By Raymond Heron
It’s no secret that Yamaha’s latest adventure offering, the Tenere 700 is a popular motorcycle. The "baby Ténéré" is the latest in a series of dual-sport Yamaha motorcycles named after the Ténéré desert stage of the Dakar Rally in the Sahara.
The successor to Yamaha's XT660Z Ténéré was first announced as the T7 concept at the 2016 EICMA Show, with a then anticipated product launch in 2018. A refined concept was publicised a year later with the T7 World Raid.
Yamaha announced that delivery of bikes would begin in Europe in July 2019, with the USA having to wait until the following year due to emissions and other regulatory delays. In January this year, we saw the first T7 units land on NZ shores, only to be put on lockdown like much of the rest of the world from March due to COVID-19.
The Tenere 700 is based around Yamaha's liquid-cooled 4-stroke 8-valve DOHC engine which also features a cross-plane crankshaft. The engine is effectively lifted directly from the MT-07 and Tracer 700 sport-touring bikes.
While the engine has been repurposed, the frame is all-new, constructed of Tubular steel and finely tuned to deliver what is widely reported to be one of the best rides in the category.
By all accounts – including Mat's – it’s a beautiful package to ride, but it may be a long summer for would-be owners of the T7 as Yamaha NZ has run out of stock.
Figures to the end of August 2020 have somewhere in the vicinity of 150 Tenere 700s sold, and at the time of writing, liberal estimates put available numbers at around 15 demo bikes and possibly as few as 25 unregistered bikes sitting in showrooms and warehouses across the country.
Further to this, word on the street is Yamaha NZ doesn’t have another shipment until April 2021 at the earliest.
Talking to those on the coalface, anecdotal evidence suggests new and used motorcycle sales are on record highs and speculation is that because us Kiwis are confined to our shores, money that would usually be spent on overseas travel is instead being spent on toys that can be enjoyed at home. In other words, “I’m going to buy that motorcycle I’ve had my eye on because life is short and I have money burning a hole in my pocket.”
So if you have been thinking about purchasing the Tenere 700, you may want to get cracking, as it seems time is running out if you want to enjoy it over the coming summer months.
Where Are NZ's Unsold Yamaha Tenere 700s?
Mach 1 Yamaha Taranaki 1 demo 0 stock
Blackwood Yamaha Cambridge 1 demo 1 stock
MCR Dunedin 1 demo 5 stock
Maidstone Yamaha Wellington 1 demo 2 stock
Bayride Tauranga 0 demo 0 stock
Yamaha Whangarei 1 demo 0 stock
Cyclespot Auckland 0 demo 0 stock
Trevor Pierce Christchurch 1 demo 8 stock
Paragon Motorcycles Whanganui 2 demo 0 stock
Hewlett Motorcycles Dannevirke 0 demo 0 stock
Bayley Motorcycles Taranaki 0 demo 0 stock
Motoland Napier 1 demo 1 stock