Excessive rear brake pedal travel on the Ténéré 700 is universally recognized as an issue. I questioned if it was broken the first time I pressed it when I picked up the Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike. Most owners complain that they have to either bend their right ankle to an extreme position or hang their boot excessively over the edge of the footpeg to get maximum rear braking. Yet even maximum rear braking feels mushy and vague. Camel ADV Products spent over a year creating a $149 pedal replacement kit that reduces travel by half while adding definition and feel to the rear brake.
I had an additional rear brake issue on the Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike. For an unknown reason, I lost all rear brake. I was riding with my right boot on my highway peg for an hour, only to find the rear brake was lost to overheating. Camel ADV, having a vast pool of satisfied customers as resources, determined that some Ténéré 700 rear brake pedals don’t fully retract after activation. The pads stay in contact with the rotor, causing excessive wear and sometimes overheating.
Camel ADV’s The Fix brake assembly has a factory-greased brass bushing pivot and a stronger return spring. The new powdercoated pedal won’t put any pressure on the caliper unless your foot directs it.
The Fix kit comes complete, with attention to detail. The thicker pedal is designed to have less flex and a straighter contour than the OEM pedal. The added pedal length behind the pivot point creates the mechanical advantage that reduces the pedal travel and increases the braking feel. It is evident when you compare the OEM clevis for actuating the master cylinder pushrod and The Fix’s offset clevis.
Every Camel ADV accessory I have installed on the Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike has been an easy, straightforward project—no magical mechanic hands needed. Camel ADV owner Cory Hanson creates easy-to-follow instruction videos. I usually have the video running on my mobile and pause it as needed during the installation. There are no mystery parts, and Hanson zooms in to show us the little pieces.
In the case of The Fix for the Yamaha Ténéré 700, I simply took out the prescribed bolts using a borrowed impact driver, attached the new brake assembly to its plate, and reassembled it using a threadlocker. In my brake pedal installation, the rear brake light activation switch, which is the last step, didn’t require adjustment after aligning the new pedal with the Ténéré’s aftermarket footpeg.
You know you have success even before test riding—you can feel the shorter travel with your hand, even before you sit on your bike. When pressing on the pedal with your hand, you will notice the sharp teeth of the replaceable steel brake lever tip. However, The Fix’s tip does not have the stock lever’s spring-loaded tip feature—however, that is in the works.
Camel ADV decided to get The Fix on Ténéré 700 owners’ bikes as soon as possible, and then work on the upgrades as time permits. The steel tip will crush to absorb impact, so you can still ride out of the wilderness with rear brake access.
I am fortunate to have a gravel and grass side street near me that is perfect for brake testing. I just had a brand-new OEM rotor, caliper, pads, and brake fluid installed before changing to the Camel ADV brake pedal replacement kit, so I started factory fresh.
Out in the street, I accelerated and then pressed the brake pedal to come to a complete stop. What struck me most was that it felt like it should feel when you press the rear brake pedal on a modern motorcycle. There is little pedal deflection and a progressive application of braking. The rear stopping power on the Ténéré 700 still isn’t anything to write home about now, but it works as it should.
I arrived at a gravel road and stopped to turn off the ABS. I accelerated to 30 mph, then pressed the pedal to slow, and I did slow. The braking was commensurate with my pressure. I pushed harder to lock up the rear knobby, and knew by the pedal feel that the skid was happening. I accelerated again to grass and did the same tests with the same results. The fix is in. You can now press on the rear brake and know what to expect. That is what this product is all about.
Camel ADV calls this product The Fix, and it really is. Just knowing there is a greased brass bushing and a heavier spring gives me peace of mind. Pressing the brake pedal to its stop with no braking action is unsettling, even if I use the front brake for almost all my slowing and stopping. The time and energy it took to determine just the right amount of pedal leverage to improve the brake feel and travel deserves a real shout-out to the man—thank you to Cory.
Camel ADV The Fix Yamaha Ténéré 700 Rear Brake Pedal Review Photo Gallery
