Hopefully Yamaha doesn't skunk us again, and actually launches a commercial version of the new T700 "World Raid" that widely expected at EICMA this November 6-11.
In a fit of optimism, I stopped by my local Yamaha dealer on the way home from work today and put down a deposit on the bike. They said there's been keen interest in the Ottawa area--not surprising, given the fantastic dual-sport and off-road riding here. Already there's a long "to call" list of potential buyers.
Am I jumping the gun? Possibly, but what's the risk? As the first interested customer to actually put money where my mouth is at this dealer, I will hopefully now have the option to get my hands on a bike if and when it finally makes it to the showroom floor. I've seriously looked at various alternatives including the Africa Twin, F800GS, F850GS, and Triumph Tiger, and pretty much ruled them out. All are great bikes, but my sense is they're more complicated, costly, and heavy than the T700 for my intended application: i.e., true dual-sport riding on rough trails.
The Tenere has received excellent reviews of its engine (which takes regular gas!) and all expectation is the bike will be bulletproof-reliable as one would expect of Yamaha. After all, the prototype has enjoyed extensive testing riding though one of the most agonizingly protracted marketing campaigns in recent memory. Hopefully this has given Yamaha the chance to sort out any remaining tweaks needed to ready the design for commercial release.
So now we all wait. If and when I get a Tenere, I'll be sure to post my seat-of-the-pants review. And I may have my trusty WR250R up for sale. In the meantime, check out some pics of the T700 prototype taken at the recent Intermot show and posted on ADVRider.
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