While the U.S. makes due with the single, base Yamaha Ténéré 700, Europe now has three distinct models. The latest was announced earlier this week … The Ténéré 700 World Raid.
The World Raid is a harder-core machine with longer travel suspension, 6.1 gallons of fuel capacity from two separate tanks, and has other features not found on the lower-spec versions of the Ténéré 700. Here is a list of unique features on the Ténéré 700 World Raid provided by Yamaha Europe (with metric measurements):
- 23-litre capacity dual side-mounted fuel tanks
- Flat Rally inspired 2-piece seat
- 5” colour TFT meter with mobile connectivity
- 3-mode switchable ABS
- High specification 43 mm KYB front forks, 230 mm travel
- Öhlins adjustable steering damper
- Aluminium piggyback rear shock, longer 220 mm travel
- High-torque EU5 CP2 engine
- Newly designed air cleaner box
The new fork has 9.1″ of travel and is adjustable for compression, rebound and spring preload. The new rear shock has a different linkage and offers 8.7″ of travel.
You can find more details and specifications on the Yamaha Europe web site. Below is a nice video from Yamaha introducing the new model.
The difference with my Tenere 700 is an additional fuel tube. Everything else is meaningless to me and my riding style. Especially the price.
Yamaha withdrawing from Dakar. Bad move. ADVs are hot sellers. They should quit motoGP. Hiw many R1s do they sell?
Racing is about building a broader brand image. Yamaha sells more scooters for having Vale ride their GP bike. Fiat sells more cars for having their name on the side of Rossi’s bike. Heck, even making/selling the R1 is in part, a marketing effort.
Regarding the Dakar race, or the Paris-Dakar Rally, the biggest blow to its prestige is that it no longer is raced from Paris to Dakar. It moved around South America for a while, then back to somewhere in the African desert, and who knows where later. At one time in history even non-bikers were enthralled with the concept of leaving Paris and arriving some weeks later on the west coast of Africa. Got to admit, that’s cool.
Today it’s loop-filled circular course weaving around Saudi Arabia. Guessing viewership and press coverage have plunged to just a few old timers seeing it on Youtube.
So yea, Yamaha doesn’t need that. Let KTM own it to no obvious benefit to anyone. Sort of like Harley owning the flat-track circuit in America.
I think the viewing figures for the Dakar are pretty good for the type of event it is. Millions I guess tune in (via the internet mainly) to follow their chosen rider or brand. Among riders its seen as a lifetime goal to finish – especially Malle Moto. And the guys who actually win – they are idolised in Europe, South America, etc. Australia even. I do think its a giant pity its gone to The Country That Should Not Be Named. South America was better, and Australia would be a decent choice.
BTW I do miss the grand old multi-cylinder days, when it was a full on battle between manufacturers, and there were various engine configurations – but costs got way out of hand and the works 450s are plenty fast.
I agree with Yamaha’s lack of electronics but the thing is missing cruise control to go along with the big tank. There are times you just want to let your right arm relax on the slab and use the left for a bit.
Respectfully, I must offer a different opinion, because of the many times cruise control appears here as an issue. The original BMW R80 GS had return springs from a garage door opener, that were a pain in about 5 minutes. That was the last time a cruise control could be useful. One still gotta hang on with both hands, so what is the big deal, it’s not a big deal.
Would be interesting to find out what percentage of motorcyclists feel the need for cruise control, kinda like a radio.
I take cruise control 10 times over a radio. Cruise comes in handy if you actually ride long distances. My FJR had factory cruise and it was awesome. There are big stretches of the US where a cruise comes in handy.
My all day rides were about 500 to 650 miles, much of which was open highway slabs or interstates. Long enough to appreciate the use of a cruise control if the return springs were strong, from mile one. Never felt the need in over 50 years. The point is, if a person found a PERFECT motorcycle to buy without a cruise control, how valid would be the decision to walk away. I mean the perfect sit down go fast lickety split, quick like a bunny beauty.
I never felt the need either until I bought a bike that had it. Neither of my 2 current bikes have it, and now it seems like a glaring omission. Same with heated grips. Once you have them, it’s hard to own a bike without them.
I never had cruise control on a bike before I bought an ’07 RT1200RT a couple years ago. When it comes to long stretches of highway, I really like it. It’s not so much that it takes the load off my wrist as that it takes off the load of maintaining a consistent speed.
Good point, nice perspective. Gotta be good when low on fuel towards the end of a long stretch to the next gas station.
It’s not about laziness or arm strength. Having the bike take care of maintaining constant speed allows the rider to save mental energy for other tasks. No matter how much of a hero you think you are, you will be more mentally alert, and arrive more refreshed with cruise control than without.
