DON’ T FIX... Is it brave, stubborn or foolhardy to stick with what you have when your competitors are offering( in the words of Billy Idol) more, more, more? Given market reaction – 86,000 units sold in Europe alone and 24 % market share, with no signs of slowing – you’ d have to say it’ s the right choice. There are plenty of detractors who criticise the T7s for being top heavy and underpowered, but equally each year new riders discover the model and find a lot to love. It helps that the CP2 unit is such a wellrounded motor, with a sense of heart and soul and for sure it makes the very most of its 72hp. There’ s also the matter that in the world of dirt, the rules are rarely rewritten. Where Yamaha started with the Ténéré series in 1983 with a 46hp air-cooled motor pushing 163kg is still pretty much where today’ s A2 adventure bikes sit. You look at motocross bike development in the past 30 years and, again, all things spec sheet are dimensionally at least pretty static. And there’ s the inherent conservatism in motorcycling. ABS etc has been warmly welcomed in the car world, but here riders argue they can brake better than a computer, have a better feel for traction and so on. And more tech is more to go wrong. Expensively wrong as the cynic would add. So, Yamaha’ s keeping it simple( as much as possible) and sticking to‘ what works does indeed work’. On this test the World Raid was a joy to ride. And Yamaha setting this test up with a truly spectacular ride among the mountains and along the coast of Sicily helped reinforce the message. It’ s not about the bike. A good adventure bike will melt away, doing what you ask without conscious input, leaving your senses free to engage in what really matters – the world you roam. And that was this bike, on this day.
42 KIWI RIDER