The 2024 Yamaha Tenere 700 only receives minor changes. The Tenere 700 redefines the essence of adventure by prioritizing simplicity without compromising on power and versatility. Does this simplicity make for a better ADV bike for adventure riding?
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Check out the full story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/yamaha-tenere-700-first-ride-review/
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00 This is the 2024 Yamaha Tenere 700. Yamaha is going a completely different
00:06 direction with the 700. They want it nimble, they want it lightweight, they
00:11 want it to feel like a big dirt bike. So many of the adventure bikes nowadays are
00:16 these big unwieldy things. That's why this bike is going to be great for the
00:21 adventure riders that really want to focus and prioritize off-road riding. But
00:26 there are a couple little changes that Yamaha has made to this platform
00:30 listening to the customers. And today we're out here to go for a spin and see
00:34 what this bike is all about.
00:37 Now what has Yamaha done for 2024? Well let's start with one of the things that
00:50 customers were not loving before and that was the dash. Now this dash is a 5
00:56 inch TFT. It's still a vertical display. Now this bike is still about simplicity.
01:02 So while you do have that TFT display, there aren't any ride modes. There isn't
01:06 traction control. Yamaha wants to keep this bike as simple as possible. They say
01:12 that's because they don't want people have to worry about electronics going
01:16 bad while they're out on a ride. Now is that the case? Maybe so, maybe not. But
01:20 again simplicity. The only real big addition from an electronic standpoint is
01:24 that TFT display. Although we should also mention there are some small updates to
01:29 the ABS system on the 2024 bike. There are now three modes for ABS. You can have
01:35 ABS fully on. You can have an off-road ABS setting which leaves ABS on the
01:40 front but disables it at the rear. And then you can also disable ABS completely
01:46 A couple other very small changes for 2024. You have a new dial on the right
01:52 hand side of the handlebar. Enable you to get into the menus on this bike. Now
01:58 again there isn't a lot to adjust. The only real things that you can change
02:02 setting wise on the display is a two tachometer readouts and the information
02:07 is just displayed a little bit differently between a street and an
02:11 Explorer theme. Now you also need to go into the menu to adjust the ABS to
02:17 change the settings and especially turn the ABS off. There is a button up near
02:22 the dash where you can turn the ABS on once it has been turned off. Now that
02:27 really is the bulk of the changes for 2024. So if we're not really talking
02:32 about changes necessarily what is this bike? They're using let's call it a
02:37 legendary engine at this point. It's their 698 cc parallel twin power plant.
02:43 Just truly a beautiful engine that first came out in the MT07. We loved it there.
02:48 It's in the R7 and it's also in this. The fact that that engine can be used in so
02:53 many platforms and keeps us happy in all of those platforms says a lot about that
02:58 power plant. Now you've got a steel frame on this thing. Again it is intended to
03:04 feel like an off-road bike. Lightweight as it can be. So how does it work out on
03:10 the trails? Well let's start with that engine because it really is a focal
03:13 point here. We absolutely love it. In the dirt it really makes sense. It's not a
03:20 ton of power but it's so tractable and in a bike like this where especially
03:24 like today we're on some rocky terrain, tighter trails and you don't need a ton
03:29 of power. This thing makes so much sense and I really do enjoy it. Now we did take
03:35 some highway to get out to the dirt trails that we were riding today and it
03:39 does feel just a little bit underwhelming at higher speeds. Of course
03:44 this is still a middleweight bike. It's a middleweight adventure bike so you're
03:47 not gonna have that kind of leader bike 1000 cc power and I think you have to
03:52 accept that. Where this thing really does stand out is gonna be off-road. It's a
03:57 really tractable power plant. I will say Yamaha again no traction control on this
04:03 thing. They say that it's because this bike delivers power so well and I agree
04:07 it does. It spins the tire really nicely. That rear tire does bite and grip. Would
04:12 I like to have TC? Sure I don't think there's any reason to not have traction
04:15 control on a bike like this. Yes the engine works well and helps you put that
04:20 power down smoothly but I wouldn't mind having a little TC on top of it too. Why
04:23 not? A little extra rider aid is always good. It just helps I think even newer
04:28 riders or depending on the conditions things like that. Now again they can get
04:33 away with it because this engine is so sweet. New for 2024 Yamaha has pre-wired
04:38 this bike to accept their accessory quickshifter. They have mounted that
04:42 quickshifter on this bike. It is an upshift only quickshifter. Honestly I
04:48 kind of wish we had that downshift feature as well. I think that's more to
04:52 the credit of this transmission. The transmission works really well. Again I
04:55 can't say enough good things about this engine. Just how tractable it is. The
05:00 power delivery on it is great. You don't really need the ride modes. I would love
05:04 to see it on this bike but hey that's gonna start bumping the price up and
05:08 things like that and complexity of this machine so they want to keep it simple
05:11 as possible.
