Yamaha is taking the long way around in unveiling what will be the company’s middleweight adventure touring machine. The Tenere 700 “World Raid Prototype” will be doing a world tour in 2018 as the specifications are finalized for the production version of the bike. We think that the sooner the better would be the best approach as several manufacturers are either upgrading their current middleweight machines (BMW and Triumph) or introducing new ones (KTM and Moto Guzzi). There are so many reasons to embrace the middleweight ADV segment – less expensive , lighter weight, smaller and more manageable machines – that another entry into the segment would be a winner. It looks like the 700 version of the Tenere will be a little more hardcore than the offerings from Suzuki and Honda in the segment with more emphasis on the off-road side of the ADV equation. The bike’s platform is based on the FZ07 / MT07 and includes the 689cc CP2 engine.
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