Over the past few years, the Adventure bike market has seen explosive growth with a combination of factors motivating more people than ever to either switch over to an Adventure bike, or simply enter the world of motorcycles on an Adventure bike.
It is a segment that didn’t even really exist at all until a couple of decades ago, but still only served as a niche for riders wanting more touring friendly off-road machines up until recently. For years BMW dominated the market, but their modern bikes are pretty big, expensive machines that are still more road oriented touring bikes. Yamaha on the other hand have been selling their Super Tenere GS competitor for years, but their middleweight offering was a dated single up until it was recently replaced by the Tenere 700.
The Tenere 700 took the world by storm, offering a more accessible, off-road oriented platform that is still capable on-road. It is in itself something of a unicorn machine when you consider just how affordable it is compared to the direct competition, but it is obviously not without fault. The World Raid bike seeks to eliminate all those faults, and we think Yamaha has done a great job.
Yamaha Tenere 700 Shortcomings
Any Adventure or dual-sport motorcycle is a compromise, traditionally a dual-sport will be more off-road focussed, and the Adventure bike will be more touring focussed.
One thing both bikes need to do is cope on both surfaces, but what the Tenere achieved was something pretty unique. Instead of following the herd, they brought a more dirt focussed bike to the market, something that was light and agile off-road yet still stable and capable on it. It was still no unicorn, with its own set of issues with both surfaces.
The biggest issue enthusiasts complain about is the damping and spring rate of the Tenere, as it leaves the factory set up for somebody who only weighs around 150 pounds. Even though it comes with an adjustable suspension, it still doesn’t fare well if, like most, you want to add luggage with the bike sagging noticeably and limiting your off-road travel as well as on-road handling. For a relatively light bike it is also unusually top-heavy thanks to how the gas tank is mounted, making it pretty hard to pick up if you go down in the dirt and transitions on twisty back roads become awkward when the tank is full.
It still offers unmatched value, even though it has a rudimentary digital dash, it still has everything you will need in a modern Adventure bike.
The Upgrade: Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid
The biggest upgrade the World Raid bike gets is a completely revised suspension setup, with new, uprated 43 mm KYB forks with improved damping and spring rates.
The rear also gets a new shock that incorporates a piggyback oil reservoir, overall travel is also up by 8 inches both front and rear. Time will tell exactly how much of an upgrade this really is, but it certainly looks like a higher spec offering, and it can only be there to address the complaints they have been receiving that the bike is under sprung. It also gets an Öhlins steering damper to cap off what looks to be an impressive package. For those wanting to take the bike on longer, more remote tours, they have expanded the fuel capacity in what seems to be a really clever way. Instead of just making the tank bigger, which would have made it more top-heavy, they divided the tanks into two that help keep the mass more centralized.
It also gets improved off-road protection with a larger skid-plate, but the most noticeable upgrade is actually the dash. The simplistic digital unit has been discarded in favor of a more modern TFT display which also allows them to incorporate three distinct ride modes and the ability to connect to Yamaha’s MyRide app.
The Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid Is A Unicorn
On the face of it, it certainly seems like Yamaha have gone out of their way to address all the minor imperfections found in the base model, which could well make it a true “unicorn” motorcycle.
All the upgrades take it to another level, but we are still not sure exactly how much all of this will cost. As it stands, the competition is getting more fierce by the day, but the biggest advantage Yamaha have at the moment is its attractive pricing. It is the main reason why there is such a long waiting list for these bikes (pandemic hasn’t helped), Yamaha still unable to keep up with demand.
In all likelihood these upgrades will result in the price getting pretty close to the KTM/Husqvarna, which will certainly take some of that perceived value away, but still well worth it in our opinion.