Until recently, there has been a bit of a gap between the more dirt-oriented machines and the bigger, road-focused adventure bikes. The Tenere 700 fills a gap in the market rather well.
With few alternatives when it comes to a best of both worlds machine, most brands focus on either dirt performance or road performance, with the compromise being seen on the other. Yamaha somehow finds a perfect balance, and instead of creating something rather lukewarm like most people expected, they managed to produce something rather special, close to the perfect motorcycle if you enjoy riding on both road surfaces.
Outstanding Value
At a shade under $10000 it represents fantastic value for money. Many will argue that in its base trim it is lacking in a few departments, but this kind of competitive pricing leaves a lot of room in the budget for upgrades.
Not saying the basic version is all that sparse, but it certainly isn’t as advanced as its nearest (substantially more expensive) rivals. In many ways, it is a bike destined to be personalized, whether that will be for a more off-road focused package with uprated suspension components and a skid plate or bigger front brakes and panniers for a more accomplished road touring package.
Road Performance
On the road there is really nothing wrong with it when it comes to handling daily riding, commuting around a town or city will be easy on this nimble machine.
Where it will let you down a bit is when you really start riding aggressively and doing your best Valentino Rossi impression on a canyon road. It quite simply isn’t meant for that, although the bigger adventure touring bikes seem to revel in that type of thing, the Yamaha certainly errs on the side of off the road rather than on it. Its brakes will start fading on you sooner than you expect, and the soft suspension will eventually belie its solid, confidence-inspiring chassis.
Dirt Performance
It certainly isn’t a one trick pony like some of the street legal dirt bikes that pretty much just allow you (legally) to ride to a trail, but it does come into its own off the beaten path.
When it was first hinted as the T7 concept bike, everyone expected this Dakar machine that could power through anything and everything, leaving all the Austrian made machinery in its wake. It isn’t quite that, the final result is somewhat muted but the torquey power delivery of the 70 horsepower CP2 engine makes this the most versatile of machines. It isn’t at all lukewarm, just like everything else Yamaha makes, it is sensible, practical and reliable yet still fun.
It is the all-round fun that is so appealing to us, in a machine that doesn’t just get you to the trail down the road, but takes you to whatever trail your heart desires to ride on any given day.