In recent years, the adventure bike market has grown exponentially. Today we have an incredible selection of bikes to choose from, all offering different things, aimed at different types of riders. So it goes without saying that any bike will be worth it depending on what you need, but there’s one bike we think is always worth considering first.
The Yamaha Tenere 700 was hyped for literally years before it finally came out, but it’s one of the few motorcycles in history that actually lived up to the hype. Until it came out, the middleweight ADV was slow, heavy and largely disappointing. Yamaha proved that it was possible to run a street bike engine in a truly dirt-resistant chassis, and the market has been catching up ever since.
In order to provide you with the most current and accurate information, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Yamaha. While the opinions are ours.
Why the Yamaha Tenere 700 is worth every cent
MSRP: $10,999
Yamaha initially struggled to meet demand after the Tenere 700 was first released. It only underlined the interest there was in bikes like this, and since then virtually every manufacturer has joined the middleweight ADV party. Suffice to say, there are several other bikes worth considering as well.
Honda answered the call for a better, more capable middleweight with the Transalp. It’s not really a comparable alternative and leans a little more towards the touring side, but that’s not a bad thing at all. While it’s still quite capable off-road, it’s certainly the more comfortable of the two. Not only did Suzuki hit back with a solid ADV, but the V-Strom 800DE was also one of the first completely new motorcycles that Suzuki had developed in over twenty years. While good, it’s a bit on the porky side for a middleweight.
KTM, BMW, Triumph and Ducati have all since launched more capable middleweight bikes, but all of these bikes fall into the ‘premium’ middleweight class. Only one European brand offers a like-for-like alternative, and that is Aprilia. The Tuareg 660 is an excellent ADV that offers an impressive list of features, yet remains lighter than the Tenere. It’s still a little more expensive, but for many buyers it may be worth the extra expense.
Rivals
Honda Transalp
Suzuki V-Strom 800DE
Aprilia Tuareg 660
The Tenere 700 has the most reliable engine in the industry
Power: 73 hp
The T7 concept essentially promised us a street-legal ‘Dakar’ bike. To achieve this, it was pretty clear from the start that Yamaha would put a more powerful, street-sourced parallel-twin into a dirt bike-style chassis. The end result wasn’t nearly as far off as we all expected, and Yamaha delivered on most of its pre-production promises. At the time it was the lightest middleweight ADV ever produced, and it really felt like it was ready to take on the Dakar.
Putting a powerful engine in a more off-road-oriented chassis wasn’t as novel as it once was, but overall power was never the ultimate goal. If so, this would have been an updated Super Tenere. With the CP2 engine we got the best of both worlds. It is very manageable and delivers sufficient mid-range performance, both for off-road use and on the street. It also happens to be one of the most reliable motorcycle engines ever made, meaning we get some extra peace of mind when traveling far from home.
Engine specifications
Engine type | Parallel-Twin, liquid-cooled |
Displacement | 689cc |
Maximum power | 73 hp |
Transfer | 6 gears |
The Tenere 700 offers unbeatable value
A blue-collar legend
Like most modern bikes, the Tenere has both traction control and ABS. Both systems are switchable, so once you get off the beaten track you can take matters into your own hands. However, it is very important to remember that the Tenere, while very capable off-road and light for an ADV, is not a trail bike. If you’re not careful, things can easily go sideways quite quickly in the terrain. Other manufacturers offer advanced off-road traction control systems that act as a safety net to negate this factor. Yamaha’s system is either on or off, and that’s about it.
It also has driving modes and a huge new TFT. That TFT is by far the most noticeable feature added this year, and we honestly think it looks a little out of place. We loved the simplicity of the original dash, but the reality is that most people want a huge screen that connects to their smartphone… and then immediately breaks after the first drop. The only major criticism of the Tenere was the fact that it was a bit underpowered. It was fine for one person, but if you added luggage or another person it would spill out off road. This issue has been fixed this year and in our opinion this is the biggest revision for the Tenere 700 yet.
This revised suspension, combined with the now famous anti-squat function, only serves to add value. Value for money is perhaps the biggest feature here. While Yamaha has added $1,000 to the original sticker price since its initial release, that’s nothing compared to what some manufacturers have added to some models over the past four years without actually offering any meaningful updates. What you get with the Tenere 700 is an excellent off-road bike that can also handle your daily commute without any problems, but it’s not perfect, no bike is.
The biggest problem with the Tenere has never really been the suspension, but rather the simple fact that it’s terrifyingly uncomfortable. The dirt bike saddle is great for standing on off-road, but it’s clearly not designed for actually sitting on. A short drive to work or down a trail is where it feels most at home, but one of the most important functions of an ADV is touring, and that’s unfortunately where the Tenere falls a little short. Yet, at only $11,000, it’s still worth every penny.
Chassis, suspension and weight specifications
Chassis | Double cradle steel tube |
Front suspension | 43mm inverted fork, fully adjustable (8.3 inches of travel) |
Rear suspension | Single shock absorber, adjustable spring preload and rebound damping (7.9 inches of travel) |
Front brakes | Dual 282mm discs |
Rear brakes | 245mm disc |
Weight | £459 |
#adventure #motorcycle #worth #cent