05:19 Now while we do love the engine in this Yamaha we have to admit that the chassis
05:25 and the handling is just as sweet and it really transforms your experience on
05:30 this bike. Now one thing I've always said or noticed about adventure bikes is they
05:36 do feel big and unwieldy and especially off-road. You kind of got to be
05:40 really easy with them. Let them move around because there is just so much
05:44 weight. They start bouncing around. I mean they're compromises right?
05:47 They're meant to be traveling and they're meant to be going off-road.
05:50 Where this thing excels is in technical off-road conditions. It does feel like a
05:56 big dirt bike in that you can put it exactly where you want it. You have so
06:00 much confidence in the handling of this thing. That makes a big difference for
06:04 the person that is going to go off-roading quite a bit on this bike. I
06:09 really happy with how lightweight and nimble this thing is. Now what I will say
06:15 is that at higher speeds on public roads out on the highway you do get a little
06:20 bit of instability there. I feel like the front end starts moving a little bit.
06:24 It's a little bit more unstable than some of the bigger bikes that
06:27 maybe either have a little bit more weight or different geometry. So again
06:31 what you're really seeing across the board is a motorcycle that works well
06:37 off-road. It's really intended to be an adventure bike that performs off in the
06:42 dirt and but still has some on-road capabilities maybe just not quite as
06:46 much as some of the other bikes in the category. Now speaking of category this
06:51 is one of the most hotly contested classes in motorcycling right now. That
06:55 middleweight adventure class. So this bike comes in at $10,800. The only bike
07:01 coming in under that right now is the new Honda Transout which is a couple
07:05 hundred dollars less. Most of the bikes are in that $10,000 range. Now as far as
07:10 weight, Yamaha claims 452 pounds. The last Tenere that we had on the scales was at
07:17 457 and again that's pretty middle of the road. That's about what we're seeing
07:21 in this category. Another number that I know you guys are going to be thinking
07:25 about and want to know is power. Now this bike, well not this one, the last Tenere
07:29 700 that we had on the dyno made about 62 horsepower. That is a little bit less
07:34 than Aprilia's Touareg 660 and definitely less than Suzuki's new V-Strom 800DE.
07:40 Now again that 800DE is a bigger displacement engine so you got to give
07:45 this thing a little bit of credit for at least getting in the ballpark there. So
07:49 that's some of our experience today on the Tenere 700 and some of the numbers
07:53 that you're going to want to know. Now what do we just think about this bike as
07:57 a whole? Well it's been really interesting spending the day. It's been
08:00 really cool getting to do some highway, some paved back roads, and then get up
08:04 into some really rocky and technical terrain. This bike really shines in the
08:09 off-road situations. Yes it can do some brilliant things on the pavement but
08:14 that's not really where this thing excels. You've got a little bit less wind
08:17 protection and overall it's just not quite as comfortable as something like
08:21 maybe even the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE which has a bigger seat and things like
08:26 that. So if that is you, if you like that off-road focus and you like what Yamaha
08:31 is doing, be sure to check this thing out. That new TFT display is pretty sweet.
08:35 It's nice to have that there and it gives this bike a little bit fresher
08:39 look. And again Yamaha is still doing a great job of keeping that price down
08:44 which is another reason why we just love this category. We're really happy to see
08:49 this class being so strong and to see Yamaha listening to the customers and
08:53 making little adjustments to keep this thing fresh. Thank you guys for tuning in
08:58 to our review of the 2024 Yamaha Tenere 700. We hope you enjoyed what you see. Now
09:04 we are actually taking this bike back to the office. We're gonna spend a lot more
09:07 time with it so we'll hopefully get you guys some more updates, some social media,
09:10 some photos and things like that. Be sure to hit the like button, subscribe and
09:14 we'll see you on the next one.
09:18 [Music]