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We can’t wait to get our hands on the long-teased Yamaha Ténéré.
A reasonably priced, middleweight adventure bike is something of a unicorn among motorcycles… just look at the lengths a recent Common Tread contributor went to in search of the perfect machine!
Now, Yamaha Europe has confirmed the production Ténéré 700’s arrival for September of 2019. A special pre-order system opens March 27 and runs through July. Buyers can order their Ténérés at a reduced introductory price and take delivery before the bikes reach showrooms. These machines will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Everyone else can get their Ténéré 700s in September at full retail, around $350 more.
Head over to Yamaha’s U.S. site for the Ténéré 700 and it still reads: “Available 2nd half 2020.” Bummer. Looks like Europe is getting one of the most anticipated motorcycles in recent memory a full year before we’ll see it in the United States. And with the imminent arrival of the KTM 790 Adventure and Adventure R in the very near future, the Ténéré 700 had better get moving.
Don’t count the Yamaha out, though. ADV enthusiasts will be willing to wait for it, so long as it’s worth it… and the 700’s European release means we have new information to look over. Of course, the U.S.-spec Ténéré 700 is not guaranteed to share the numbers published by Yamaha Europe, but I think they’ll be close enough to take seriously.
All the specs from Yamaha Europe can be found on their site, but I’d like to focus on two numbers I want to see. First, price. Yamaha Europe will start normal, non-presale Ténéré 700 pricing at £8,699. That’s about $9,895 Yankee dollars. These prices are basically never a direct conversion, so don’t get too excited at the idea of a sub-$10,000 Ténéré. I’d be blown away to see that. Let’s look instead at the MT-07, the streetbike that supplies the powerplant for the Ténéré. The 07 sells for €6,349 over there, and $7,599 here. Using that relationship, the €8,699 Euro Ténéré should be start at $10,450-ish in the United States. That’s still a good bit less than the $12,499 KTM 790 Adventure, or the $13,499 Adventure R. But is the performance difference worth the savings?
That’d be an easier question to answer if I had the second number I’d like to focus on: weight. Even on their European site, Yamaha has not disclosed the wet or dry weights of their new ADV machine, and that’s concerning. In this extremely competitive segment, lightness is paramount. Hopefully, Yamaha can deliver.
In fairness to Yamaha, I can’t be too upset about the decision to launch the Ténéré 700 in Europe before the United States, because this isn't a surprise. We’ve seen this same launch approach with other Yamahas in recent years, and their website has plainly stated that Americans can expect this motorcycle in mid-2020. That still stands. We reached out to Yamaha to get more details about the Ténéré 700s arrival, but they didn’t immediately return our calls.
For the forseeable future, it’ll be up to our European friends to buy and test the Ténéré for us. And who knows? If Yamaha uses the same preorder system here, the U.S. market could be placing orders for this bike in a little over a year.
