Yamaha Tenere 700: Who Is It For?

The Yamaha Tenere 700 has been showcased at Auto Expo 2024, and it could be coming to India soon. Now the Tenere 700 is one of the most capable ADVs in the middle-weight segment and it might not be for everyone. In this article, we will be going over what it offers and also try to answer the question, is the bike for you?

The Performance

The Yamaha Tenere 700 is powered by a 698cc, liquid-cooled, 270-degree crossplane twin engine which outputs 73.4PS at 9,000rpm and 68Nm at 6,500rpm.

The power and performance by itself is decent, but nothing impressive compared to other models in the segment. 

The Capabilities

When it comes to underpinnings, the Tenere 700 has a KYB inverted fork and a link-type monoshock. The bike has 230mm suspension travel at the front and 220mm suspension travel at the rear.

The bike rolls on a 21-inch front and a 18-inch rear spoke wheel setup. Braking duties are handled by a dual 282mm disc setup at the front and a single 245mm disc at the rear, with Brembo calipers. The bike has a ground clearance of 225mm, which might not seem impressive. Coming to the weight, the Tenere 700 has a kerb weight of 205kg kerb (wet).

But Yamaha has done quite a bit of work to improve the bike’s performance offroad. The first thing that stands out, and which many have already pointed out is the raised countershaft which will help in decreasing the bike’s squat.

Adventure bikes by the virtue of their heavy weight tend to have this issue where they squat down, due to the weight of the rider and gear. This is also made worse when rolling on the throttle, which transfers the weight to the rear, leaving the front unstable. This is something which you don’t want when riding off road as it leaves the suspension in an excessively compressed position. This will negatively impact the bike’s performance offroad as the suspension won’t be able to soak up the bumps on the way.

To reduce this, Yamaha has made a couple of changes, including the usage of a longer swingarm with a taller angle. This combined with the raiser countershaft creates a sort of anti-squat effect. So when you’re riding out in the dirt and rolling on the throttle, the weight won’t shift entirely to the rear like it does on the average Adventure bike, leaving the front wheel unstable. 

The Tenere 700 goes further creating an anti-squat effect of sorts, and the front wheel does not become unstable. This makes the bike handle way better offroad compared to others. 

The Features

When it comes to features, the bike is pretty barebones. It gets a 5-inch TFT console which offers smartphone connectivity with turn-by-turn navigation and call/SMS alerts. 

The bike offers 3 ABS modes, first one allows you to keep ABS on at both ends, the second turns it off at the rear, and the third mode turns off ABS completely. But other than this, it doesn’t offer much.

The Whole Package

When taking a look at the entire package and what the bike offers, it is clear that the Tenere 700 is a hardcore offroader. It is pretty basic when it comes to features, and the performance is decent. 

But when you look at the engineering that has gone behind this bike to make it as capable offroad as possible, the hype makes a lot of sense. Sure, the Tenere is not for everyone, it is a bike that is meant for hardcore offroad enthusiasts who want as much performance offroad as possible. The low amounts of electronic riding aids is just a small price to pay for a bike this capable.

If you are someone who is looking for an ADV for touring purposes, then the Tenere might not be the bike for you. You will be better off looking at something like the Honda XL750 Transalp. You can also look into the Triumph Tiger Sport 660, which is geared towards touring.