It seems like it’s taking Yamaha absolutely forever to come out with the Ténéré 700, doesn’t it? For those of us who dig the whole middleweight ADV class it sure does. Here’s another tease, this time from the model launch in Syndey, Australia.

If the video seems a bit dark to you, it’s filmed inside since, remember, it’s wintertime in Australia right now. Even though it doesn’t get super cold there, the days are pretty short.

The Syndey launch of the Ténéré 700 involved three models of the bike, each with a set of add-ons. The bike in the “Tech Black” color scheme is set up for adventuring two-up. It has crash bars, a bash plate, a center stand, a comfort passenger seat and aluminum panniers. The video shows shot of each bike and the manufacturer extras bolted to them, along with all the prices for them. The “Competition White” bike is set up nearly stock, except that has a low rider seat, no passenger seat, and a fully lowered suspension. The “Ceramic Ice” colorway is set up to be a much more dirt-oriented machine. It has an Akrapovic exhaust, and guards on all the important parts like the radiator, headlight, and chain. It’s also sporting a special rally style seat and very knobby tires.

Australia is getting these things at the end of winter (our summer), but here in the US we have to wait until next year to have a crack at purchasing one. The purchase price of the bike as advertised in Australian dollars seems very high, but convert that to USD and it’s around $11,000. That price is still not great for a mid-sized adventure bike, but perhaps Yamaha has come up with a real gem here, and we’ll all find it worth it. Maybe the pricing in the US will be totally different. The Super Ténéré, with a 1200cc engine and a shaft final drive can be had for around $16,000 USD, so the 700 shouldn’t even sniff those numbers. I think if it comes in at around ten grand it’ll sell like hotcakes, considering the Honda CRF 450 Rally is near that price new.

Compare the accessory pricing directly to the US market, though, and you’ll need to do some math again. The accessories listed, and their prices, are again all in Australian dollars, so converted they’re about two thirds the price. They’re still pricey, which is par for the course for Yamaha accessories, so going with non-OEM aftermarket parts might be the ticket for folks ready to buy the bike and trick it out.

What say you, friends? Will you go look at a Ténéré 700 when it hits our shores, maybe consider buying one? Or have you given up on Yamaha’s middleweight and instead bought yourself a V-Strom, or an NC700X, or maybe a Versys?

Source: YouTube

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