>BRING ON THE BUILD
In the adventure space, we
hardly need a motor modification
to make our time on a ride more
enjoyable. Even on the smaller
displacement end of the mid-
size ADV segment, the Tenere
700 is plentiful enough for most
rides. You're not going to win a
bomb run on a T7 against some
others in the ADV class at a hare
and hound, sure, but for casual
riding, it's more than solid.
AmPro followed suit with that
program and hit up Camel ADV
for some finer tuning. The high-
pipe-style Camel slip-on muffler
certainly adds some bark to
the T7 and seems to move the
power from grunt-style to rev-
happy. It looks great, and the fit-
and-finish seem solid. That's the
extent of the motor mods here,
and it sort of makes us want to
do a muffler/exhaust compari-
son and buyer's guide for this
bike. Such a simple change can
really move the power around,
for good or bad.
Generally, we run stock tires
to death on our ADV bikes and
then go with something more off-
road appropriate for the rest of
our riding days together. AmPro
had a set of Dunlop Trailmax
Mission tires—very durable and
nice 50/50 ADV tires—ready to
go on this bike. But, since I had
an idea of where we were riding
and the conditions that were
coming (hello, winter!) I had
Dunlop set them up with a set of
more-aggressive, DOT-approved
EN91 knobbies front and rear.
The euro-spec knob-height tires
from Dunlop were great. We had
some slick conditions with mud,
snow, ice, wet pavement and
packed snow on everything, all
mixed into our routes. Compared
to the stock Pirelli Scorpion Rally
STR, the EN91s gave a lot more
confidence.
Ergonomically, the Tenere 700
is very neutral. It feels comfort-
able sitting and standing, but
for a lot of riders, they'd like the
cockpit opened more to really
feel great standing up for long
stretches. Also, adding a little
comfort boost never hurts. Fasst
Co. was called, and they sent
AmPro a set of their well-known
Flexx Bars. Flexx Bars add a seri-
ous layer of comfort and custom
2023 ADV GUIDE P85
(Top) A Garmin high-
mount GPS keeps
the route handy
when trying to keep
up with riders like
Randy Hawkins.
(Bottom) Fasst
Co.'s Flexx Bars are
gaining popularity
in the ADV space
as riders look for
more ergonomic
customization and
comfort.
