Is the 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700 the best adventure bike ever? It could be. It could well be. There’s a reason this bike became the poster child for middleweight adventure bikes not long after it hit showroom floors in 2020.
It wasn’t because it was the fastest or flashiest. It was because it just bloody worked, and it has kept on working, both metaphorically and mechanically. The T7, as it’s affectionately known wasn’t, and isn’t, trying to reinvent the genre.
It just nailed the formula: simple, capable, and tough as nails. And now Yamaha has given the T7 its most comprehensive update yet, addressing the handful of weak points and sharpening the whole package without overcooking it.
They haven’t broken what made the bike special in the first place. Instead, they’ve done their homework, and listened to T7 owners, delivering changes in the areas a lot of them asked for.
The update isn’t just a bunch of tweaks aimed at making production easier and cheaper for Yamaha either. For 2025, there have been more than a hundred changes; none are groundbreaking, but collectively they are noticeable and beneficial additions.
The Japanese bike maker has introduced the updates it pumped into its road-going MT-07 naked machine, so the T7 now sports YCC-T system (Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle). This basically means the T7 is now equipped with a ride-by-wire throttle.
That marks the arrival of selectable ride modes and traction control. In the case of the former, there are two – Sport and Explorer – with the latter offering a more progressive, smoother throttle response.
The traction control, which features two levels of intervention, can be switched off if you so desire. The ABS has also been revised, now offering three settings: fully on, rear off, or fully disabled front and back.
An ABS/TCS button sits to the left of the new 6.3-inch TFT dash and allows you to quickly disable ABS. Yamaha has also shortened the throttle body’s intake to help boost low-end torque and revised the gearbox internals for smoother operation.
First through third gears now feature six engagement dogs (up from five), and fourth through sixth have revised dog angles to reduce lash when rolling on and off the throttle. The clutch actuation point has been moved forward by 35-degrees.
In another improvement, the clutch cover itself has been reshaped to prevent interference with your right leg. The suspension and chassis have also received a comprehensive overhaul.
The 43mm KYB fork is now fully adjustable for preload, compression, and rebound damping, and mounts in new triple clamps; a forged aluminium lower and cast upper. The rear shock benefits from a new linkage design and revised damping settings.
It too scores a remote preload adjuster for easier tuning. Suspension travel remains unchanged at 210mm front and 200mm rear, but the linkage offers a more progressive stroke, and the new design sits higher off the ground for better clearance.
Yamaha has also revised the bike’s weight distribution by positioning the fuel tank lower and slightly forward. This change is aimed at improving mass centralisation and overall handling.
The steel double-cradle frame remains but has been strengthened at the luggage mount points, while the side stand switch has been relocated for better protection. The exhaust bracket has also been reinforced.
Ergonomically, the 2025 model swaps the previous two-piece seat for a new rally-style one-piece unit. Seat height remains at 875 mm. The foot pegs are larger, now 10mm wider, and are now the same as those fitted to the World Raid model.
The handguards are updated and now colour-matched to the bodywork. The headlight has been redesigned as well, now featuring four stacked LED projectors mounted in a Y-shaped aluminium structure, while retaining the rally-style front end that defines the model.
Up front, the new full-colour TFT dash replaces the old 5.0-inch LCD unit, and riders can now choose between two display themes (which are matched to the ride modes). Menu navigation is handled by a new five-way joystick on the left switch block.
This replaces the old and rather shit scroll wheel. Smartphone connectivity is standard, offering features like turn-by-turn navigation, call and message notifications, and music information on the TFT dash.
A USB-C charging port has been added, and the turn indicators are now self-cancelling and include a three-flash lane-change function. There’s plenty more too, but these are the core changes that are going to have an impact on your life.
Without doubt, the single biggest improvements in my book are the suspension and the lowered centre of gravity. Both have made a massive difference to how the Ténéré 700 performs, but none more so than the suspension.
As much as yours truly loved the previous-gen T7, I accepted the fact that if I purchased one, I was going to have to throw some money at it, just to get the suspension working properly.
Yamaha proved that they could bring out a Ténéré 700 with good legs when they released the World Raid, which despite its extra weight-bearing responsibilities was a marked improvement over the stocker.
