel long days comfortably and safely. The first few months of ownership are spent getting to know the new bike and sorting out where and what FARKLES we want to install. Unlike pinstripes, loud exhausts or fancy chrome engine parts that some riders add to personalize their rides, FARKLES are actually Functional Accessories, Really Kool and Likely Expensive.
After logging my current 2021 Yamaha Tenere 700 for over 200,000 miles all across the country and Canada over the last few years, Yamaha just decided to give me a brand new one. I think they were tired of seeing me show up at national events with my dirty, ridden hard and put away wet, motorcycle.
The 2025 Yamaha Tenere 700 has some significant changes and to be honest, my bike is starting to get a bit ragged around the edges! Not that I wouldn’t trust it to go anywhere on the continent at a moments notice, just that as the highest mileage Tenere 700 in the world, it is showing lots of wear and tear and smells like a pair of dirty socks!
The 2025 model has better lighting, drive by wire and traction control. The suspension has been improved as has the switchgear on the handle bars. A new dashboard, fuel tank, seat and drive modes for the engine. The bike is also much cleaner than mine, so how could I refuse a replacement?
I now have over a half a million miles on Yamaha Teneres. My original CureChaser motorcycle is on permanent display at Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham Alabama. The next two bikes I rode as part of my million mile quest for Multiple Sclerosis; CureChaser II and III were raffled off completely accessorized, as I rode them, raising $35,000 to benefit a MS Charity. My current Tenere, CureChaser IV will soon be raffled off as well, fully farkled.
Products & Services
While waiting for the new bike to be delivered, I started to make a list of the FARKLES I wanted to install once it arrived. Unlike starting from scratch with a whole new model, I had a pretty good idea of what items from the old bike worked for me and so I started ordering parts. Lots of parts!
It’s hard to travel as much as I do without hard luggage. Saddlebags that are sturdy and lock hold all of my gear and tools. A tank bag is easily accessible and holds glasses and gloves and anything else I may need handy while riding. A better more comfortable seat, taller windscreen to hold back the buffeting on the freeway and high power driving lights to help me through those long dark nights. I will need to add an auxiliary fuel tank so I don’t have to stop 10 times each day for gas. I also add power ports to plug in my heated gear for the winter and installing heated handgrips are a no brainer.
I will add an insulated bladder to hold water, a thermos to hold other drinks and a radar detector to keep me honest. Crash bars protect the engine and plastic panels from drops and off road adventure mishaps, and an automatic chain oiler will help extend the life of my chain and sprockets.
With my memory issues and brain fog caused by the demyelination in my brain from MS, I can’t go anywhere without a GPS. Two, in fact, a stand alone unit and my cellphone will be mounted and powered on the dash to help minimize those pesky wrong turns!
Products & Services
As my list grows, so does the realization that customizing my present from Yamaha is going to cost me about five thousand dollars! Another aspect of preparing a machine to ride a few hundred thousand miles is making calls to my trusty sponsors to see what products they are willing to donate to the cause. If nothing else, my million mile quest is a great way to test equipment and gear!
The bike will arrive next week, but the boxes have been arriving almost daily for a month. I am not going to lie, FARKLE season is exciting and the late nights in the garage installing all the goodies keeps me so busy, I don’t have time to worry about my health or anything else, which, isn’t a bad thing………..
