Over the past three years, few motorcycles have been as heavily hyped as the Yamaha Tenere 700.Now, RyanF9 is here to tell us: Is the bike worthy of all the noise?

Originally revealed as the T7 concept bike,the middleweightADV首次以原型形式在2017年EICMA motorcycle show, then went on a much-publicized world tour.In the months since, we’ve heard twovery differentmessages about this bike: Some people are looking at the machineas the next great affordable middleweight ADV,saying they can’t wait. Others are looking at the spec sheet, and the price tag, and thelooooooooongdelivery time (Europe got their models in 2019, North America had to wait until 2020), and they’re complaining.

Now that the bike is actually in North America, some journos are finally getting out and testing the thing. Here’s Ryan F9’s take on theTenere 700, in one of hisslickvideo essaysfor theFortNineYouTube channel.What does Ryan think of the bike? He says he’s ready to sell his BMW GS, and buy one.

RyanF9 starts bypointingoutthe bike’sproductiondelays, and that the Honda Africa Twin has more ground clearance. The Tenere700weighs almost as much as a Triumph Tiger 900, and once you accessorize it, it’s almost as expensive as a KTM 790 Adventure.

“Is the T7 really so special?” he asks. Once the kickstand is up, he seems to think so. Ryan’s already a big fan of the 689cc parallel twin engine, the same72-horsepowerunit as used in the FZ-07 naked bike and other Yamahas.Ryan’s also madly in love with theTenere700’s riding geometry, withthecountershaftsprocket mounted high to fight rear-end squat. The result? Ryan says the leveled-outridewith a planted front endreminds him of a Dakar race bike, not a bloated, larger ADV bike.

There are some drawbacks with the chassis design—excessive chain slap on the street, andYamaha’s using weaker suspension springs in conjunction with the anti-squat design. Thatcan mean a rough landing after you take the bikeairborne, as Ryan shows.

Still, he’s a convert. Although he never really refutes the negative points at the start of the video, it seems like the ride was enough to convert RyanF9 to the Tenere700fan club.He says he’s more confident on this bike than another adventure machine, except for maybe the KTM 790 Adventure.Over the next few months, it will be most interesting to see if the bike-buying public agrees.