Yamaha Ténéré World Raid brings more range, extra suspension travel, and more gadgets

Yamaha have unveiled a long distance, off-road adventure focused version of their Ténéré 700, which joins the BMW F850GSA in the land of the supertankers.

Until now, if you wanted a really long range middleweight you had to go for the BMW, or opt for something with slightly less fuel capacity such as the KTM 890 Adventure R, both of which are considerably more electronically bedecked.

Now Yamaha are hoping those who want to go a long way without too much of a fuss will be tempted by this new big-tanked World Raid edition.

Related articles on MCN

• 2019-on Yamaha Ténéré 700 review
• Yamaha Ténéré 700 long-term test
• Metzeler 2022 adventure bike tyre updates

The biggest change comes in the bodywork and running gear, with most focus on the new tanks. Gone is the previous single 16-litre tank in favour of dual side-mounted items, which boost overall capacity to 23 litres.

Terrain and riding style dependent, a fuel range of around 300 miles isn’t inconceivable. Despite the additional weight, Yamaha say weight distribution and centre of gravity remain the same, while the new shape helps riders move around.

The additional range will be a welcome change for many riders – we’ve had the fuel light on in as light as 120 miles on our test bikes – although the additional weight might not please everyone.

The other big chassis change comes in the suspension, with new forks and a new piggyback shock both increasing suspension travel by 20mm.

Up front, the 43mm KYBs are adjustable for preload, rebound and compression damping while a new coating is claimed to reduce internal friction.

At the rear a revised linkage along with that new piggyback shock (also fully adjustable) should provide a more progressive feel to the rear wheel travel, while a new rubber bump stop ought to reduce jarring if you bottom it out.

For a little more front wheel stability, Yamaha have kitted the new machine with an Öhlins steering damper, with a full 18 clicks of adjustment.

Despite it being known as a back-to-basics, pure adventure bike, Yamaha have boosted the electronics on the new World Raid model. For a start the bike now has a 5in colour TFT dash, which can connect to a smartphone for notifications, although it stops short of music or navigation control.

The Raid also brings a new three-mode ABS set up, cycling through On, Rear Wheel Off and Fully Off, which you can choose based on your skill and the terrain.

Elsewhere, more changes have been made to make the Raid not only a more comfortable place to be for the long haul but also more resistant to off-road antics including a large windscreen, comfier seat, side wind deflectors, large footrests, improve radiator grille, better engine guard and a new airbox that is claimed to work better than before in dusty conditions. So what’s the price for all the improvement?

The new model will cost £11,600 – which is £1900 more than the stocker, and feels expensive for a 72bhp adventure bike. An upspecced F850GS is about £100 more and comes with a lot more gadgetry and an extra 20 horses on tap, albeit with an extra 10kg of mass. Nonetheless, the World Raid may prove to be the rugged globe-trotter many desire.

Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid facts:

• 689cc parallel twin
• 72.4bhp @ 9000rpm
• 890mm seat height
• 220kg (kerb)
• £11,600

---

Revealed: Production Yamaha Ténéré 700 Raid inbound

First published 27 January 2022 by Jordan Gibbons

New patent images have confirmed that the Ténéré 700 Raid Prototype that Yamaha revealed at the EICMA show in Milan last November is headed for production.

Somewhat overshadowed at the time by other new launches and bedecked with aftermarket race-spec parts, it left questions over whether it previewed a production model or was simply an illustration as to the competition potential of the latest Ténéré.

Now those lingering doubts have been answered: the Ténéré 700 Raid will be a showroom model, sitting alongside the normal Ténéré just as the BMW F850 GS Adventure is sold as an alternative to the base GS.

Related articles on MCN

• 2019-on Yamaha Ténéré 700 bike review
• Yamaha Ténéré 700 long-term test
• Metzeler 2022 adventure bike tyre updates

New patents from Yamaha, filed alongside all the firm’s other new-for-2022 models, show what the production-spec Ténéré Raid will look like, stripping away the prototype’s competition garb to put the focus instead on new bodywork built around a massively increased fuel capacity.

