2021 Yamaha Ténéré 700 | First Ride Review

Yamaha Tenere 700
The last MT-07 we tested delivered 57.6 average mpg, which would make the T7’s 4.2-gallon tank good for more than 240 miles. If you can tame your right wrist, that is. Photos by Brian J. Nelson.

As the ADV market has been trending toward middleweight machines, perhaps the most anticipated new bike after KTM’s 790 Adventure is Yamaha’s 2021 Ténéré 700, based on the compact and torque-rich Crossplane parallel twin from the MT-07. After being teased since late 2016 with action-packed videos featuring aggressive Dakar-style riding sequences, the Ténéré 700, or T7, is finally here and it’s not nearly as hardcore as the prototype. But that’s OK, because most of us can’t ride like 6-time Yamaha Dakar Champion Stephane Peterhansel through the dunes of Africa.

A quick glance at Yamaha’s lineup reveals a gap in its street-legal but dirt-worthy lineup between the WR250R and the Super Ténéré T12, and there is plenty of room for another player in the middleweight ADV segment currently occupied by BMW, KTM and Triumph. Most manufacturers have fully embraced the electronic aids arms race, with riding modes, IMU’s, ride-by-wire throttle, traction control, wheelie control, lean angle specific ABS, electronic suspension, color TFT dashes and more, which begs the question: how many rider aids do you need or are you willing to pay for? The T7 is a dramatic departure — its sole rider aid is ABS that is switchable when stopped, which works well. As someone who spends most of his time on lightweight dirt bikes without any electronic interventions, I felt immediately comfortable on the Ténéré 700 with its light clutch, smooth shifting and excellent fueling.

Yamaha Tenere 700
Flat YZ-style seat is part of the T7’s rally-bred design and allows lots of movement. The bike’s slim tail also has a built-in handhold.

Swinging my MX boot over the 34.6-inch-high narrow YZ-style seat (there is also a lower seat, and rear linkage available that lowers the seat by 1.5 inches) reveals a relatively narrow tank and comfortably wide tapered handlebar with half waffle grips protected with plastic hand guards. The foldable serrated footpegs have removable rubber inserts for road riding, and both brake and shift lever have foldable tips like a dirt bike. An aluminum skid plate protects from rock hits (and doubles as a gong at times) and the front fender adjusts 8mm to allow for taller full knobby tires and room for mudpack.

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Read our 2021 Yamaha Tenere 700 Tour Test Review

The high vertically shaped LCD display is easy to read with tach, gear display, speed and clock. Using the right grip switchgear, you can toggle through other modes including air temp, two tripmeters, current and average fuel consumption, and disengage the ABS directly on the display. Unfortunately, bombing down a dusty road in a group renders the display almost useless. Bring a soft cloth. And rough roads vibrated the display fairly hard, making us wonder about its longevity. The sturdy crossbar above the LCD should be great for mounting a GPS, GoPro, phone, etc. One 12V outlet is standard and there’s room for another.

Yamaha Tenere 700
Multi-function vertical mount LCD instrument offers good visibility whether sitting down or standing up. Switchable ABS on/off button is in lower right corner.

The T7 shares Yamaha’s CP2 689cc parallel-twin with its naked sport-standard street bike, the MT-07, which made 68.6 horsepower at 8,800 rpm and 47.6 lb-ft of torque at 6,400 rpm at the rear wheel on the Jett Tuning dyno the last time we tested a 2016 model. This overachieving motor is impressive and has a wide sweet spot throughout the well-spaced gearing. In addition to updates to the ECU, the T7 twin gets a new airbox with a higher snorkel, revised cooling system and upswept exhaust and a final gear ratio of 46/15 vs. 43/16. The rest of bike is all-new, including the narrow double-cradle tubular-steel frame, triangulated (welded-on) subframe, double braced steering head and aluminum swingarm. 

I’m a big fan of the T7’s narrow and tall Dakar styling that begs you to go stand-up dirt riding. Its flat YZ-style seat and upswept muffler, slim tail section with side panels that look like number plates complete the look and complement the riding experience. Sitting down at higher speeds the tall windscreen produced more coverage than expected and kept the majority of the wind blast off my chest at highway speeds. I experienced no buffeting wearing an MX helmet and there weren’t any noticeable engine vibes to complain about.

Yamaha Tenere 700
With no electronic rider aids other than ABS that can be turned off, there’s no traction control to intervene against the usual off-road antics.

