The Yamaha Tenere 700.
There are plenty of rave reviews around.
Sometimes they are so positive I doubt if it's serious review.
So I will start with the negatives, and end with the positives.
The problem is it's hard to find problems with this bike.
I couldn't find any real known issues.
Eventually I focused on the engine which is derived from the MT07 road bike.
But it was introduced in 2015 and it seems they worked out the problems years ago.
This stands in contrast to all the reported issues on the KTM 790 Adventure,
arguably the main competitor.
The problems with the T7 are more around just getting to suit the individual rider.
For example, the fixed windscreen means that you will probably get a lot of
wind noise once you are taller than around six foot or 182cm.
The same with the ergonomics.
The seat height is 34.4 inches or 83cm.
Short riders will still find this quite high compared to the Triumph Tiger 800.
And yet riders over six feet will feel quite cramped.
Although there's an optional rally seat that sits higher which apparently resolves this.
When standing, a lot of taller riders
also find the bars too low and add risers, and also roll the bars forward to enlarge the cockpit.
If you like to stand, you will want to remove the rubber inserts on the footpegs too.
Some more aggressive riders can be a bit disappointed by
the lack of real punch from the engine.
Personally I think this is a matter of taste.
Quick take-offs will see the front wheel coming up
in the first few gears, and it starts singing in the higher revs.
And the power delivery is beautiful for offroad riding.
Plenty of traction, no surprises, super smooth.
Aftermarket specialists claim their ECU remapping can give big power gains.
I suspect most owners won't want this.
Again, there are occasional complaints about the suspension from aggressive riders.
And some suspension tuners are saying owners
really need to come in and get their bikes setup correctly.
I suspect the vast majority of riders will find it is just fine as is.
Many owners just ramp up the springload on the rear and find that's all they need to do.
Aggressive riders may want to get some work done.
The plush suspension will start to bottom out if you go hard.
There were reports of the early T7 models being snatchy at low revs,
and remapping the ECU solved this.
There were no problems with the 2021 model.
If you are into electronics, all you get is ABS.
And it's just on/off, no adjustments.
The T7 will disappoint if you want all the electronic bells and whistles.
If you like simplicity, you will love it.
For true long distance riding, you may find the fuel tank a bit small at 16L / 4.2 gallons,
although good fuel economy helps.
What do we like?
The price!
This is where the T7 shines.
It's significantly cheaper than its main competition, which leaves a few
thousand dollars to spend on mods that will easily make it the equal of the other bikes.
The Suzuki V-strom 650 is cheaper, but it's really in a different class
and lacks the offroad abilities of the T7.
What about the weight?
Yamaha has done a good job of keeping the weight down for a twin.
It's around the same as the KTM 790, and a bit less then the Triumph Tiger 800.
And it's lighter than the KLR650 single.
It's great to see a twin cylinder that isn't morbidly obese.
Riders report dropping weight with these mods.
The handling?
On road was great fun!
It turns so well it was hard to believe it's a 21 inch front wheel up front.
With the right tyres you could easily embarrass a lot of sports bikes.
The brakes were a tad soft but of course came into their own offroad.
Offroad?
The T7 actually does feel quite light until you get down to very low speeds.
No matter what tricks Pol Tarres can do on a T7,
you really start to feel the weight if you get into serious offroad riding.
But of course that's when you should be looking at lighter single cylinder bikes.
Also, if you push the bike hard you will find the limits of the suspension quickly.
However, as mentioned the T7 is so cheap you could easily get the suspension sorted
and still have cash left over.
My conclusion?
I was really hoping to find a pile of things wrong with this bike to counter all the glowing reviews.
But for the money, I think it's a great package and it's actually made in Japan.
Or if in Europe, your T7 is manufactured in France.
This contrasts with the KTM 890 soon to be made in China and a significant
number of known issues cropping up for quite a few KTM owners.
Do you own one?
Ridden one?
Keen to hear your thoughts, including any problems encountered or mods you've made.