January 19, 2023
The middleweight adventure motorcycle market has been increasing in popularity over the last few years, and one of the most popular motorcycles in that segment is the Yamaha Tenere 700. Countless reviewers rave about the great handling, comfort, simplicity, reliability, and low cost. So, at the end of 2022, I sold my 2015 BMW R1200GSA and bought a brand new 2022 T7.
Why did I buy it?
BMW makes a great motorcycle. Over the past several years, I have owned a 2008 BMW R1200GS, a 2011 R1200GSA and a 2015 R1200GSA. These have been some of my favorite motorcycles. They have great power and performance, and are comfortable on long road trips. As I have gotten more into adventure riding, I wanted a bike that was easier to handle in more technical offroad terrain, but could still be ridden longer distances on pavement. I didn’t feel like I needed 100+ horsepower and the ability to strap on half of my household possessions when I decided to go on an adventure ride.
I also briefly owned a 2015 KTM 1190 Adventure and a 2009 Kawasaki Versys 650. The KTM was fun to ride, but more power than I needed. That engine just wanted to go! I really enjoyed the simplicity of the Versys, but its offroad handling wasn’t the greatest.
How many ride modes do I really need? Normal, Dyna, Rain, Enduro, Enduro Pro, Traction Control, no Traction Control… I hate turning up a steep washboard gravel road only to have the bike feel like it’s going to stall halfway up because I forgot to turn off the traction control. Do I really need electronic suspension adjustment… one up, two up, one up with luggage, two up with luggage… Do I really need computers on every part of the bike with readouts on the digital display, including tire pressure sensors that never seem to work, but only distract me with flashing warning lights even when the tires have plenty of air?
The T7 lacks all of this complexity. It has a single button for ABS off/on. I am looking forward to that. I am also looking forward to less weight and easier handling. For the average ride do I really need 8 gallons of gas? I look forward to jumping on the bike and riding without having to mess with a bunch of settings.
The purchase process
Once I decided to buy a Tenere 700, all I had to do was find someone selling one. This was not an easy thing to do at the end of 2022. Due to the bike’s popularity and limited supply, there just weren’t many to be had. I found a few 2020s and 2021s on Craiglist, but sellers were asking just as much as a new one, even with 15,000 to 30,000 miles on them. My usual M.O. is to find a slightly used bike with several upgrades already made and buy it at a discount. I have only owned a few new motorcycles in my riding career, and generally have regretted paying so much for them after I customize them myself and ride them for a while. Having just sold my BMW for substantially more than the cost of a new T7, I decided I would splurge on a new on and spend the extra money to set it up just how I wanted it.
I called a few local Colorado dealers. No one had a T7 in stock. I looked on the Yamaha website. Even the dealers it said had one or two did not have any. Salespeople pretty much laughed when I called asking if they had one. Then I got lucky. I called a dealer that had just received one for a customer who had pre-ordered it. They had just gotten off the phone with that customer and he had backed out of the deal, so I told them I would take it. It must have been my destiny to own that motorcycle! I gave the salesperson my credit card over the phone for a deposit and told him I would be up the next day to pick it up.
First Impressions
So far, I have only logged a little over 100 miles on the bike. It feels light and nimble, with plenty of power riding around town and on the highways. It corners nicely. The seat is comfortable, and feels like a good compromise between a dirt bike seat and street bike seat. The clutch feels pretty stiff, with a very narrow slip zone. The brakes seem adequate. It is comfortable riding in a standing position, but the pegs are a little narrow for long times standing, and the rubber inserts will definitely have to go. Heated grips also come to mind as one of my first upgrades needed.
Working on the bike
So, in the last few weeks I have ordered and installed several parts for the bike. I will write a separate post on that once I get it all done. Generally, the bike has been very easy to work on. An 8mm, 10mm and 12mm socket, along with a couple hex keys and torx bits have been all the tools I needed for most of the work I have done. Yamaha was even nice enough to pre-wire some plugs for heated grips and auxiliary lighting. Adding crash bars, a center stand and chain guard were easy with threaded holes already in place. I decided to spend a little more money on the suspension and have it professionally re-sprung and re-valved.
Summary
So right now, that’s where I stand. Once I get the suspension components back, I can finish putting the bike together and get it back on the road. My goal is to get some more miles on it so I can complete the first oil change before trailering down to the border for 2 weeks of riding in February. I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say about the bike after that!
Anyway, thanks for reading this far. Let me know what you think about the T7, middleweight adventure bikes, or anything else after reading this.