2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 Review: 14 Adventurous Fast Facts

October 21, 2025

By any standard, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 is an adventure bike that captured the hearts and minds of a broad range of ADV enthusiasts ranging from street-bound adventure tourists who love its lightweight agility to riders as talented as hard enduro ace and rally pioneer Pol Tarrés. We had our own Ultimate Motorcycling Ténéré 700 Project Bike launched four years ago and helmed by Associate Editor Neil Wyenn, resulting in over 50 T700-related product tests. This year, we get the upgraded 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 and that means a fresh look at the already-legendary motorcycle.

The 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 gets a wide range of updates. We went over them in detail in our First Look story. Rather than completely rethinking a winning design, Yamaha nudged a variety of aspects of the Ténéré 700 around, and the collective results are impressive while keeping the price below $11k.

The CP2 parallel twin is now ride-by-wire, and that led to more sophisticated rider aids and a new rally-style vertical 6.3-inch TFT display. There are two power modes—Sport and Explore. Traction control is either on or off, while three ABS modes are available—both wheels on or off, plus front-wheel only. Delve inside, and you get the usual functions thanks to Bluetooth, the Y-Connect app, and your smartphone—phone, music, basic data acquisition, and turn-by-turn navigation.

A joystick, mode button, and home button move you through the menu. The interface is good and reasonably easy to learn. There’s a dedicated mode button, but it only highlights the option, which you change via the joystick. Annoyingly, when switching between the dirt and street, you have to make power, ABS, and TC changes individually, which intrudes on the ride and discourages making adjustments for short changes of terrain—not ideal. There are no integrated ride modes, which would adjust power, ABS, and TC together, and you can’t build a custom mode. On the upside, there are two display modes—Street and Explore—and they both look good.

Along with the new power modes, Yamaha beefed up low-rpm performance. There’s a shorter intake duct to give the engine better throttle response in the lower half of the rev range. With the two power modes, it’s difficult to compare to the previous CP2 motor. Regardless, the engine works exceptionally well, except for the odd and occasional hesitation when applying throttle at around 4000 rpm or so in the Sport mode. Although it’s difficult to invoke intentionally, the issue does rear its head occasionally. It is disconcerting when it happens, as the motor is so outstanding otherwise. Regardless, the Sport mode is excellent on the street and perfectly usable in wide-open dirt situations. However, if you require an even smoother power delivery, the Explore power mode is more forgiving when the pavement ends.

Inspired by the KYB suspension’s new settings, we put serious miles on the 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 in the dirt. The bike’s off-road credentials are a big part of its popularity. Yamaha’s focus on enhancing dirt performance with the Explore mode is bolstered by the firmer suspension, which handles small bumps and chop with plush, controlled action. Also, Yamaha used the linkage from the Euro-only World Raid model for even better performance in the rough stuff. While we didn’t perform any Tarrés magic, the tauter suspension makes the T700 even better off-road than the previous editions—high praise, indeed. The new Ténéré delivers top-notch off-road adventure bike performance.

With firmer suspension comes increased agility. Instead of your body English being absorbed by the KYBs, it goes right to the chassis. It’s easy to put the Ténéré 700 where you want it, and that’s essential to success in the dirt, regardless of the type of motorcycle. Unless you’re jumping or hitting some huge g-outs, the suspension isn’t going to use up its entire stroke—right about eight inches of wheel travel at both ends. Also, if you’re outside of the stock setting’s sweet spot, fork spring-preload is now adjustable.

Yamaha tweaked the clutch cover and actuator for more legroom, making standing more comfortable than ever. The new seat, while still high at 34.4 inches, is now one-piece and flatter with a smoother transition to the tank, improving the ergonomics further. The footpegs are wider than last year. There are rubber inserts, which I usually remove. However, they weren’t a problem in the dry, so I left them in. With a curb weight of 459 pounds with the slim 4.2-gallon tank filled, the T700 inspires confidence off-road like no other bike in its class.

With three adjustable features, you can fine-tune your off-road experience. The Ténéré 700 performs best with traction control off in the dirt, while engaging front-wheel ABS works for most scenarios and riders, and the Explore power mode simplifies throttle control. Sure, Tarrés wannabes will absolutely want Sport power and no ABS—have at it. The T700 is certainly rideable that way, though you’re just taking on a bit more work and risk than is probably necessary to get the job done. The Honda Transalp and Suzuki V-Strom 800 have outstanding Gravel modes for off-road traction control goodness, so it’s a glaring omission on the Ténéré. The Explore mode is a poor man’s off-road traction control, and not a replacement for the real thing. Off-road traction control is something we hope to see on the T700, sooner rather than later.

