Adventure bikes are the default choice if you want to go anywhere without a single worry about the motorcycle. That has increased their popularity so much, though, that there are way too many different kinds of ADV. Some are thinly disguised dual-sport bikes, while others are at the opposite end of the spectrum: they can take on the racetrack.
Most fall somewhere in the middle, with some deciding to complement off-road ability with good tarmac cruising ability, and others deciding to be great tarmac tourers with some off-road ability. Yamaha has dabbled in both segments, and currently, it favors the former with the Tenere 700. In 2026, though, there is a new variant joining the party to enable more long-distance abilities.
Yamaha Has A Great Adventure Bike History
Look back through Yamaha’s history, and you’ll realize that Yamaha won the very first Dakar Rally with the XT500. Look closer, and you’ll notice that it was an overall win, and it included cars! In the second Dakar Rally, XT500s took the top four places. Thus started the line of Teneres that exists to this day – the word ‘Tenere’ means ‘desert’ or ‘solitude’. Although there is just the one model in its range now, it is a very capable model, and it echoes the ethos of that original XT500.
The Tenere 700 World Raid Can Go The Distance Without Breaking A Sweat
The Tenere brand is a very respected one, and over the decades has included both dual-sport style thumpers and parallel twin engines. The Tenere 700 today is a twin, and we always felt like we missed out on the more hardcore version, but Yamaha USA has finally brought it here. And that means that the middleweight segment’s most off-road capable ADV now has a variant that is optimized for off-roading with long-distance ability. That is why, with its Dakar pedigree, the Tenere 700 World Raid is the Yamaha adventure bike that can go the distance without breaking a sweat.
A Pretty Reasonable Price
The regular Tenere 700 retails for $10,999, so you’d expect the World Raid to be priced higher. And you’d be right – it is priced at $12,999, which puts it right at the bottom end of the premium middleweight adventure bikes. This also means that it delivers a little more value than other off-road-focused middleweight adventure bikes, with the exception of those coming out of China.
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The Engine Is Identical To The Regular Tenere
Yamaha has chosen not to change a thing on the Tenere World Raid engine. This is still the CP2 engine: 689 cc, 270-degree parallel twin, with 72 horsepower at 9,000 RPM and 50 pound-feet at 6,500 RPM. This is a characterful engine with loads of torque across the rev range that helps it make up for its apparent lack of power. There is also the new by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU, which helps make it more usable in different situations.
The power is sent through a six-speed transmission with an assist and slipper clutch to the rear wheel. A two-way quickshifter is an accessory, but given that this is the premium variant, it really should have had the quickshifter as a standard feature.
Upgraded Chassis Parts For Better Off-Road Ability
The Tenere 700 World Raid uses an identical dual cradle frame as the standard Tenere 700, but some of the bits and bobs attached to it are different. Chief among the changes is the KYB suspension. The 46 mm KYB fork has a ‘Kashima’ coating and is fully adjustable, with preload adjusters at the top. The rear link-type shock (also from KYB) has a piggyback reservoir, remote preload adjustment, and rebound damping adjustment as well. Spring and damping rates have been revised for better off-road ability, too. Of course, the travel has also increased to 9.1 inches and 8.7 inches front and rear, respectively.
The brakes have also been upgraded for the World Raid – Brembo supplies the twin 282 mm front wave discs with two piston floating axial calipers. At the rear, a 242 mm wave disc has a single-piston Brembo caliper. It has a 21/18 inch wheel rim combination with aggressive Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires that are fitted to heavier, more powerful ADVs as well, so grip will never be in question. This is also one of the few middleweight adventure bikes to sport a steering damper. The damper has a 16-way adjustment.
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A Taller Seat But Identical Ground Clearance To The Standard Bike
The Tenere 700 World Raid is approximately as long and as wide as the regular Tenere, at 93.3 inches long and 36.8 inches wide (it is slightly wider). It understandably has a higher seat; the 35-inch figure is 0.6 inches higher, but strangely, Yamaha claims the exact same ground clearance for both, at 9.4 inches.
There is a significant difference in wet weight, though, with the World Raid’s 485 pounds clocking in at 26 pounds heavier than the standard bike. At least 11 pounds of that extra wet weight can be accounted for with the extra fuel when you fill the World Raid’s twin fuel tanks that can hold 6.1 gallons, nearly 2 gallons more than the standard bike.
This Is A Good Feature Set For Exploring
The Tenere World Raid has a great set of electronics that enable it to be one of the best adventure bikes for riders who are serious about exploring. A large vertical 6.3-inch TFT display has three selectable themes. It also has Bluetooth connectivity and navigation, and is a window into all the settings that can be adjusted.
The 2025 update of the Tenere brought a by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU to the model, and the World Raid makes great use of these features. There are two throttle maps to choose from, the cornering traction control has three modes (street, off-road, and off), and the slide control has the same three modes. Cruise control is now a standard feature.
The ABS system is a uniquely customizable one: you can toggle the cornering function on and off, and turn off the ABS at only the rear wheel or at both wheels as well, just like an enduro motorcycle. The rest of the features are quite similar to the regular Tenere: all-LED lighting with the quad-projector headlamp, lane-change indicators, self-canceling indicators, and a USB-C socket. It does have a different skid plate and side protectors as befits its slightly different use case.
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The Competition Is A Tall Order
The Tenere 700 World Raid has some stiff competition. However, Yamaha has priced it really quite well. So much so that premium competition like the BMW F 900 GS Adventure ($15,195), Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition ($16,999), and Ducati DesertX Discovery ($19,995) are too expensive to be considered seriously by someone looking at a World Raid.
We’d also like to give a shoutout to the AJP PR7 ($13,999) and the Kove 800X Rally ($12,999) that will probably make much better off-road ADVs than the World Raid. However, they won’t be as well-rounded, since one is a large thumper, and the other is an off-road racer with lights and ‘plates, so they wouldn’t be much good at touring.
The model that prospective Tenere World Raid buyers would want to look at is the Aprilia Tuareg Rally. It follows an identical recipe – give it better suspension for off-road use, add a few electronics that will help it do better in the dirt, and Bob’s your uncle. The Tuareg Rally is a premium product and therefore costs a little extra at $13,999. The APRC electronics are definitely more sophisticated, and it makes more power (80 horsepower) and is WAY lighter at 439 pounds, so performance will be better than the Yamaha.
Sources: Yamaha Motorsports