setup then it’ s perfectly adequate. And given you can now dial in adjustment on preload, compression and rebound damping, chances are you can improve the responses, so on balance this is a better proposition than the old setup.
ENGINE As far as engine performance goes, Yamaha, and the legions of Ténéré 700 buyers, have shown 72hp is a good number for an adventure bike, so it’ s quite acceptable that they haven’ t boosted the performance, the extra stress might have upset what is a well-balanced motor. And the changes to the gearbox, no, you’ re not going to feel those either, although they must achieve something. It’ s a shame, also, that the quickshifter isn’ t an OEM fitment. With so many models now featuring QS, including Suzuki’ s V-Strom 800 DE as standard – and despite my thinking for so long‘ do we really need quick shifters?’ – it’ s absence is noticed. Now the modes. The Sport setting, to me, feels like normal throttle action. The Explore mode is softer, you might even call it‘ laggy’, but certainly for chilled touring or if you’ re feeling tired and would like a less on-point responsiveness, then it’ s a nice option. Traction control comes either as on or off and is for road use only. On the hot tarmac in the High Atlas, it wasn’ t activated – maybe if the rider was more ham-fisted it might be. But there again, on wet slick roads it’ s a nice safety add-on. Equally the ABS wasn’ t
triggered and when on the trails we went fulloff as the pace was quite sporty. This, in fact, accords with Yamaha’ s appreciation of what their customers want, the stripped-back keepit-simple delivery has been the Ténéré 700’ s calling card. While maybe all those points might seem negative, or just neutral, that’ s not the case. The Ténéré 700 is all about delivering a supercapable no-nonsense ride, while the CP2 engine ensures a satisfying soundtrack to your escapades. The new TFT screen( much like that seen on the big-tank‘ World’ models) is attractive and isn’ t overly fussy, the new switchgear works well and there’ s even a new indicator switch with self-cancelling( and second push to cancel option). The overall packaging is still very smart and – save for the dulling of the plating that happens on the spokes – the Ténéré 700 is a quality offering with slick finishes. For the Ténéré 700, then, the feeling is this is business as usual. Certainly, neither the Euro 5 + regs nor Yamaha’ s updates have spoiled the bike. Equally the modernising has been achieved without compromising the original ideology. It remains a great bike for adventuretouring, being dependable, comfortable and ever-willing – and entertaining. And for roundthe-world types you just can’ t ignore the rock solid reliability and low-maintenance factors. This standard model will, for most riders, be the right choice.
76 KIWI RIDER