While you can do better off road than Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires, they aren’t bad and are a good match for the T700. The block pattern tread on the easy rolling 21-/18-inch wheelset is far better than any modified street tire, though falls short of the most aggressive ADV tires. The STRs can be spun up a bit easier than we’d like, especially when trying to make time in the dirt in the Sport mode. The tires complement the braking, as the soft engagement of the T700’s front calipers means you can leave the front ABS on in most off-road situations and give yourself a bit more room for error when getting hard on the front brake. The rear brake pedal still feels mushy, though our project bike found a solution for that.

Despite its superb off-road performance, you’re likely to spend more time on pavement, and the 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 will not disappoint. Think of the T700 as a big supermoto bike on the street. You sit high and change direction at will. Sure, the ADV tires and the off-road wheelset aren’t delivering the same performance as a pair of 17s and street tires. However, you have to start pushing impressively hard to start noticing that in the corners. The balanced suspension that works so well in the dirt also helps you enter corners predictably, though the 21-inch front wheel and Rally STRs will invoke ABS under heavy use. Again, the rear brake pedal feel isn’t as sure as we’d like, with it being more evident on the street.

Power delivery on the street is satisfying. You’ll always want to use the Sport mode on the pavement, and we didn’t find the traction control limiting. Just as the motor is fantastic in the MT-07, it makes for fun rides on the street. The six-speed transmission has just the right ratios, though a quickshifter is optional and our test bike didn’t have one [insert frowny face]. Add $200 for a feature we think should be stock.

You can tour from coast-to-coast on the Ténéré 700 or use it for daily commuting. The plastic redesign looks great—it enjoyed multiple unsolicited compliments at fuel stops—and is functional. The slimmer plastic is not just an advantage off-road, and the air management keeps the CP2 cool. Feel free to cruise at will over the speed limit, as the windblast is well-managed for riders with a typical adventure riding posture. If your torso height or riding position demands more or less protection, you’ll need an aftermarket windscreen, as the T700’s is regrettably non-adjustable. Yamaha wanted to make sure we didn’t damage the pretty bodywork, the $330 steel-tube engine guard was installed. Riders who brave the cold will want to spring for the optional, nicely fine-tunable, heated grips at $230. Oddly, Yamaha offers no luggage options beyond a $200 steel Rear Carrier.

Although many have complained about the seat on the previous-generation T700, my rear end got along great with the new saddle. If yours doesn’t like it, Yamaha offers a Comfort seat that has nearly a half-inch more padding. If you want to sit even higher, the Rally seat is another inch taller. Shorter riders can investigate the Low seat, which drops the seat height by nearly three-quarters of an inch. Another seat-height lowering strategy is a Lowering Link Kit for the shock, which cuts 0.4 inches from the height. Keep in mind that changing the seat height fundamentally alters the riding triangle of what is an excellent ergonomic balance in stock form.

The 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 updates the platform without compromising its versatility. The electronic, motor, suspension, and ergonomic changes are all winners, on and off-road. What was already a rewarding motorcycle to ride is even more capable in all conditions. We will gripe about the lack of gravel mode and Yamaha charging extra for a quickshifter, as they would make a great adventure bike even better. However, in invoking those complaints, we’re reminded just how special the T700 is and why it’s loved around the globe by adventurists.

Photography by Kelly Callan

RIDING STYLE

Helmet: Arai XD-5
Communications: Cardo Packtalk Pro
Jacket + pants: Rev’It Stratum GTX
Gloves: Tourmaster Trailbreak
Boots: Sidi Adventure 2 Gore-Tex Mid

2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 Specs

ENGINE

Type: Crossplane crankshaft parallel twin
Displacement: 689cc
Bore x stroke: 80.0 x 68.6mm
Compression ratio: 11.5:1
Fuel delivery: Ride-by-wire
Valvetrain: DOHC; 4vpc
Transmission: 6-speed w/ optional quickshifter
Clutch: Wet multidisc
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS

Frame: Double-cradle steel tube
Front suspension; travel: Fully adjustable KYB 43mm inverted fork; 8.3 inches
Rear suspension; travel; Link-assisted spring-preload and rebound-damping adjustable KYB shock; 7.9 inches
Wheels: Wire-spoke
Tires: Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR
Front tire: 90/90-21
Rear tire: 150/70-18
Front brakes: 282mm discs w/ Brembo calipers
Rear brake: 245mm disc w/ Brembo caliper
ABS: Standard (3-way adjustable)

DIMENSIONS and CAPACITIES