The Yamaha Tenere 700 Extreme is here for big-hitting off-road shenanigans

The Yamaha Tenere 700 Extreme is Yamaha’s latest iteration of its flagship adventure bike, and the Japanese marque’s latest attempt to keep the Tenere at the forefront of the middleweight adventure class.

Initially launched in 2019, the 690cc CP2-powered Yamaha Tenere 700 has been evolved into more off-road focused variants three times already, with the Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid, Rally Edition, and World Rally. The Extreme might not have such a competition-inspired name, but its off-road credentials have still been the focus of the engineers in Iwata, and its target market is “riders with motocross or enduro experience who want added performance for the most challenging off-road terrain,” Yamaha says.

The seat height, for example, is raised to a colossal 910mm, which is 20mm higher than the World Raid that we rode back in 2021. 

That World Raid Edition saw the wheel travel increased from 220mm at the front and 230mm at the rear, and that remains the case on the Extreme, whose fully adjustable suspension comes from KYB at both ends: a 43mm Kashima coated fork, and a piggyback rear monoshock.

Of course, the bike rolls on a 21-inch front wheel and 18-inch rear wheel, but the ground clearance has been increased over previous editions of the Tenere 700 to now 260mm.

Previous editions of the Tenere 700 - specifically the World Raid and World Rally editions - have made use of an increased tank size, compared to the standard bike and Rally Edition, of 23 litres. The new Extreme variant, however, reverts to the smaller 16-litre tank. That does help to keep its wet weight down a little, though, at 203kg compared to the 220kg of the World Raid and World Rally.

Many of the other features on the Tenere 700 Extreme have regarded ergonomics and visuals. For example, the footrests have a 35 per cent larger surface area than the standard Tenere 700, while the front mudguard is raised and colour-matched to the bike’s ‘Icon Blue’ paint scheme, and the spoked wheels have been gold-anodised.

The bike also comes with an aluminium mesh radiator protector, a chain guide, five-inch TFT display with a ‘roadbook’ mode, and a left-side switch cluster with trip switch. 

Yamaha Tenere 700 Extreme key features

• Fully adjustable 43mm KYB Kashima coated front forks, 230mm wheel travel (20mm more than Ténéré 700)
• Fully adjustable KYB piggyback rear shock absorber, 220mm wheel travel (20mm more than Ténéré 700)
• 260mm ground clearance (20mm more than Ténéré 700)
• 3-theme connected 5-inch vertical TFT meter with 'Rally Raid' roadbook-style screen option
• Left side switch cluster with trip switch
• Lightweight high-grip titanium footrests with 35 per cent greater surface area
• Flat one-piece seat with 20mm additional padding giving higher 910mm seat height
• High level colour matched front fender
• Aluminium mesh radiator protector 
• Chain guide

The 2024 Yamaha Tenere 700 will be marketed across Europe in 2024, including in the UK, where it will be priced at £10,900.