Which Yamaha Tenere 700 Should You Buy
The Ténere 700 has been a hot seller for Yamaha ever since it was introduced back in 2020, and rightly so, with a brilliant chassis that makes it a genuine off-roader, and also a simple and affordable approach to the build.
But fast forward to 2024, and we’ve actually got now six different variants of the T7 listed on the Yamaha website, all with their own distinct specs and flavors.
So which one is the right one for you? Well, to help you choose, we’ll go through each of them in price order ascending in to find out.
Standard Ténere 700
So coming in at £10,116, we’ve got the box standard Tenere 700. And so if you’ve got your heart set on a brand new Ténere, but you want to keep the budget as tight as possible, then that’s the first reason to go for this one.
And still, you get all the same fundamentals as the other bikes on this list.
The brilliant CP2 parallel twin engine, for example, which has a lively, playful character, a rasping snal at the exhaust, and a decent 72 horsepower peak on tap that’s realistically enough for a bike of this nature.
The chassis, it has to be said, is another highlight with excellent handling off road and plenty of height and clearance to make it over obstacles.
On top of that, you still get a portrait TFT display on this entry point model to manage three ABS modes and some phone connectivity features.
So a good all rounder and also a great starting point if you want to add your own accessories and parts from third parties rather than taking one of these packaged up models which all use Yamaha’s own parts.
Tenere 700 Explore Edition
Now, next up for another 690 quid, we’ve got the Explore Edition, which is new for 2024.
The idea with this one is to spec it up with a little more of a road and touring bias, with a larger windscreen, luggage racks as standard, and the quick shifter accessory bundled in, too.
Now look, it doesn’t instantly transform it into a mile-munching touring weapon.
But if you If you’re looking to do plenty of road miles, then it’s certainly the best of the Tenere lineup.
The other thing to consider, though, is the seat height, with 20 millimeters taken out of the fork in terms of travel and 20 mill out of the shock as well.
Combined, that helps to take 15 millimeters off the seat height versus the standard bike, and that brings it in at 860 millimeters.
Now, of course, you will sacrifice a little bit of the off-road ability.
But if you’re a shorter rider looking for a Tenere, then this might well be the one to go for.
Admin Admittedly, it is still on the tall side for a lot of riders, but at 5’9 or 175 cm, I found it fairly manageable.
Plus, with Yamaha dropping the suspension in-house, you won’t be messing around with low seats or lowering kits that could negatively affect the bike’s ergonomics or the handling.
Lastly on this one, even if you’re not planning on using the Tenere as a tourer, you might still fancy the quick shifter and the tall screen or maybe a low seat.
So it’s worth checking what you’d be spending on accessories on their configurator and seeing if this one makes more sense financially as a starting point.
By my calculations, it’s about £160 quid cheaper than fitting all of the equivalent accessories individually to the standard bike.
And look, think of all the other things you could spend that money on parts, accessories, gear, perhaps even a comms headset to chat to your mates or listen to music or make phone calls when you’re out on a ride.
Tenere 700 Extreme
this one, the Tenere 700 Extreme, is only £100 more than the Explorer Edition, and yet it represents a totally different use case.
In fact, it’s pretty much the opposite because rather than 20 mil less suspension travel, with this one, you’ve actually got 20 mil more, giving 230 millimeters total up front and 220 on the shock.
And not only that, but the KYB fork gets upgraded internals with a Kashima no friction coating and full adjustability along with the shock.
So if you’re the rider who’s realistically going to be doing more off-roading than on, then this could well be the one to go for.
There is, however, one caveat, and it’s that it does, of course, lift the seat height.
And whereas the standard T7 was already pretty tall at 875 millimeters, this one is an absolute beast at 910.
So I think it’s fair to say that only the tall or those who are extremely comfortable with tall bikes need apply.
On top of that, you’ve got some lightweight titanium off-road-specific grippy pegs, a high-level front mud guard with a bit of that dirt bike look, and a flat one-piece rally seat, which will help the rider move around the bike more freely.
But look, Having tried that KYB suspension off road at the Yamaha Adventure Center on the World Rade model that we’ll get onto in a moment, and also having switched back and forth with the standard bike, I’d say the step up in ride quality and the confidence that it gives you is worth the extra cost alone, providing you can get on with that seat height.
Tenere 700 Rally Edition
Now, next up, we’ve got the Rally Edition, and this is starting to get a bit serious on price at £11,416.
So it’s quite a big step up versus the Extreme Edition but you do get quite a lot in terms of accessories fitted as standard.
There’s the Rally seat, again, a chunky aluminum skib plate, a matching radiator guard and chain guard, rubber knee pants for extra grip, and an Akrapovic silencer, which should it a bit of extra depth at the exhaust.
Thing is, though, I can’t help but feel that this one is a little more esthetically focused with the heritage-inspired speedblock livery.
And so while it absolutely looks the business, perhaps if you’re genuinely looking for a boosting off-road performance, the extreme is a better bet because of that far superior suspension.
Still, the Rally is a fantastic-looking bike.
And so if you’re happy with the regular fork and shock and you like the way this looks, then why not? And plus, it isn’t quite so tall as the Xtreme at just 895 millimeters.
Thing is, though, for 11,916 pounds, you could get yourself the World Raid Edition, and it does bring some interesting practical features.
One is the same longer, better suspension as the Xtreme, but the other is a much bigger fuel tank. You see, the standard bike gets 16 liters.
And while it is fairly efficient on fuel and so it’s not too bad on range, the dual filler, long, side mounted tanks on the World raid boost it by a whopping seven Litre for a grand total of 23.
That gives it some pretty serious distance ability.
And so if you’re looking for an adventure bike that can properly off road and also carry you a long way between stops, then there are a few that do it quite so well as the World raid.
On top of that, you’ve still got the rally seat as well.
There’s a steering damper for some extra stability, which you don’t get on some of the other bikes, and also a reworked air box, which has a forward-facing intake to prevent the ingress of debris from the rear wheel, especially when off roading.
Tenere 700 World Raid Edition
Top of the tree, though, and the most expensive by far is the World Raid Edition, which gets the absolute works thrown at it.
Think of pretty much everything that we’ve spoken about in this video, all the best bits, while the World Rally gets them all.
The big tank, the Akrapovic silencer, and the fancy paint job, upgrading suspension and a steering damper, you bet.
I don’t see this as being vastly different from the World Rade, and the area where it really is a step up is more so the quality of finish and the extra little accessories.
Overall, it does look like a fantastic package, but the only downside it has to be said is that price, which puts what is still a fairly simple and modestly powered bike up into the price range where you can get some pretty serious this equipment elsewhere.
You could, for example, get a KTM 890 adventure or a Husqvarna Norder 901, plus some change, and you’re not too far off a fully decked out Tiger 900 Rally Pro from Triumph or even a Ducati Desert X.