We sent our team into the field to test EVO Suspension. We’re really excited about this amazing step up in suspension technology and nothing illustrates the upgrade like switching from stock suspension to Touratech EVO.

Touratech Suspension Plug & Travel EVO shocks for the BMW R1200GS, GSA and R1250GS, GSA are the next generation of semi-active suspension upgrades that work with the stock BMW electronics. Re-designed from the ground up, this system features revolutionary technical innovations that provide you with a greater range of adjustment, better damping performance, and dramatically improved comfort on your water-cooled BMW R1200GS or R1250GS. Developed in a years-long collaboration between the suspension team at Touratech and renowned suspension producers JRZ and Eibach, the Plug & Travel EVO series is now setting new standards for performance and reliability.

See our full line of Touratech Suspension products for BMW Motorcycles Here.

Bottoming: When your bike hits a large bump or lands from a jump the suspension can “bottom out” as the wheels move up toward the bike quickly and the suspension hits the end of its travel. “Bottoming out” usually happens very quickly like slamming a door closed and can easily upset the balance and damage the motorcycle.

Closed Cartridge: Modern motorcycle forks come in many different designs but many of them contain a ‘cartridge’ inside the fork that uses oil flow during compression and extension to control the wheel movement. The two main types of ‘cartridges’ are ‘open’ and ‘closed’ and these names describe how the cartridge interacts with the fork that it is contained within. An ‘open cartridge’ uses the same oil that lubricates the fork’s up and down action to create a damping effect on the motion of the wheel. A ‘closed cartridge’ is a sealed unit that keeps its oil separate from the lubrication oil in the fork.

The sealed nature of a ‘closed cartridge’ allows the manufacturer to fine tune the damping action and create a more high performance fork system. Manufacturers can use special oils that won’t be contaminated by the working elements of the fork and they can pressurize the damping oil so that it won’t foam under heavy use. When the oil is foamless, damping action is much more consistent under heavy use and high heat.

Compression (high and low speed): The term ‘compression’ refers to the compressing of the shock absorber. ‘High’ and ‘low’ refer to the speed that the shock is compressing, which is also called “shaft speed.”

High shaft speed is experienced when the bike is landing from a jump or hitting a large square faced bump like a big pot-hole. Low shaft speed is experienced when riding over rolling humps in a road or transitioning between right and left turns quickly.

Shocks that allow adjustment of high speed and low compression damping give the riders the ability to optimize performance to meet their own preferences.

Damping: Resistance that suspension puts against a quickly moving wheel is called “damping force.” Without any damping, the wheel would bounce uncontrolled with only the spring and the ground pushing against the wheel. ‘Damping’ is often mistakenly referred to as ‘dampening’ but don’t confuse the two because one is used for suspension and the other is used for gardening. Having effective damping is one of the most important elements of comfort and bike control.

Dynamic Damping Adjustment/Action (DDA): Until fairly recently, suspension was something that could only be adjusted with tools while the motorcycle was stopped. Electronic suspension adjustment (ESA in BMW speak) allows riders to choose different damping settings and ride height, while riding their bikes by simply pressing a button. This system changes the suspension adjusters in the same way that a rider would if they were “turning the clickers” with the bike parked.

The passive ESA system makes the adjustments that the rider asks for and leaves the shock alone once the adjustment has been made. This allows the rider to choose settings to match the riding situation for terrain, passenger, luggage-load and rider preference.

Dynamic ESA goes one step further than passive ESA and uses information from wheel travel sensors, wheel speed sensors, gyroscopic sensors, throttle position, brake switches, and the ride mode selected to constantly and rapidly make changes to the suspension damping. This system’s goal is to monitor the terrain and constantly adjust the suspension to respond perfectly to varying conditions on the fly.

Emulsion Shock: Every shock absorber needs to contain some gas because the shock fluid cannot be compressed as the shock shaft slides into the body and displaces that fluid. An emulsion shock is a very simple design that simply leaves an air gap at the top of the sealed shock chamber. This air mixes with the shock oil causing a foamy mixture. The valving of the shock is set up to work properly with the oil in this foamy condition.

The emulsion shock is much easier and cheaper to build than other designs but it does not perform consistently because of the foamed oil and drastic effect of temperature on gas bubbles in the foam.

Purging the old oil and nitrogen prior to disassembly.

