The 2021 Yamaha Tenere 700

greg the pole

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T7 will sell well for the price listed.
Good motor and ergos for intended purpose. But the 43mm forks will flex like mad, when pushed. Shame about the single channel ABS.
The regular 790 might be a direct competitor. Both 790s are cooking rear shocks. Stupid idea to put it above the huge cat.
I'm happy with my mid point bike. 2017 AT 6spd. 27k km in two seasons.
More than enough power, decent standard equipment. Crap OEM suspension. Zero issues with the chain.
I dont miss my 12, wouldn't rush out to buy the T7. Does well on the technical riding portion but great on road too.
https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/BF0lbF674WPvHyZl0naA1hxnSOV0v3jyUekL37PMwap
 

Don T

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But the 43mm forks will flex like mad, when pushed.
You say that based on what..?
I have ridden the T7 and didn't notice any flex in the forks - and I still haven't read a review of the bike where it was an issue.

Compared to the AT the T7 feels significantly smaller, lighter and more nimble - I would never buy the T7 for 2-up riding though.
 

greg the pole

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You say that based on what..?
I have ridden the T7 and didn't notice any flex in the forks - and I still haven't read a review of the bike where it was an issue.

Compared to the AT the T7 feels significantly smaller, lighter and more nimble - I would never buy the T7 for 2-up riding though.
Ridden at speed...they might work...one way to find out.

Based on my 45mm forks on the AT.
Having gone to the 48mm ohlins there's zero flex now.

AT is midway between t7 and st12. Not comparing the two.
Suspension spec is ok.
It will work great day to day.
 

Bart

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I recently had the opportunity to sit on a T7 and was disappointed that the seat is so high, yes, I know there is a lowering kit but then you lose ground clearance. It seems crazy to me that Honda made the AT ( bigger bike) with a lowish seat but Yamaha did not with a smaller bike. They could have made the frame a bit lower and offered two seats to cater for a wider market.
 

greg the pole

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I recently had the opportunity to sit on a T7 and was disappointed that the seat is so high, yes, I know there is a lowering kit but then you lose ground clearance. It seems crazy to me that Honda made the AT ( bigger bike) with a lowish seat but Yamaha did not with a smaller bike. They could have made the frame a bit lower and offered two seats to cater for a wider market.
although the AT seems tall, the OEM seat in low position caters to shorter riders. The T7 will have the limits of the high sub frame, and skew towards off road work.
 

Bart

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The Royal Enfield Himalayan has virtually the same suspension travel, only 19mm less ground clearance but a 79mm lower seat !!!! thus opening up this bike to a wider range of riders.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Ridden at speed...they might work...one way to find out.

Based on my 45mm forks on the AT.
Having gone to the 48mm ohlins there's zero flex now.

AT is midway between t7 and st12. Not comparing the two.
Suspension spec is ok.
It will work great day to day.
Greg most of us mortal humans are not going to push the AT far enough to notice the difference between 45mm and 48mm forks. I could jump from my Beta with 45mm Marzocchi forks and my KTM300 with 48mm WP forks with zero noticeability in flex. Even slamming through whooped out sections.

Nothing but a simple re-valve and spring rate change is needed on the T7 for more than adequate performance. And make no mistake, the T7 is another heavy bike that requires respect when ridden off road. It's not a plated dirt bike.
 

greg the pole

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Greg most of us mortal humans are not going to push the AT far enough to notice the difference between 45mm and 48mm forks. I could jump from my Beta with 45mm Marzocchi forks and my KTM300 with 48mm WP forks with zero noticeability in flex. Even slamming through whooped out sections.

Nothing but a simple re-valve and spring rate change is needed on the T7 for more than adequate performance. And make no mistake, the T7 is another heavy bike that requires respect when ridden off road. It's not a plated dirt bike.
trust me, you can notice on the AT.
Flex is a non issue on dirt bikes. Key item here is yes, they are put through the ringer, take bigger hits etc..yet carry less than half the weight with bigger forks that they put on big bikes. The Oh's have better valving, hold a line better on the shitty surfaces.
Too bad the japanese manufacturers don't take a page out of KTMs book.
By offering the vanilla model (790), the spicy model (790R), and the insane asylum special (790R ralley).
After spending a fortune on aftermarket suspension, I'd pay more for them to provide the better suspenders.

