2021 YAMAHA TENERE 700
R I D E R E V I E W
P70
or jerking sensation made the
otherwise smooth Yamaha Te-
nere 700 CP2 engine platform
oddly awkward and out of bal-
ance at throttle roll-on.
For the U.S.-spec bike here,
Yamaha has updated throttle
mapping and ECU settings to
meet fuel and emission require-
ments in North America. Also,
they specifically addressed the
throttle roll-on performance and
improved it drastically. Now, the
bike accelerates from a full stop
more consistently and without
the hesitant/chunky character
we felt in Europe. I crawled up
rain-rutted fire roads in first gear
and let the rpm chug down in
the 1000-rpm range and the
chain stayed tight with each
pulse of the 270-degree firing
crank. It was absolutely predict-
able and matched the confi-
dence the rest of the engine's
rpm range delivers. On the
pavement, the improved roll-on
throttle manners were even
more welcome.
Our second complaint
from Europe was with the
Yamaha Tenere 700 braking
performance. In Europe, the
front brake felt decent but
underpowered even for a fairly
mellow power delivery. The
rear, however, underperformed
everywhere. It was hard to
modulate and felt like an on/
off switch going from rolling to
skids without much in-between.
The Yamaha Tenere 700 isn't
afraid of getting dirty.
