New 2021 Yamaha Ténéré 700 - Brilliant A big bike built for the dirt HD

New 2021 #Yamaha #Ténéré700 - Brilliant A #bigbike built for the dirt. This is what I wanted the Honda Africa Twin to be. A big dirtbike with a snorting, eager engine that builds torque like a single, firing out pound-feet from the first blip of the throttle. Narrow and nimble with wide bars and a low center of gravity. Acres of suspension travel and every detail pointed toward getting you into and out of the backcountry. A bike equally glad to fire down some empty two lane or tear up the side of a mountain. A well-machined mallet. It’s been nearly five years since Yamaha pulled the sheets off of its Ténéré 700 concept, leaving us to itch and scratch and hope that the bike would live up to its promises. Now, we can concretely say it does. The Ténéré 700 promised to fix the issues that have always made big adventure bikes a bear, starting with weight. Fully fueled and ready to ride, Yamaha says the T7 is just 452 pounds. Not light by dual-sport or dirt bike standards, but featherweight when compared to the larger Super Ténéré’s 575 lbs. That difference is obvious the second you throw your leg over the 700. The bike feels manageable and unintimidating, even to a relative ADV greenhorn. The factory seat rises to 34.6 inches, and while that means you sit in the bike a bit more than we expected, the cockpit and controls are clearly set up for off-road use. At 5’11”, I had no problem flat-footing the thing. The bars are wide, with a good rise and bend that easily accommodate a standing rider, and the bike is surprisingly narrow for a parallel twin. Close your eyes, and your mind says, “dirtbike.” Thumb the starter, and the brilliant 689cc cross-plane twin from the company’s MT-07 street bike fires to life. Expect around 72 horsepower and 50 lb-ft of torque from this version of the engine, remapped for the Ténéré. Those may not seem like impressive numbers, but the bike’s gearing and the engine’s instant torque delivery serve up ample character. The thing feels and sounds right, with instant throttle response and a snorty exhaust note. If you can keep from blipping the throttle at a stop, you’re a better human than I am. And, you may manage to see the 200 miles of range that Yamaha claims from the 4.2-gallon fuel tank. The crook of southeastern Tennessee, down where the state meets northern Georgia and western North Carolina, is a paradise. In early summer, mist clings to the two lanes that scramble up and over the tail end of Appalachia, and a splendid tangle of forest roads connect them all. It’s the rare haven on the east coast: a place where you can spend a day with the throttle pinned wide and never see another soul. That is, if you aren’t afraid of a little gravel. A good machine will tell you everything you need to know in the first 10 feet, and the T7 is no different. It feels quicker than the numbers would suggest, gathering up apex after apex. The six-speed gearbox is Yamaha slick, and those wide bars mean it takes zero effort to bend the bik