Kevin’s Gear
Helmet: Fly Racing Formula Vector
Goggles: Fly Racing Zone
Jersey and Pants: Fly Racing Kinetic Mesh
Boots: Fly Racing FR5
Gloves: Fly Racing Pro Lite

The T7’s sturdy 36-spoke 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels shod with Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tube-type tires that worked reasonably well in the dirt didn’t turn out to be a major compromise on the street. The bike steers quickly and accurately, without the usual vagueness from a 21-inch front, perhaps due to the 48% front and 52% rear weight bias, and felt like a supermoto bike on the twisty paved back roads. In the dirt the lighter front bias helps unweight the front under power.

Our dirt-heavy 140-mile loop at the T7’s introduction in Tennessee was a dirt tracker’s dream, winding through gorgeous sun-filtered forest canopies on forest roads with varying amounts of gravel on top to keep you on your toes. The Crossplane 270-degree crankshaft motor is super torquey and won me over in no time. It’s the hands-down star of the show and provided heaps of confidence in hard pack conditions with a loose top layer whether seated or comfortably standing. Keep the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires in line or let the rear slide, the choice is yours.

Yamaha Tenere 700
The CP2 Crossplane twin from the MT-07 has always made plenty of low-end and midrange torque, and it comes on even sooner in the T7.

The best dirt section was a Jeep trail that was embedded with rocks and other obstacles like ruts, numerous water bars, sand, broken tree branches, loose rocks and even a rogue black bear. Knowing what we were about to encounter, the sneaky Yamaha staff changed the bikes’ suspension settings before you could say, “Where’s the mosquito repellent?”

The stiffer setup showcased the available adjustment within the stock KYB suspension. The 43mm fork has 8.3 inches of travel and is adjustable for compression and rebound damping, while the rear piggyback shock with progressive linkage has 7.9 inches of travel with adjustable compression and rebound damping and a remote knob for adjusting the spring preload.

Although there’s a decent 9.4 inches of ground clearance to work with and the T7 is lighter than most of the competition at a claimed 452 pounds wet, add another 200 pounds of fully geared rider and you’ll want to reserve the biggest launches for your dirt bike. Even when bottoming out, however, there wasn’t any nervous feedback. We even limboed under a downed tree only to find a larger tree around the corner forcing us to turn around.

Yamaha Tenere 700
Riding conditions in Tennessee included a little bit of everything, including lots of deep water crossings. Dive! Dive! Dive!

No doubt the T7 is a solid package off road at spirited speeds. If I had a complaint riding in the dirt, it would be with the brakes. I found both the front and rear stoppers required higher effort than expected, had vague feedback and required too much attention, particularly in loose dirt combined with the 60/40 tires versus full knobs, and I began using the transmission for help slowing down. The softness might be built-in by design for entry-level dirt riders, and I didn’t have any issue with the brakes on the street. Brembo brakes have front twin-piston 28mm floating calipers with 282mm dual discs and the rear relies on a single-piston 34mm floating caliper with a 245mm disc.

Fuel capacity is 4.2 gallons, and at the end of our aggressive ride the last bar on the fuel gauge was blinking after just 130 miles. Past experience with this engine has shown that you can expect more than 200 miles from a tankful with a tamer right wrist. While dual sports connect trails, the T7 will allow you to connect states.

Yamaha Tenere 700
We liked nearly everything about the T7 except its braking feel up front, which Yamaha seems to have given a soft initial bite for off-road riding.

At just $9,999 for the Ténéré 700, the Yamaha is now the low-cost, low-weight leader of the middleweight ADV class if its claimed wet weight holds true on the Rider scale in a week or two. Yamaha also offers a lot of accessories for the T7, including two bundle packs that are a good value. The $1,549.43 Rally Pack includes an engine guard, radiator protector, oversize aluminum skid plate, tank pad, mono-seat rack, chain guide and centerstand, and the $2,264.94 Tour Pack includes an engine guard, centerstand, aluminum side cases and side case mounts and lock set.

After a day on the T7 I was still eager to keep riding. It’s not a hair-on-fire ADV race bike, purpose-built to explode sand dunes. It’s simply a fun on- and off-road motorcycle that also happens to be affordable and could pull light commuter duty as well. With all the craziness in the world today, disappearing into the woods or any other isolated location sounds like a good plan, and that’s not the moonshine talking.

