Tenere 700: Review at 3800km

Everyone wants to check out my bike and asks me how I like it. I love it. Now that some of the lustre has dulled and it's covered in dirt (as it properly should be) after 3800km of mostly gravel and forest roads, here's my update on how the love affair continues. For reference, I'm coming from a modified WR250R (which I still have) and a 2019 Africa Twin (which I bought new and sold after only two weeks of riding because it just didn't click with me). 

Isn't is top heavy? 

Nope. Even with a full tank, it carries its weight surprisingly well. Cornering and low-speed handling is precise and controlled, even on dirt. There isn't that feeling of "oh sh*t!" when leaning too far; the bike just turns and sticks. Even on dirt at speed, it doesn't have that feeling of running away from you if you hit a corner too hard and risk going into the rhubarb. For comparison, my Africa Twin felt ponderous, like a container ship plowing through heavy seas. The Tenere feels like a speed boat going over the waves. It feels about as top-heavy as my WR250R which is taller and has an aftermarket tank with the volume as the Tenere's. 

Yeah, but my 790 Adventure R / Modified DR650 is way lighter!

So what? There's always going to be some other bike that does something else better or worse, or has better specs on paper. What really matters is how your bike feels for you. Does it let you ride what you want and have fun? The Tenere does that for me: it feels just like my WR250R but with 2.5X more power, which really puts a smile on my face. It has way better traction control because of that smoooooth CP2 engine. My riding skills are absolutely the limiting factor in what the Tenere can do; not the extra weight. Pol Tarrés is proof of that!

How's the suspension?

Now that I've got it mostly sorted out, it's pretty decent. Most reviewers agree that the rear spring is too soft if you're over 65kg (I'm 87kg buck nekkid). I upgraded to an 80N-mm spring from Rally Raid and, with the preload at zero, the rider sag is now -60mm (which will go down to the target -70mm or 30% with my usual gear on, since ridin' nekkid is generally frowned upon). For the forks, I kept the stock springs but installed the Rally Raid preload fork caps with 5mm spacer and three turns of the pre-load adjustment. This gives me -64mm of rider sag (30%). After fiddling with compression and rebound I found a decent compromise between street and dirt. Traction in dirt--even with the stock tires--is surprisingly good even at speed, so I figure the settings are good. However, I'm considering some re-valving this winter to improve high-speed compression/rebound performance. Overall though, the suspension is fine. I'll be loading up the bike with soft luggage soon and then will have a chance to see how it performs under load. 

Isn't the tank too small? Aren't you worried about running out of gas?

Nope. The gas gauge is a little wonky though: It doesn't move for the first 100km, then it drops a bar, then it starts racing towards empty. The Low Fuel light comes on when there's about 1/4 tank (3-4 litres) left! There's a solid 300km range, and probably 350km if you aren't hard on the throttle. I'll carry a 1-gallon RotoPax for longer trips because I don't like to plan more than 300km between fill-ups to allow for the inevitable extra distance from wrong turns, etc. Overall I've been seeing about 3.6-4.6 l/100km fuel economy under spirited riding, and I'm probably averaging about 4.3-4.5l/100km on longer, steady stretches.

How's the wind protection?

I'm just over 6' or 183cm and I wear a peaked helmet (Shoei Hornet). There is almost zero buffeting of the helmet, quite unlike my experience on the Africa Twin. If I duck down about 2", there's a quiet pocket of air and the wind noise is substantially reduced. Anyone shorter than me is going to have a great experience with the wind protection. I don't find the wind noise too bad though; I ride with ear plugs anyways. It's not so loud that I can't enjoy music on my Packtalk Bold headset. Overall I find the protection pretty good and I don't plan to change anything. It's a motorcycle, not a luxury car. 

What would you change?

These are the mods I've made, and all of them have proven worthwhile:

• Rally Raid fork preload caps
• Rally Raid shock spring (80 N-mm)
• Rally Raid stainless steel from hub spacers
• CamelADV anti-bobble brace for tower
• Outback Motortek skid plate (essential; the stock guard is pretty flimsy)
• Outback Motortek lower engine guards
• B&B Offroad tail tidy
• Eastern Beaver PC-8 switched power bus
• Oxford heated grips
• USB port
• R&G Racing case covers (protects the water pump and more)
• Barkbuster Storms
• Doubletake Mirrors
• AdventureSpec rear rack (on order; not installed yet)
• Rally Raid GPS mount
• Yamaha chain guide (essential)
• Yamaha radiator guard (essential)
• Wider pegs (to come)

I didn't mind spending a couple grand on the above farkles because it got me the bike I wanted and all bikes need some customizing anyway. I didn't spring for the adventure seat because I'm waiting to see what Seat Concepts comes up with. The stock seat isn't too bad for me anyway. It's a more compact riding position than on my WR250R, but somehow not as uncomfortable as I initially expected. 

I plan to install a set of Cyclops LED lights because the stock lights, while not bad, don't provide as much coverage as I'd like for our gloomy fall riding.

The stock tires, Pirelli Scorpion STRs, handle very well on gravel and pavement. Kudos to Yamaha for putting on decent rubber. I have a Motoz Tractionator Adventure rear and Shinko 804 front waiting to go on next. 

But don't you miss all the electronics and traction control?

Nope. Had that on the Africa Twin and found it got in the way of just enjoying the ride. I wish the Tenere's ABS off-switch stayed off when the ignition is on but the engine is killed, because that would eliminate a lot of button-pushing during frequent stops. Overall the display works fine. I spend most of my time watching the scenery anyway.

If there's one thing I would change, it's Yamaha's location for the selector switch on the right side. It's almost impossible for me to push it with my right thumb while riding. A thumb switch on the left side would probably work much better. This winter I may see what I can rig in parallel to the OEM switch. 

How is it to service?

Yamaha has put a lot of thought into how this bike is assembled and as a result it's extremely simple to strip down for access to things like the oil filter, air filter, etc. Changing tires is a bit fiddly with the twin front rotor, but entirely doable. By comparison, the Africa Twin was a nightmare in all respects.

The engine is only 72 HP! Every KTM since 1973 is at least twice as powerful!!1!1! 

Yeah, I don't feel like I'm missing out on power except maybe when I'm passing at top highway speed in a headwind going up a steep hill. But that's a tiny percentage of my riding time. Most of the time I'm on rural roads, gravel, dirt, rough terrain. The 72 or however many ponies are more than enough to spin the tire and have a blast. What that number doesn't tell you is how electric-motor-smooth the engine is, and how torquey it is at low RPMs. You can crawl along in 2nd or 3rd, give it some gas, and spin up to speed in no time. The engine is a beautiful work of tractable power. Easy to ride all day long at any speed, standing or sitting. 

Does it need bar risers?

No. At 6' tall, I find the riding position nicely balanced in stock form. I did rotate the bars forward a touch though. 

Conclusions

If you like the WR250R, you'll probably love the Tenere 700. It's just a big WRR, with all the power that the little 250 could never deliver, and at only a small perceptible weight penalty. If you prefer the edgy, full-concentration, high-strung power and handling of a KTM, you'd probably find the Tenere to be a little boring perhaps. If you're riding an 800GS or similar BMW, you'd probably find the Tenere to be just as much bike but slimmer and lighter-feeling in your hands.

This summer I'm doing a longer tour with luggage, and we'll see how the Tenere performs under load.