Sounds the same as driving to Las Vegas in a Cadillac instead of a Corvette. Motorcycling has always invigorated me, even hours after the ride.
I’m sure the desert racers will like it, but it’s just got too fat for me. I bought my tenere because my 1190r was too heavy to pick up repeatedly on difficult terrain. This new world raid version weighs pretty much the same as the ktm, just with a lot less power. The body style will mean it lays flat like the 1190 too, although the tank design might mean the weight is better distributed when first getting it off the ground.
I don’t think the suspension travel is any better than the ktm either.
Not available in the US you say? Then I’ll complain to Yamaha.
This bike has me I think. Riding bikes most of my 50 years. MX and ATVs as a kid and sport bikes all my adult years (currently an R6). Now…as a tall person (6’3”) and avid mountain biker who loves to be off-road this thing seems to be calling me. A rare bike that had my eye since the T7 proto came out few years back. What’s different here (kudos Yamaha) is Yamaha seems to have bucked the marketing arms race BS that says you have to continually garbage up a bike with a zillion electronic thingies that few of us need or use … and way more power than most of us really need off-road. So now you have bloated bikes (ADV bikes for sure) costing a crap ton , and a disaster to work on. Before this I was thinking of the KTM 890 ADV-R. But having to pay KTM to unlock the software to use the best performance ECU map just makes the case for the Yamaha plain as day.
I think I’ll stick with the base Tenere 700 model though (not that we have a choice yet in the USA). The RAID model definitely has a place for riders needing more range…for me not worth the added weight and girth.
Just put the $500 deposit down. Unfortunately I’m on a long wait list in these IC shortage constrained times. But on upside they tell me I can sell my R6 for nearly about what I paid for it 7 years ago
I’m getting a salary bonus check next month, for having a very good year. The check says “Payable to local Yamaha Tenere dealer.”
rich little, frank gorshin and RuPaul rolled into one! superb!!!
No CarPlay? Pass.
No car play? Sign me up!
Apple people don’t ride motorcycles do they? One would think that such a thing is too vulgar for them or something.
Maybe if Tesla made one that you couldn’t repair or get serviced.
Another Adventure bike. I am happy for all of you tall and long legged riders. As for the rest of us Hobbits in the shire, we may have to put on our big feet and walk till we find a manufacturer that appreciates our short stature. Until then, nice gas tank for a bike that looks like it was punched in the nose.
There are PLENTY of bikes in the market for short people. From naked bikes, to sport bikes, to cruisers of all types, all those are for short people. The ADV bike category is the only one that actually fits tall people. Let us have this one thing. Not every bike needs to have a low seat.
You take the words right out of my mouth. I am sick and tired of every bike having to have a low seat. For us slightly tall, older guys with stiff bones all that is left are SOME adv bikes
Well said. Until the ADV category came along most desirable bikes were too cramped for the skeleton endowed demographic.
Nobody is too Hobbit for an ADV Bike. Look at Cassie Maier. Just do IT.
You’re not short, just built a little closer to the ground.
I’m torn. On one hand, everything about this bike is extremely appealing, except weight.
On the other hand, it’s way too expensive.
The weight is normal these days, but the price pushes a lot of buyers back to the KLR or DR. I was really hoping the T700 series of bikes were going to be affordable modernized KLR type machines. I get that modern features aren’t free, but this is a very expensive bike for being specialized.
I’d love to have one of these things, but it would have to be a second bike. At this price, there are a lot of other toys I’d put in my garage.
I think it depends on how you look at it. I see the adventure bikes as touring bikes in Jeep drag. As a touring bike, this bike has good range and is far lighter and cheaper than most traditional touring bikes. And it has a cooler engine.
Will there ever be a 500 EXC with a 700 twin engine? Don’t hold your breath. There are things the they just won’t do.
“ Will there ever be a 500 EXC with a 700 twin engine? Don’t hold your breath. There are things the they just won’t do.”
And that is truly a shame.
The 700cc Husky from a few years ago is a good prototype for what I would love to have. Make it a twin for slightly more versatility.
All of the 700+cc adventure bikes are 500exc’s with 700 engines. This is basically the result of such an exercise. You can’t shoehorn a larger multi cylinder engine into a dirt bike frame and expect it to be a good bike. It just doesn’t work. They don’t do it because it’d suck and it wouldn’t sell.
Sorry Dave. Adding a cylinder and 40% more displacement is no excuse to double the weight of a motorcycle.
