Yamaha Ténéré 700 one step closer to production

It’s been a long wait for the arrival of the Yamaha Tènèrè 700 – but it looks like the wait is almost over, as the rugged rally-inspired lightweight adventure bike has been spotted tearing up the sand in Australia.

First presented at EICMA 2017, Yamaha’s T7 Concept set the pulses of adventure riders racing the world over – before the iconic Japanese brand unveiled its even more aggressive Ténéré 700 World Raid prototype the following year at EICMA 2017. And, it seems that the wait is finally over with the 2018 Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid Edition prototype one step closer to mass production, with its first public showing in Australia ahead of the ‘Tenere Tragics Bay to Bush Run 2018’ in Queensland, Australia, which takes place from March 4 to 9

The T7 is powered by the same 689 cc, two-cylinder Crossplane power plant as the Yamaha MT-07 -tuned for tractable and easy-to-use power. Much like the original Yamaha XT600, and the first Tenere XT660, the new Tenere 700 is claimed to be more much more capable off-road capable than your typical adventure tourer. The new Tenere 700 still follows the tall, slim silhouette of the T7 Concept, but with a lower seat height to help make the Tenere 700 more accessible to a wider range of riders.

Its steel chassis has been reworked from the T7 Concept to optimise both on-road and off-road handling. It comes with upside-down forks up front, and a monoshock at the rear, reflecting current engineering trends for off-road machines. Its side panels, front fender and the one-piece rear tail are all made from carbon-fibre, while the cowl comes with a four-element projector headlight, similar to the Yamaha Paris-Dakar machines.

Yamaha is taking the Tenere 700 on a world tour, giving Yamaha fans in America, Australia, Africa and Europe a chance to get up close and personal with it – so if you fancy seeing one in flesh, click HERE and keep an eye on the Yamaha website.