Yamaha Tenere 700
Tarmac-loving Carl makes friends with the dirt-mad Tenere
Carl has swapped the KTM to a smaller adventure bike. Does the Tenere fit the bill?
You'd be hard pressed to find any bad reviews of Yamaha's longawaited Tenere 700. Those I've read are by and large very positive and usually have the obligatory shot of the rider and bike on a dirt track with a big rear wheel slide. A quick Google image search will show you hundreds of photos of the Tenere, nearly all being off-road or in the desert. It would be easy to think this is its natural setting, but I do wonder how many will actually see any serious off-road terrain, let alone a desert? To have mass appeal the Tenere has to also be a decent performer on the road.
Yamaha state on their website, 'This rally-bred long-distance adventure bike is built to master a wide range of riding conditions on the dirt or asphalt'. That's a big claim, designing a bike capable of both dirt and tarmac is going to involve compromise; just take a look at any of the current crop of adventure bikes and it's usually easy enough to see where their preferences lie.
My previous long-termer was also an adventure bike, but of the road-biased, high spec, high-power, high-cost variety. The Tenere is at the other end of the adventure bike scale; but does it defy categorisation, balancing both on- and off-road competence? Plenty of skilled riders have proven the Tenere's performance in the dirt, but I haven't heard much about what the bike is like to live with day-to-day, how it handles multi-day tours, luggage, pillion, etc. As most of my riding is on tarmac I'm looking forward to finding the answers to these questions over the next few months. I'm also interested to see if I'll miss the electronic technology and ever-increasing power of the larger bikes. I'll let you know my thoughts.
THE HISTORY OF
The Tenere 700 can trace its history back to the original Dakar Rally. In fact, the name is taken from the region of the Sahara where in 1977 Thierry Sabine got lost on his Yamaha XTS00 during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Despite having to be rescued, he was enthralled with the landscape and the seed of an idea was set. Thierry went on to create a route through this landscape starting in Europe and ending in Dakar. It was Boxing Day 1978 when 182 vehicles set off on the first Paris-Dakar rally. Seventy-four made the 10,000km to the finish. Cyril Neveu, riding an XTS00, was first over the line, a feat he accomplished again the following year.
The success of the XTS00 was undoubtedly the inspiration for the XT600, which came in 1983, and was the first Yamaha to carry the Tenere name. There have been a few updates over the years, becoming the XT660 in 1991, and another update in
2008. By 2016 the 660 was long overdue a shake-up and was discontinued; the timely T7 concept was revealed and re-ignited the passion for the Tenere name. However, it took Yamaha another three years before the Tenere 700 was ready.
THE NEW TENERE
At first glance you might notice that large 21" front wheel, knobbly Pirelli Scorpion Rally tyres, and the aggressive-looking praying mantis front face. Gone are the double headlights from the old 660, replaced now by four LEDs, and the rear wheel size has gone up to 18-inch, all reflecting the off-road focus of the bike.
The motor is the tried and tested CP2 689cc parallel twin taken from the MT-07 with the same crossplane 270-degree crank and irregular firing pattern, the only changes being uprated cooling, exhaust, airbox and injection map. Power and torque are a rather modest
72bhp and SOlb-ft,down on much of the competition, but, of course, the figures don't always tell the full story. As is quite common the engine is a stressed member; the down tubes either side are not structural, but are there to protect the engine and mount the sump guard. It's worth noting that the rear subframe is welded to the main frame; a fall with panniers, or an unlucky off-road fall, could potentially write offthe frame.
The KYB suspension is fully adjustable, 43mm USD forks up front and remotely adjustable rear with 2101200mm travel respectively.
Aside from switchable ABS, the Tenere has little in the way of fancy extras; there is no traction control, no rider modes, no cruise control and no electronic suspension. The throttle and clutch are both cable operated.
Whilst this bucks the trend of most adventure bikes in recent years, it does mean that Yamaha can sell the Tenere at a very competitive price.
HOW DOES IT RIDE?
The unfortunate delivery timing of the Yamaha meant I only got chance for one ride before coronavirus restrictions effectivelyput a halt to nonessential travel. It was a short ride out with a friend into the Peak District for the obligatory cuppa and bag of chips, just enough time to familiarise myself with the Tenere and form a few initial opinions.
Throwing a leg over the Tenere you are reminded that this is a tall bike, but due to the slim design of the seat (880mm high) most riders should be ok. For those that struggle, Yamaha offer a kit with low seat and lowering linkages taking 38mm off the height.
Out on the road the Tenere works really well. The MT-07 motor delivers just the right amount of power with a decent surge when needed. I was never left wanting for more, and importantly for a bike with few electronic safety aids it never felt intimidating.
The long travel suspension, which initially felt quite soft, was a pleasant surprise, keeping dive and weight transfer nicely controlled while still dealing well with the potholed roads of the Peak District. I was equally impressed with the tyres; the knobbly Pirellis offered better than expected grip and I couldn't detect any squirm from the blocks when cornering, even the 21-inch wheel didn't seem slow to turn in as much as I expected.
The middleweight Yam tips the scales at 205kg, but it hides that weight incredibly well, actually feeling much lighter both on the road and manoeuvring by hand.
My driveway is narrow and on a slight slope, so getting bikes in and out of the garage usually involves a multi-point turn, and for most bikes this is a workout and saves me a membership (at least that's the excuse I'm sticking with). By comparison the Tenere is a doddle, even fully fuelled.
Negatives? There aren't many. The LCD dash, while not fancy, is functional, but does suffer a bit of vibration over 30mph.
The throttle is a little snatchy at slow speeds, but could probably be improved by adjusting out some of the cable slack. Some of the plastics aren't the best quality and the handlebar controls and ignition barrel look like they are leftover parts from the 660.
Considering the price, I think it's easy enough to forgive these small niggles.
This short familiarisation ride has left me looking forward to the travel restrictions being lifted and spending more time on the Tenere. In the meantime I'll have to keep myself occupied by tinkering in the garage and planning trips for later this year.