And if this bike was at least one hundred pounds lighter is would sell much better. It is, after all, an MT07 with nearly 90 pounds of window dressing added to it for an additional $5500. An MT07 with an 8 gallon keg of beer strapped to it weighs less and is more popular, while costing a whole lot less.
I really get a kick out of the bikes don’t sell if they’re not super heavy arguments. Like it’s ever been tried. Dirt bikes never stop selling do they? Add a hundred pounds to a dirt bike and that baby is doomed. Yet it would still be considered a super lightweight street bike.
“Adding a cylinder and 40% more displacement is no excuse to double the weight of a motorcycle.”
It isn’t an excuse, it’s a reason. Despite light weight being desiralbe to literally all riders (nobody has ever said, “if only this bike weighed 100lb more, it’d be perfect..”) no brand has achieved what you think should be so easy. I agree that this bike is on the heavy side but it is COMPLETELY unreasonable to expect that it’d come in at the same weight as the MT-07 with the added features that this rider wants.
If it were possible to do at an acceptable price, the brand that did it would seize a big advantage. Why has no one done it?
The published WET weight is with full tanks of gas and oil, so I’m tempted to reward Yamaha simply for not lying about the dry weight, which 95% of bike manufacturers intentionally misrepresent because weight is our favorite whine. Fortunately with an inseam of 34inches, this bike works for me. Or else the Yamaha XT250 at a fraction of the cost, weight, and power.
No tubeless wheels? Cruise? Pass.
This bike has me smitten. While 220 kg (485 lbs) is heftier than I was hoping, Yamaha’s legendary performance and durability require some strong, heavy materials. The longer suspension and larger fuel tanks contribute to the 33 lb. increase over the vanilla Tenere 700. Perhaps if they removed all those apostrophe’s from the name Tenere it could shave a couple ounces! Let’s hope it arrives on our shores.
“Jeez, people, I could make that worthless pile in my garage. Just cobble together a few odd bits from my first YZ125 and Honda Trail90, bam, done. Not only would it weigh but a fraction of this overgrown monstrosity, it would also weigh a whole lot less. Wait. I already said that, didn’t I? Whatever. Mine would be better. Much better. But I still wouldn’t buy it. I have other old crap that’s even lighter and cheaper. I refuse to pay myself that kind of money. I’ll wait until I make something lighter, and I won’t buy that one either. It’s just not up to my standards.”
-U Know Who
Absolutely rolling on the floor laughing!!!! I applaud you sir, excellent impersonation!!
For a minute there VLJ, I thought you were talking to yourself.🤪
Mentions buy twice. What do you bet this guy hasn’t bought a new bike in over ten years?
Bold first post though. Gotta give him that.
You would lose that bet. Before I got hit, I’d just bought two new bikes, a Z900 and a CB1100 EX. Traded in a bought-new XSR900 for the new Z900. Traded in a bought-new Street Triple R for the new XSR900. Traded in a bought-new R1200R for the Street Triple R, and on and on….
Basically, a new bike every year or so over the past thirty years. Of the thirty or so bikes I’ve owned, only two were bought used.
You seem to be trending toward smaller lighter and more simple motorcycles. Maybe I’m just a distant future version of you.
Mostly true. Smaller, lighter, and simpler are definitely better for me, and for most people, relatively speaking.
If I’m ever able to ride again, then small, light, and simple will be paramount on my wish list. Easy, basic fun. I won’t be doing monster-hp race bikes anymore, or any more giant sport-tourers. For my limited purposes going forward, I’d likely lean towards another SV650. Probably used, since they’ve changed so little over the years. Maybe an MT-07 or Trident 660. Something along those lines. Close to four hundred pounds wet, low-ish seat height, slim between the knees, cheap, manageable, simple. No excess of pointless electronics. Plenty fast enough for the street.
Or one of the Bonnevilles. Street Twin, Speed Twin, or T-120. They’re the only larger, heavier bikes I’d consider.
Where you and I differ is that I’m not a dirt rider. I’m 100% street. Also, having been a motorcycle dealer for so long, and having ridden so many things over the years, I don’t share your unrealistic expectations of what a motorcycle needs to weigh before I’ll be able to enjoy it. While lighter is certainly better, I’m well aware that a relatively heavy bike can still be manageable and fun.
The CB1100 EX is like that. It weighs a ton, but never feels like it. Ridden the way it’s meant to be ridden, the excess heft is a nonissue.
Again, though, that’s on the street. If I only rode in the dirt, I would prioritize lightness and tractability above all other traits.
