NEW TOY FOR THE TRAGICS

All-terrain riders have been waiting for this bike since news of its production became public in 2017… It’s been a long wait. In that time, there have been new (or upgraded) 21in wheel bikes from KTM, BMW and Triumph. You could think Yamaha has missed the boat, and the bike currently being delivered is dated. So has it gone stale while in transit to dealerships?

Before I answer that, I think it’s worth touching on Yamaha’s philosophy with the Ténéré name. It’s always been less about pointy-edge performance and more about endurance; the production bikes are more Paris to Vladivostok than Paris to Dakar. Endurance is about reliability, comfort and enough performance to do the job — qualities the Ténérés have always had in abundance.

I can attest to this as I owned a Ténéré 660 for years. Yes, it was slow, but it went anywhere you’d expect to get a touring motorcycle. It was crash resistant, “all day” comfortable, and as reliable as a 1960s Sidchrome spanner. The two-wheel equivalent of an old Toyota Hilux. During my ownership all the forums were banging on about how the TDM 850 engine would be a perfect upgrade (and effectively bring back the XTZ750