Where the previous generation ran out of suspension quickly, especially on the rear end, the 2025 is far more resistant to bottoming. But it’s not just the fact that it does a better job of keeping the bash plate off the ground.
It soaks up smaller hits in a far more civilised manner and there’s no deflection off sharper-edged obstacles. We climbed several ugly hills more closely resembling vertical rock gardens than trails, and the new model was seriously impressive.
While this writer did a lot of trail riding back in the day, I’m mainly an adventure guy these days, and my job sees me mostly riding dirt-road type stuff, so the conditions Yamaha presented us with took me out of my comfort zone.
I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The T7’s suspension over ultra-rough, rocky terrain was nothing short of confidence-inspiring, and we didn’t have a single sketchy moment through the whole two-day ride program.
Some of the terrain we rode was pretty bloody ugly, but with the adjustability on offer, it’s not unreasonable to think that most riders aren’t going to have to send the suspension off to a tuner until it’s time to have the fork and shock serviced.
I’m a solid lad – over six foot in the old money and 105kg – and with a bit of fiddling with the clickers, the T7 was brilliant. Despite the comprehensive list of upgrades, the core engine remains unchanged too.
It’s still the 698cc CP2 parallel twin producing 54kW at 9000rpm and 68Nm at 6500rpm. Now, there’s been some yodeling from the stands about pumping up the Ténéré 700’s power output, and I’m all for that. The thought of say, a 780cc-plus donk is a saucy one.
But that’s only if it doesn’t come with a significant weight penalty. If you want big horsepower and don’t mind some extra lard, buy a Super Ténéré. Still, the lack of cubes is only an issue with the T7 if you’re out on the highway hauling bulk luggage.
Off-road, there is no need for extra mumbo. On the highway, well, there’s plenty of folk doing big miles on DR650s and KLRs, and the T7 smokes both in the go department.
If you’re still not convinced, then hear this: what the T7 lacks in output it more than makes up for in outright reliability. Claimed wet weight is 209kg, and with a lower centre of gravity, it’s an easier bike to punt through the bush and push around the shed.
As mentioned, the brakes remain unchanged, and this is the only area we wish Yamaha would have addressed. This is not a criticism as such, because both ends do a good job of hauling you up. But the brakes, especially the front, lack the bite of others in the category.
Never is this more noticeable than when you’re barreling into a corner on a fast section of sealed curvy goodness. And when the T7 is loaded up, this exacerbates the issue. A solid set of braided lines and perhaps a pad upgrade would improve things.
It would be nice to have on-point stoppers from the factory though. The traction control system is a nice but, for me, unnecessary touch. The T7’s powerplant is so predictable and the power so linear, you’d need to be expertly ham-fisted to get into trouble.
That said, even off-road the system is pretty sweet, and I purposely left it on to see if I could get it to lose its microchipped mind when climbing some rocky ascents. To its credit, it remains composed.
You can feel the reduction in power to the back wheel, but it’s not sudden and doesn’t rob you of momentum. Of course, if you’re in the loose stuff, you’re better off turning it off, but for all but the nastiest of situations, you can comfortably leave it on.
You’ll need to dive into the menu to turn the system off initially, but once you do, it remembers your selection and will be deactivated when you kill the ABS with the dedicated button.
Our appreciation of an adventure bike that remembers your previous settings, is next level. As an overall package, there’s lots of little, smart changes, that have improved what was already one of the best adventure bikes on the market.
If Yamaha is to be believed, and anecdotally judging by how many T7s are spotted in the wild, the most popular adventure bike in the market over the last few years has just become even better.
You may not be a Yamaha fan and spew invective about their bikes being junk, but you are simply a fool yelling at clouds – the Ténéré 700 has proven to be bulletproof.
I can’t think of another multi-cylinder adventure machine capable of serious off-road duties that I’d rather take into the middle of nowhere. With all the changes Yamaha have made, that’s even more the case now.
You can find out more by visiting the Yamaha Motor Australia website, or by talking to your local dealership.
Our test bike was provided as part of the Australian media launch for the 2025 Yamaha Ténéré 700, by Yamaha Motor Australia. Images courtesy of IKapture.