Our other main difference is that I don’t require a bike to be my idea of perfect before I’ll buy it. I know that such a bike doesn’t exist, and that’s fine. While I’d prefer my 450-lb bike to weigh 350 lbs, it’s not a dealbreaker. I’ll still buy it, and still enjoy it.
Then there’s you. In your fanatical frenzy to martyr yourself at the altar of Moto Purity, you willingly cut off your nose to spite your face.
I’m not that extreme. I’m not going to pass up all the fun offered by modern bikes, just to prove a point. Pyrrhic victories aren’t my thing. I love motorcycles too much to cheat myself that way.
Great post VLJ
I’m out in CO for skiing for a couple of months. Skiing is a sport that I enjoy. I ski J skis. Two years ago ai bought a model called the Metal. Loved those babies, still do. But they have been replaced with a model called the Hotshot. So I bought a pair. They are mostly an improvement on an already excellent ski. It’s a good time to be a skier. But for a time in the eighties that was not the case. Skies went in almost exclusively in a racing direction and became fragile and easy to break. I was frustrated. I bought two pair of Olin Extremes and hunkered down to wait the industry out. I still have both pair. One is a trashed set of wall hangers and the other is still in good shape and still skis very well, even by today’s standards. I ski them once in a while out east on the crusty stuff.
You mentioned buying maybe an old SV650 because they are unchanged. I like the original oval section framed ones simply because they look better. Isn’t that an example of sporting equipment not necessarily improving over time?
The bride wanted to buy me a new street bike for my 60th birthday last fall. Unfortunately I feel that we are in a period where the sporting equipment is not necessary improving over time. I bought a 2012 with 1100 miles and some farkles on it. It’s crazy lean and has whole systems that need to be deleted. But I’ll sort that out. And it won’t be all that difficult to do. Not so with the current edition of the same bike. That would take a significant amount of re-engineering.
You didn’t see me post anything bad about the current ski industry did you. That’s because they are striving to make improved sporting equipment for guys just like me.
I used to average about one new motorcycle a year between dirt bikes and street bikes. I was actually hopeful for the 100hp limit being bantered about in the early nineties. I felt that the limit would have produced better sporting equipment for public roads. Premium bikes would have gotten lighter because that would have been the number that you could sell.
Didn’t happen. Weight is still and ever shall be a major problem for street bikes. So the street bike industry turned an avid supporter (me) into a vocal critic (also me).
I’m not cutting off my nose to spite my face. I am just an enthusiast who wants better sporting equipment.
When Yamaha puts SSS suspension, a dry sump, and a lighter frame and wheels on the T7 you can bet I would be buying one. But they didn’t and they won’t. So here we are. Praising them for admitting that their new model weighs 485 pounds. Is it any wonder why I call them touring bikes in Jeep drag?
My first SV650 was the original oval-framed, carbureted model. It remains my all-time favorite small bike. I did everything on that bike. Track days, trips up to and across Canada and back with Ventura luggage and wifey riding pillion, canyon racing, commuting over a hundred miles per day, etc.
It was nigh on perfect as a street bike once I added the usual suspension, brakes, and exhaust mods. I liked it much more than my naked SV1000 with the aluminum-spar frame.
The latest version of the SV doesn’t have the same oval-section trellis frame as the original, but it is a steel trellis frame, and the revised motor makes more power than the original made, stock to stock. Also, the new bike weighis about the same as my old one. It also offers ABS and EFI, so there are at least a couple of worthwhile modern advancements, without going overboard on tech.
Simple, manageable, comfortable, cheap, fast enough, light enough, and fun. Looks fairly similar to the original, albeit with a bench seat.
Not much to complain about there.
Mick, I worked in the ski industry during the period you mentioned. By sitting on those Olin’s, you missed a bunch of great stuff, none of which was any less durable than what you settled on. Your J Skis are manufactured roughly the same way skis were made in the 70’s btw, wood, fiberglass and titanal (read: aluminum) sandwich with ABS sidewalls, carbon steel edges and a sintered polyethylene base. It has a modern shape and flex but otherwise, same stuff.
The same thing is happening to you now in moto. You’re hung up on an idea that simply isn’t real. There are dozens of sub-100hp sporty motorcycles available, up and down the price scale and none of them are as light as you think they should be. If yamaha did the things you proposed to this bike, it’s weigh 475lbs and cost several thousand $ more. The weight is what it is. Dirt bikes aren’t street bikes and bikes like he above aren’t “dirt bikes”, they are as you aptly put, touring bikes in jeep drag, which is what they’d people who buy them want.
Sarcasm apparently goes over some folks heads around here. Funny post and thanks for the laugh..