2021 Yamaha Ténéré 700
Website: yamahamotorsports.com
Base Price: $9,999
Engine Type: Liguid-cooled, transverse parallel twin, DOHC w/ 4 valves per cyl.
Bore x Stroke: 80.0mm x 68.6mm
Displacement: 689cc
Transmission: 6-speed, cable-actuated wet clutch
Final Drive: O-ring chain
Wheelbase: 62.8 in.
Rake/Trail: 27.0 degrees/4.1 in.
Seat Height: 34.6 in.
Claimed Wet Weight: 452 lbs.
Fuel Capacity: 4.2 gals., last 1.1 gal. warning light on

Keep scrolling for more photos…

Yamaha Tenere 700
An all-new perimeter steel frame on the T7 has removable lower frame rails for engine maintenance, a triangulated sub frame and double-braced steering head.
Yamaha Tenere 700
Hand guards, a crossbar for mounting electronics such as a GPS and four LED headlights–two high beam, two low–are standard.
Yamaha Tenere 700
A robust aluminum skid plate is standard but Yamaha offers a burlier option if you’re so inclined.
Yamaha Tenere 700
Fully adjustable fork offers 8.3 inches of travel, and there’s 7.9 in the back. Scorpion Rally STR tube-type tires are solid 50/50 tires that make little noise on-road.
Yamaha Tenere 700
At a claimed 452 pounds gassed and ready to ride, the T7 has an easier-to-manage weight and neutral, comfortable riding position, though seat height is up there at 34.6 inches.

11 COMMENTS

  1. I had been considering the T7 for years as an upgrade to my DR650 but Yamaha was taking forever to get it to the USA. Then KTM came out with the 790 Adventure duo. I bought an R version primarily because the performance envelope was greater on the KTM both on and off road whereas the T7 was closer to my modded DR650. I wanted a high performance ADV/Dual Sport with more features and the KTM hits the bulls eye! But, if the KTM did not exist, I’d have a T7 because I do think it is the next best thing in the class for the money.

  2. Waited and waited . . . then got an email from Yamaha that the first wave of deliveries were sold out (pre-sold) so I moved on to something else . . . feels like 2 years of hype only to get a glimpse of the T7 via press photos . . . reading the handful of reviews that are surfacing now from the US market it comes across as a good, solid platform and another great bike from Yamaha . . . but at the same time I don’t feel like I missed out on much by heading off in a different direction.

  3. Same here I waited and waited ,bought something elese,limited numbers ect,maybe in a few hrs ,I think Yamaha blew it out of the water,but availability is everything,and they dropped the ball on that one

  4. I have always disagreed with Yamaha’s price control of limited units the first year or two, what are they afraid of? Anyway I think they have a good, not great middleweight ADV.

  5. Finally a machine that is affordable instead of overloaded with electronic knick-knack which make bikes more or less expensive and failure-prone. The Ténéré 700 for me seems to be the perfect travel buddy. Something to consider when you like to go to remote areas is also its light weight, just in case.

    A beautiful version, not really necessary except for the eyes 😉 , is the rally edition:
    https://www.yamaha-motor.eu/gb/en/products/offroad-motorcycles/adventure/t-n-r-700-rally-edition-2020/

  6. Love all the info on this bike…. and hope to one day, as I can overcome disability issues to get back on 2 wheels…

  7. Bought this bike, love it. The suspension is lite, and needed heavier springs. One thing that never get mentioned is the ease of maintance, The oil filter is easy to remove, the air filter also easy to get to and service. This matters to real riders who want to keep their bike in tip-top shape.
    The bike is really balanced front to back.

  8. Agree. Paint is really nice. Suspension is decent and with some springs for my weight, will be fine. I waited for mine 3 months instead of going for the KTM. I have 2 KTM’s (500 EXCF and 300 XCW), so I am a long time KTM/Husky owner but really liked the simplicity of the T7 design, only electronics is ABS. The motor is awesome. Pulls so good down low. I will be adding a couple teeth out back for the woods. Yami did a fine job especially when you consider the price.

  9. I’ve never liked a heavy bike for dirt. But I ain’t big, and my inseam isn’t suitable for bikes in the mid-30″ seat height range. In 2014 I found a sweet, used 2005 XT250 with widened pegs, a billet aluminum back rack, bar risers and fat bar handlebars. It loads and unloads easily, and goes anywhere I want. The 6-speed is … I love it. if it had EFI, I’d be set. All that set me back 1/4 of this new 700cc, 450-pound beast. Yes I have much less power, but it still scoots just fine, climbs well, and will do 70 all day, 80 if I ask for it, so it has enough push to get the job done, and it is a lot lighter than this Tenerife 700. If I want bigger, I can always borrow my daughter’s heavy, thumpy XT650… 🙂 But hey, it’s all about choices, and lots of folks like bigger ccs and are OK with heavy bikes on dirt.

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