As soon as we got home, I gave the folks at Touratech USA a call. Back then as now, Touratech offers high-end Extreme front and rear shocks developed in Germany and built in the Netherlands by TracTive for 2007-2013 BMW oil-cooled R 1200 GS models. Although there’s more emphasis on the company’s replacement shocks with electronic suspension adjustment (ESA) these days, Touratech still sells and services TracTive Extreme components for many ADV bikes. These components are popular among riders who like to “geek out” on manually set suspension settings and get more in touch with their bike.

After 10,000 miles, the old shock oil (on left) didn’t look too bad compared to the new slippery stuff.

Once I mounted up the Extreme shocks on my Beemer, I couldn’t have been more pleased. I wrote a full Touratech motorcycle suspension review for Rider in 2013, including a complete rundown of the shocks’ specs and features.

Suffice it to say that the rear Extreme shock solved all my load carrying and handling problems and gave the bike a much better ride to boot. For that 2013 review, however, I wasn’t aware that Touratech specifies “regular” service intervals for its Extreme shocks. That makes sense; unlike the stock shock, as usual a poor compromise between performance and longevity, better performance means using parts that may wear. For comparison, rock-hard stock tires (a.k.a. rim protectors) versus premium replacement rubber with good grip but less longevity come to mind.

The complete set of disassembled shock parts laid out for inspection. Mine also needed a new seal head and bump stop.

Touratech says that whether it’s time for shock service at 10,000 miles or 30,000 miles really depends upon how hard the shock is used and how concerned the owner may be about preventing problems on a long remote ride. Over time, shock oil breaks down and gets contaminated, seals wear, and nitrogen pressure decreases, all leading to reduced performance and longevity issues, and you don’t want to damage something like the shock shaft, for example, by waiting too long. If you’re the type who’d rather not make the call, Touratech recommends two years or 20,000 miles on its Suspension Service Center website.

In my case, the first interval turned out to be almost exactly 10,000 miles when I noticed that the lower shock seal was weeping oil – the first stage in the “weeping, seeping, leaking” progression from bad to worse. An hour later, I had the shock boxed up and ready to ship to Touratech in Seattle. Once service is complete, return shipping is included in the $150 fee ($200 for ESA shocks). In my case, it was Touratech’s slower season, so the turnaround time was only about two weeks, but it can take up to five at busier times.

              The old parts were returned neatly packaged along with the fully serviced shock –

impressive. Ready for 10,000 to 30,000 more miles.

For this conventional shock service, Nick at Touratech disassembled, cleaned, and inspected the shock body and shaft, preload adjuster, damping piston, and shims. Replacing the damping piston ring is included. If any other worn or damaged parts need replacing (like the bump stop and seal head on my shock), Touratech only charges the cost of the parts – all labor is included. The remote reservoir did not need servicing, but oddly, the retainer ring for the lower clevis had come partially adrift, so Nick replaced the lower clevis, retainer ring, and circlip for good measure. The gang at Touratech had never seen this happen before; must have been that big jump…

Once the shock was reassembled with fresh oil and nitrogen, Nick carefully boxed it up and shipped it back, and I was riding the BMW again within three weeks. Although I hadn’t noticed any degradation in performance before it was serviced, the rear suspension felt firm, supple, and controlled, as good as the first day I installed the Extreme shock back in 2013.

Touratech also changes shock springs and services its electronic shocks and fork cartridges, all at a reasonable cost with free return shipping – all good reasons to consider putting its suspension products on your ADV bike in the first place.

For more information about Touratech Suspension, visit the Touratech website. 

Find more great reviews from Rider Magazine!

Testing the premium electronic suspension upgrade for BMW R1200GS/A and R1250GS/A motorcycles. In this video Jocelin Snow, BMW Motorrad GS Trophy team member, and Paul Guillien, veteran of 11 BDR Expeditions give EVO Suspension System a thorough test ride on different terrain and obstacles as they get to know this new product from Touratech Suspension.

The backstory. In 2013, Touratech launched the Plug & Travel suspension system as the world’s first high-quality replacement shock for the electronic suspension on the BMW Boxer GS. The company is celebrating this 10-year anniversary with the release of its next-generation of electronic suspension.