The stock Ténéré 700 currently brims at 16 litres of fuel, giving a range of under 200 miles in normal use despite impressive economy.

The Raid, in contrast, sports a vast new tank, complete with twin filler caps, and even though it foregoes the additional seat-mounted reserve tank that featured on last year’s Raid Prototype it looks to have a capacity to rival the BMW F850 GS Adventure’s 23 litres, pushing the fuel range much nearer to the 300-mile mark.

We’re yet to see any official specifications for the Ténéré 700 Raid but the production bike doesn’t have the same competition focus of the show version. The chassis is from the stock Ténéré 700, with identical forks, brakes and wheels.

Close inspection reveals a new remote reservoir rear shock, and there’s a steering damper atop that new tank that represents an upgrade over the base model, but those appear to be the extent of the gains.

The engine is also carried over, the unchanged exhaust suggesting no increase in its peak power of 72bhp.

Visually, the new tank leads to wholesale changes to the bodywork. As well as being far wider, the sides extend much further down than before, nearly meeting a new bash plate under the engine that’s far more refined looking than last year’s show version. The protection extends to crash bungs built into the sides and bolted to the frame.

The headlight is carried over but sits beneath a taller screen and between wider, transparent wind deflectors. Further back, the seat extends further up the back of the tank while the foot pegs are wider, serrated off-road designs. The prototype’s motocross-style front mudguard is gone, though.

On board, the instruments appear to be new, with a large TFT screen, while the bar controls are from the latest MT-10 with cruise control switches on the left and a menu thumbwheel on the right, confirming that the Raid has more tech toys than the base Ténéré.

The timing of the patent’s publication, alongside the rest of Yamaha’s 2022 models, suggests we may not have long to wait to see the final version in dealers.

---

Yamaha Ténéré 700 Raid Prototype unveiled

First published 26 November 2021 by Jordan Gibbons

Yamaha have unveiled a radical off-road focused concept based on the popular Ténéré 700 that they say “is just the beginning”. 

The Ténéré 700 has been an incredibly successful bike for Yamaha thanks to its combination of engaging engine, decent spec and competitive price. Since it was unveiled some riders have taken the Ténéré 700 to places we doubt Yamaha would have ever envisaged, including Pol Tarrés entry into the notoriously difficult off-road event Red Bull Romaniacs.

 Inspired by Tarrés and others escapades, Yamaha have built a more extreme and off-road focused concept that’s been designed to thrive in the place that gave the bike its name.

 

Arguably the biggest gains have come in the suspension department, with both front and rear stock items replaced with units from Kayaba. Not only do these bring increased adjustability they also bring 60mm extra suspension travel at either end, bumping it up to 270mm front and 260mm rear. The forks and shock now sit in custom made yokes and linkage respectively.

To cope with the harsh realities of the desert Yamaha have also done some work to the engine including a new airbox and filter, oversized radiator with twin fans and added an oil cooler.

Internally there’s a Rekluse heavy duty clutch sat behind a two-piece clutch over while the water pump also gets a new cover. The engine in the prototype is powered by a GYTR ECU and naturally, it’s got a full titanium Akrapovic pipe.

The wheels have also not escaped the off-road treatment including a switch to a single disc up front, complimented with a large disc at the rear along with racing pads. 

The master cylinders have been switched out, as have the hoses, while the rear rim is now skinnier to fit the standard 140/80 rally rubber. The gearing has been lowered too with a 48-tooth rear sprocket.

For the fully rally raid look the bike has also got two fuel tanks front and rear, a rally screen, carbon fibre blash plate, rally seat, a Scotts steering damper and a full complement of navigation gear from RNS.

Yamaha say that the bike will soon be ‘racing for the next horizon’ so we think we’re safe to assume that we’ll see this bike appearing in some rallies in 2022. As to whether there’s a production bike to come from this prototype – only time will tell.