Since its 2019 launch, Yamaha has sold an incredible 70,000 Tenere 700’s in Europe, accounting for a 23% market share in the middle weight adventure bike market.

Positioned as rugged, reliable and tough, and with a wide user appeal of would be rally off road enthusiasts, globe trotters and commuters, Yamaha have a keen interest to keep appetites whet and simultaneously not try to fix something that clearly isn’t broken.

Seemingly, that is exactly what the 2025 line up is all about.

We flew to Morrocco to sample the goods.

The press launch was located close to the Atlas Mountains, providing near perfect terrain for my first ever outing on a Tenere, with hard packed desert tracks, dried up river beds and awe-inspiring views.

In essence, the 2025 Tenere 700 has been improved in 4 main areas, each with its own narrative.

1. Increased toughness and off-road ability
2. Styling and ergonomic improvements
3. EU5+ certification
4. Range refinement

In terms of toughness, essentially, there is a more robust side stand switch and the new dash has some extra reinforcements to improve vibration and crash damage. But the big difference is in the suspension set up on the base model. Criticised on previous models for a lack of control and quality, a serious improvement has been made to the fork and shock, now offering full adjustability, preload, compression and rebound damping, combined with a revised linkage.

Ergonomically, the tank has been moved forward and slightly down in order to lower the centre of gravity and make the bike feel thinner than before. Combine that with a new colour TFT dash.

Whether or not consumers care, manufacturers such as Yamaha have to pass increasingly difficult emissions tests, often meaning that it is difficult to stand still in terms of performance, never mind make improvements. The latest round is EU5+.

Yamaha’s answer was to incorporate ride by wire throttle for the first time, enabling finer mapping changes and a finer control over emissions. As a byproduct, rider modes have also been incorporated for the first time, but in line with the simplistic appeal of the bike, it’s quite simple and easy to navigate. TC on or off, 2 throttle modes, street and explore. The explore mode being very soft, suiting slippery terrain, and the street mode gives the rider full power.

As the success of Tenere ballooned, so did its range. In 2024, there seemed to be an option for every day of the week. In 2025, Yamaha have simplified things, with a standard bike on offer, plus the Rally. You can also opt for a lowered version of the standard model at the dealership which will reduce height by 20mm.

Now onto the actual test…

First remark is that the terrain chosen to ride these bikes could be described as perfect. It would appear that Yamaha know what they are doing! Beautiful hard packed desert trails, a few hill climbs, a bit of sand here and there, just the perfect amount of rocks. It definitely helped to shine the best light on the machines and make it a super enjoyable days riding.

Second comment is the overall ease of use of the bikes. Everything feels like its in the right place, nothing feels un-natural, there isn’t 300 different rider modes to go through, simply turn the bike on and go. In terms of making a bike that you can just jump on and have almost no complaints, the Tenere 700 does the trick. It goes well, handles great, it brakes well, sounds amazing and it feels right.

With only circa 70hp, while the Tenere 700 is certainly not the most powerful engine in its class, it does make up for it in its ease of use, particularly in an off-road setting. The smoothness and stall resistance on the bottom end is simply fantastic. It drives smoothly from the very bottom of the rev range, doesn’t clatter, is stall resistant, predictable and is a wonderful powerplant to use. It is also incredibly fuel efficient. In a whole day or riding, we didn’t even use 1/2 a tank. While it certainly lacks the surge of an 890 adventure or Norden 901, in an off-road setting, you’d never miss it and the attributes of the Tenere’s motor would make it the preferred motor off road. However, it does miss the excitement on the road in comparison, it doesn’t drive anywhere near as hard as the aforementioned bikes and despite the Instagram showmanship, it is desperately difficult to wheelie, requiring an absolute handful and dump of the clutch at slow speed in 2^nd gear. This latter point surprised me, having sampled the super playful MT07 and R7. Perhaps the added weight to the front end has killed the job.

If the previous Tenere was criticised for its stock suspension set up, then Yamaha seems to have done all that is required to fix it. The standard bike is now more than good enough. Great control, good feel, more than adequate for a standard bike. If I had only ridden the standard bike all day, I would have been happy. The problem is, I didn’t…

With its extra travel and suspension componentry, the Tenere 700 Rally is a definite step up in performance in my opinion. It handles everything off road better. Soaks up more bumps, jumps better, gives a better feeling of control and what is going on underneath you. Combined with the Dakar inspired colourway, better footpegs and tougher sump guard, its more than worth the additional £1,000 Yamaha are charging for it.

And its there I make my distinction between the 2 models. If you want a good bike that does everything it says it will, is super easy to use, bullet proof, remarkably fuel efficient, and is priced super competitively, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better bike than the Tenere 700. But if you want all that but with some added class and refinement, simply find another £1000 and buy the Rally. It is really a no brainer.

A full day of riding in some of the most awe inspiring scenery and near perfect terrain got me well into the adventure and Tenere dream. But, like all Knox reviews, I need to bring some balance, and like all products, the Tenere isn’t perfect.

Firstly, I think they could have been a bit bolder with the Rally model. It is so easy and such little cost difference to make the switch from standard to Rally, I think they could have made the Rally model a bit more special. Think single sided brake disc like the real Rally bikes, lithium battery, lighter exhaust, proper metal hand guards (not plastic) etc. They could have made it 6-7kg lighter with these simple upgrades, made it a bit more special and made the gap a bit bigger. I think that would have differentiated the products more and simultaneously made the Rally a better bike.

Secondly, while they talked about making the bike tougher, they come with a welded on subframe. The exhaust hanger is attached to that subframe and is easily bent. As the whole thing is connected to the main frame, a simple but awkward crash could make a repair job difficult or ultimately an insurance write off job… Frustrating that point, the GYTR Rally bike they had on display, actually had a modified and bolted on subframe, so it is clearly doable with a bit of will power.

Finally, as previously mentioned, the bike could do with being a bit more playful. Maybe some gearing changes are required to give it a bit more snap, but in its current form, it’s really difficult to get the front wheel in the air, whether that is to clear a log, a puddle, or just have some fun.

Other than those small niggles, the Tenere 700 in 2025 is fantastic. The 2025 model was about carefully refining a bike that has been hugely successful and captured massive market share. With that successfully achieved, and I’ve got every expectation that its momentum will continue!

Find out more here – https://www.yamaha-motor.eu/gb/en/mot…

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