The experience gained from millions of miles ridden have been incorporated into the completely redesigned Plug & Travel EVO series. The result is a new suspension system with revolutionary technical innovations that provide riders with a greater range of adjustment, better damping performance, and dramatically improved comfort on water-cooled Boxer GS motorcycles.

Developed in a years-long collaboration between the suspension team at Touratech and renowned suspension producers JRZ and Eibach, the Plug & Travel EVO series is now available.

Find more info about Plug & Travel EVO Suspension Here

Electronic suspension upgrade for BMW R1200GS/A, and R1250GS/A motorcycles. This video gives an overview of the features in Touratech Suspension’s Plug and Travel EVO System. The Plug & Travel EVO is available for all years and models of the water-cooled BMW R1200GS/A and R1250GS/A motorcycles, equipped with electronic suspension.

The new technology includes a HyperFlow damper piston that is engineered to suppress foaming and cavitation which ensures consistent damping for predictable and stable performance no matter how tough the terrain gets. This combined with the newly developed electromagnetic valve, that responds quickly to changes on the ground, provides a planted feel and enhanced sense of control for the rider.

The engineering feat of auto-leveling suspension is one of the best innovations in the last decade. While this feature has thrown some aftermarket suspension for a loop, the Plug & Travel EVO has been specifically developed to not only accommodate it, but actually enhance the auto-leveling performance of BMW motorcycles.

The EVO also has a power-house pre-load adjuster that improves performance with lightning-fast action and bullet proof reliability.

Touratech Suspension Plug & Travel EVO features:

• Easy compression damping adjustment with large finger-friendly clicker dial

• Optimized for auto-leveling bikes

• HyperFlow damper piston engineered to suppress foaming for stable performance

• New electromagnetic valve responds with precision and consistency in demanding situations

• One-Piece shock body machined from aircraft-grade aluminum for bullet-proof reliability

• Plug & Play integration with the electronic system on the BMW R1200GS/1250GS/A motorcycles.

• Lowering models available

Get more Info about Plug & Travel EVO Suspension Here

In this video, rider and BDR team member Michael Bielecki gives a great overview of installing the Touratech Suspension Extreme Shock for the Yamaha Tenere 700 from Colorado Moto Service.

It’s a great video to watch just to see the overall process involved in installing your shocks. Our friends at ADV Moto magazine channel has a more in-depth (step by step) installation video available when you’re ready to get out the tools. You can find it here. 

The Touratech Extreme Shock offers adjustable high-speed and low-speed compression damping, a remote fluid reservoir, high-flow fittings, adjustable rebound damping, floating piston superiority and low-friction seals which add up to a highly refined shock that can be tuned with precision to meet the riding style and handling characteristics you prefer. The Touratech Extreme Shock is over-built by design with heavy-duty materials, over-sized components, and 50% more spring pre-load adjustment than other shocks on the market.

The preload can be hydraulically adjusted by turning the knob with your hand. Touratech Suspension is the world’s first purpose-built shock absorber for long-distance touring with a fully-loaded motorcycle. Right out of the box, it has the strength, features and adjustments to go the distance on an adventure or touring bike carrying luggage. The Touratech Extreme Shock is the ultimate in suspension technology and the ideal choice for extended trips or off-road rides like a Backcountry Discovery Route.

For the rider who wants absolute control over suspension set-up and high performance, this is the product. If you want the best suspension on the planet for adventure touring with a fully-loaded T7, the Touratech Extreme is the top choice. Nothing else comes even close. 

Touratech USA

Converting your F850GS’s front end with a high-performance, closed cartridge fork kit from Touratech Suspension will wake up the front of your BMW and make a huge change in handling, stability, and performance in any of the on and off road conditions you find yourself riding.

Not just a change in spring rate, or a simple re-valve, this cartridge conversion completely transforms the front-end of your F850GS with all new damping characteristics that can’t be achieved with the stock F850GS or GSA forks.

The F850GS and GSA use a single fork leg to control both the compression and rebound damping, this reduces the weight of the forks to improve steering responsiveness both on and off pavement. The Touratech single sided cartridge kit replaces the stock internals with much more capable components to drastically improve the wheel control without adding unnecessary weight to the fork. Additional benefits of this design are a significant reduction in installation time and complexity as only a single fork leg needs to be removed from the motorcycle.