Pretty sure all the big Betas (except the xtrainer run 45mm) from about 2015 and on.
Ditto for KTM from 2008 and on.
My 2014 KTM XC300, Had revalved 4cs forks. Riding my bike back to back with a friends 2016 TE300 with stock 4cs valving, was noticeable again.
The re-worked 4cs felt well oiled, where as stock felt like it was suspended on 2 by 4s.
My 2018 300RR is stupid compliant. The only time it was like a fish out of water, is when I had to ride the MX track without setting up my suspension to suit.
I hope you're right on the revalve, but the 43mm and the intended purpose the T7 is billed to be put through is a sell out, on Yamaha accounting department part.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Well Greg, I do have to agree whole heartedly that the Japanese have to get on board with better suspended bikes. I almost wanted to get a 1090 or 1190 when shopping for my Super Tenere. But holy crap those open class KTM adventure bikes are sickening. Way too much bike for me. The 790R looks like it's in a class of it's own. But again a very heavy bike for nasty terrain.

The Betas are running 48mm Sachs forks these days. Mine was the last year of the 45mm Marzocchi's.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Glad I don't know how to ride very well....and, am completely satisfied with my crappy Tenere factory suspension hauling my fat ass around. :D If I knew how to ride, I might have to spend a s**t ton of money on my bike.
That is one of the reasons I got the Super Tenere. I had to be honest with myself what the purpose of this bike would be. I know there are a few chest pounders on this forum (and youtube) that ride these like dirt bikes. How about those same guys show us what happens when you wad one up at speed. If you don't get hurt then the bike sustains expensive damage. I have already learned the expensive and hard way how expensive just a simple tip over is on my beast!

I'm actually very surprised and pleased with my stock ES suspension. I'm willing to bet that the average guy who gets the 700 Tenere is going to be more than happy with the stock suspension. Hard core racers and fast off road guys are not going to even consider the Yamaha. It's all about the KTM at that point.
 

Squibb

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All this talk of KTM, but it seems the T7 is pretty competent solo, whatever you choose to throw at it ................

 

greg the pole

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Well Greg, I do have to agree whole heartedly that the Japanese have to get on board with better suspended bikes. I almost wanted to get a 1090 or 1190 when shopping for my Super Tenere. But holy crap those open class KTM adventure bikes are sickening. Way too much bike for me. The 790R looks like it's in a class of it's own. But again a very heavy bike for nasty terrain.

The Betas are running 48mm Sachs forks these days. Mine was the last year of the 45mm Marzocchi's.
The 1090 would have been good. But...lots of heat from the motor, and some dodgy reliability.
The 790 needs a few years to prove itself 1st. So far, small issues with it.
I didn't know about the 45mm on the older Betas.
AT never goes further than ATV trails.
 

greg the pole

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Glad I don't know how to ride very well....and, am completely satisfied with my crappy Tenere factory suspension hauling my fat ass around. :D If I knew how to ride, I might have to spend a s**t ton of money on my bike.
you're missing my point. Nothing wrong with the Tenere suspension.
I ended up revalving my front, and my rear preload collar started leaking. at 10 or 15k km. Good reason to get a new aftermarket shock. Money well spent.
A new bike is not meant to tick all the boxes for everone.
I'm an average rider off road. I ride with slow guys, and I ride with fast guys.

The Japanese bikes are very good. But suspension is behind the euros.
Offer two versions.
Hell..it took them years to cotton on to put on adjustable/re-workable forks on the FZ/MT-09s TRACERS. A fantastic bike let down by the accountants that signed off on the work order.
They do offer an Ohlins rear on the hotter MT-09 now in days.
 
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ballisticexchris

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And to help you decide. It's no secret that the KTM is going to be way ahead of the Yamaha in every performance segment. OTOH, there are not many guys who are going to ride above the ability of either machine.

 

Don T

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I have ridden both machines (not Adventure R yet) and agree with most they say.
No doubt the KTM's are more premium products in most regards (except reliability), but personally I prefer the engine characteristic of the T7.

One thing I don't agree with is their evaluation of the suspension setup on the T7. I liked it A LOT.
But then, I'm not an aggressive rider off road as I mostly ride off road when traveling where it's more important to get where I want to go (and get both me and the machine back home in one piece) than getting an adrenaline rush - and I only weigh 180 lbs...
 

jeckyll

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I have ridden both machines (not Adventure R yet) and agree with most they say.
No doubt the KTM's are more premium products in most regards (except reliability), but personally I prefer the engine characteristic of the T7.

One thing I don't agree with is their evaluation of the suspension setup on the T7. I liked it A LOT.
But then, I'm not an aggressive rider off road as I mostly ride off road when traveling where it's more important to get where I want to go (and get both me and the machine back home in one piece) than getting an adrenaline rush - and I only weigh 180 lbs...
Great to hear from someone that has ridden both. Suspension is something that needs to be dealt with whenever your outside of the designed specs and is one of the things I fully expect to require setup for the specific rider weight, desired riding, skillset and preferences.

Difficult to find one size fits all.
 
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