WHY THESE
TWO?
The Honda Africa Twin and
Yamaha Tenere 700 are two
of these "betweener" bikes.
They shine in isolation, lead in
the segment with undeniable
value and dependability, and
are brand-fan favorites. They are
also the two most popular multi-
cylinder Japanese ADV bikes.
Those are a lot of attractive
reasons to buy here. However,
we are constantly struggling to
include them in our larger-scale
comparisons. And boy, do we
hear about it in the YouTube
comments.
We've stacked them up
against class leaders in the past,
and since they're both on the
smaller-displacement scale in
their respective segments, they
seem to underwhelm in a testing
environment on outright power
performance. The results of
those comparisons reflect this.
Is that a fair assessment of their
quality or value?
Image, as an Africa Twin, giv-
ing up 200-plus cc's to a KTM
1290 Super Adventure R and ex-
pecting to be competitive across
a California desert highway?
The Tenere 700 fights the same
uphill battle in the midsize world
with a 200cc deficit to the KTM
890 line. When you're running
the gamut of testing scenarios
on these bikes, starting in a
power-hole isn't ideal.
Likewise, in the Tenere 700's
case, a simpler, no-frills, analog
riding experience can seem
amazing in isolation and almost
comforting in consideration.
But, when pitted head-to-head
against advanced electronic rid-
ing and comfort aids, it can also
seem lacking. You don't know
what you're missing until it's
gone and having a dashboard
screen you can see in direct
sunlight on a dusty road is nice.
2023 ADV GUIDE P35
You get an electronics suite with the pricier Africa Twin.
