Surprise! Yamaha Debuts Small-Displacement Ténéré 4 Concept Adventure Motorcycle
The hottest combustion motorcycle segment gets an all-new adventure machine. Maybe. Likely. It's probably happening.
Besides all-electric dirt bikes, the hottest niche within the motorcycling market right now is small-displacement anything. You've got nakeds and cruisers and standards and everything in between. But the hottest of them all are those small-displacement, entry-level off-roaders. The adventure motorcycles, as they promise—and often deliver—the possibility to get off the beaten path and have a proper adventure.
They are the distillation of motorcycling as a whole, if you ask me.
One company, however, really didn't have an entry-level off-roader on par with the rest of the calls. And that was Yamaha. Sure, it had the WR series bikes, and its enduros, but the company didn't have anything to slot underneath its frankly stellar and beloved Ténéré 700. That is until now. Well, maybe, as Yamaha just pulled the covers off its brand new Ténéré 4 Concept.
And I say maybe, as it looks pretty damn production-ready if you ask me. I mean, Yamaha would be stupid not to build it, right? Go against the likes of KTM and BMW and Royal Enfield and Kawasaki? Even with a fraction of the capability of the T7, a T4 could mop the floor with its competitors. But let's get into what we know.
EICMA, Baby!
Honestly? We don't know much. Debuted with the help of master Ténéré man Pol Tarres at EICMA during the massive Yamaha presentation, Yamaha's brass called the motorcycle just "one of the ongoing development projects in Yamaha," which I guess tells folks it's being worked on, but doesn't hard commit to when it'll become a reality.
"I cannot give you a date today for the production model or market introduction, but this is under preparation. The target is to further strengthen our Ténéré family," said Olivier Prevost, President and CEO at Yamaha Motor Europe N.V., to a packed room. He did, however add that the Ténéré 4 would make its way to production, while also teasing other models, saying, "This is only one of the models that will come in the future."
According to Prevost, Yamaha chose the Ténéré 4 concept to showcase now because Yamaha's customers have been demanding the motorcycle come to life basically since the T7's introduction. "We listen to these customers. We listen to their expectations. And we translated this into a product," said the executive.
What he doesn't go into are any of the specifics of the motorcycle, including the engine it uses, the suspension, or anything else. He did, however, state that the Ténéré 4 Concept uses a brand-new engine, a brand new chassis, and the "Ténéré DNA." What we can see is that it features long-travel suspension, aggressive tires and wheels, Ténéré-styling and exterior design, an upturned exhaust for going through water crossings, and some rally extras that make us want it right now.
Asked about when we'd see the Ténéré 4 in production? Prevost said that they have to get the Ténéré DNA right, first and foremost, and that Yamaha's target for production is whenever the bike is ready. But he teased that we only have to be "a little patient" to find out when.
Here's hoping it's as good as its big brother.
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