Yamaha Europe Unveils Two New Ténéré 700 Variants

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Yamaha just unveiled the Ténéré 700 Extreme Edition for intense dirt performance along with the Explore Edition for serious touring. (Yamaha/)

It’s been four years since Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 hit the market and ushered in a new benchmark for off-road ability in midsized adventure bikes, and now two additional models have been revealed in Europe—meaning there’s no new fewer than five versions of the bike on the market over there.

Across the Atlantic, the Ténéré 700 range already includes the standard version, the tougher-looking Ténéré 700 Rally Edition, and the long-range, high-riding Ténéré 700 World Raid. Now those bikes are joined by the Ténéré 700 Extreme Edition and the Ténéré 700 Explore Edition, each taking the model in a different direction.

More suspension travel with full adjustability, a slimmer fuel tank, rally seat, and a high front fender set the Extreme Edition apart from other Ténéré 700 models. (Yamaha/)

The Ténéré 700 Extreme Edition, as the name suggests, ups the ante in terms of the Ténéré's off-road ability by adding the suspension from the World Raid version to the slimmer, lighter, smaller-tanked shape of the standard model. The fully adjustable KYB fork and matching rear shock each have 20mm (0.8 inch) more travel than the stock bike, taking the front to 230mm (9 inches) and the rear to 220mm (8.7 inches). Ground clearance increases by the same margin, up from 240mm (9.4 inches) to 260mm (10.2 inches).

A tall enduro fender gives the Ténéré 700 Extreme Edition a more aggressive look. (Yamaha/)

The Extreme Edition also gets titanium footpegs with 35 percent more surface area than the stock pegs, aluminum radiator guards, an enduro front fender, and a rally seat with an extra 20mm of padding (0.8 inch), bringing the total seat height up to 910mm (35.8 inches).

The 2023 Yamaha Ténéré 700 Explore Edition sits lower and is more suited to touring. (Yamaha/)

With the Ténéré 700 Explore Edition, Yamaha takes the bike in the other direction, dropping the suspension and focusing on its role as an adventure-tourer rather than an off-roader. To that end, it gets a taller, broader windshield with a total area 50 percent larger than the standard design, plus Yamaha’s quickshifter as standard, along with mounting brackets for saddlebags. Either aluminum hard cases or soft bags can be chosen as extra-cost options.

Yamaha includes a quickshifter as standard on the Explore Edition. (Yamaha/)
A taller windscreen increases the Ténéré 700 Explore Edition’s wind protection. (Yamaha/)

While the Explore Edition’s suspension is still from KYB, like the other versions of the bike, its travel is reduced by 20mm (0.8 inch) at both ends compared to the standard Ténéré 700, which means it’s 40mm (1.6 inches) less than the Extreme Edition or World Raid versions. The change drops the ground clearance by 15mm (0.6 inch), and brings the seat height down by the same amount, to 860mm (33.9 inches).

We’ve reached out to Yamaha to see if these models will be offered in the USA, stay tuned for updates. (Yamaha/)

In Europe, the Ténéré 700 Extreme Edition and Explore Edition hit dealers in April, with the Extreme Edition costing 900 euros (about $950) more than the base Ténéré 700 and the Explore Edition coming in at 800 euros (around $850) more than the base machine. Initially, the bikes are going on sale in France, where the Ténéré 700 is manufactured, as well as Italy and Germany. There’s no word yet on whether the models will be exported to the USA.

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