Gone are the days of non-adjustable stock front suspension. The Touratech kit is completely tunable with rebound, compression, and preload adjustments made from the top of the fork caps. No matter where your adventure takes you, you can be assured that our cartridge system is designed to go the distance and tackle any terrain you throw at it.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, I’m Ian with Touratech-USA and this is going to be your installation video for the Touratech Fork cartridge conversion that fits the BMW F850GS and F850GS Adventure. The installation is very similar between the two bikes. The only real difference is the oil height measurement, but we’ll cover that later in the installation. A lot of people don’t realize that all of the damping on the front forks of this bike is controlled in just the right side fork leg. And that makes the cartridge conversion installation a heck of a lot easier on this bike because you only have to disassemble one fork leg.

So I’m going to break this down, we’re going to go through the installation and you’re going to see just how easy it is to drastically improve the fork performance on these motorcycles. A lot of guys complain about brake dive and suspension bottoming with the stock setup. And this is a huge, huge upgrade that really addresses both of those issues.

So the first step is to jack up the bike so that the front wheel’s off the ground and then we’re going to remove the front. To remove the front wheel on this bike, loosen the two pinch bolts on the clutch lever side fork leg. Those use a Torx T-40 driver. Then loosen the axle nut, that uses a 12-millimeter Allen driver. Then you can loosen the other two pinch bolts on the throttle tube side fork leg. Then you just slide the axle out to the throttle side and drop the wheel out.

Now that we have the front wheel removed from the bike, it’s time to unbolt everything that’s connected to the throttle side fork leg. That’s going to be the lower fender, the brake caliper and the brake line bolts. The low fender is held onto the fork tube with three Torx T-30 bolts. The brake line junction block is bolted to the fork leg with a single Torx T-30 bolt. The brake caliper is held on with two Torx T-50 bolts.

All right, now that we have the wheel off and we have all of the things that were bolted to the fork leg unbolted. Before we remove the fork leg from the bike, we’re going to break loose the bolt that holds the stock cartridge in at the bottom of the fork leg. And after we loosen the top clamp, we’re going to loosen the fork cap a couple of turns. We are not going to completely remove either of those two things. We just want to break them loose while everything’s clamped on the motorcycle here.

The cartridge retaining bolt on the bottoms side of the fork leg uses a six-millimeter Allen wrench. The upper fork clamp uses a Torx T-40 bolt to tighten it up. Once we’ve loosened that you can use a large crescent wrench or a 31-millimeter socket to loosen the fork cap. Now that we have the bolt at the bottom of the fork leg broken loose and we’ve also broken loose the fork cap at the top of the fork, it’s time to loosen the lower fork clamp using two Torx T-40 bolts and then slide the fork down out of the clamps.

When both of the fork clamps are loose, just a gentle twisting and downward pressure will bring the forks slowly out of the clamps. All right, we’ve got the fork leg out of the bike. Now’s a great time to clean off any dirt from this fork leg to make sure we keep it nice and clean while we’re working on the insides. Okay, so I’ve got the fork leg out of the bike. Everything’s nice and clean ready to work on. I’ve grabbed an oil pan right here and I’ve loosened the fork cap enough when it was on the bike that I should be able to just spin this off by hand. And I’m going to turn the fork upside down and start draining the oil into the pan.

Okay, you saw in the video there that when I tipped the fork upside down, all of the cartridge and all the guts and everything came right out of it. Now, I didn’t expect that to happen because that’s not normally how these things come apart. I did a little bit of digging into it here while I was cleaning everything up and I found out what happened. So this is the bolt that goes in the bottom of the fork tube right here. And there was some sealant on it from the factory that had kind of glued the bolt head in place in the bottom of the fork.

And so when I loosened the fork cap at the top, it actually spun the entire cartridge assembly around this bolt. And then when I tipped it upside down, everything came apart. The spring came off, the spacer and everything. So yours probably won’t come apart like that, but if it does just make sure there aren’t any pieces left inside the fork. Make sure the bolt comes out and the threads are clean on it and you’re good to keep going forward with the installation.

Normally, what would happen is you’d have to remove the fork cap from the top of the damping cartridge like this. That’s done by putting the crescent wrench on the top here and a small spanner on this locknut underneath, and just turning them loose and then taking the fork cap off. At that point, then you can take the spring and the spacer all out. Then you would loosen this bolt on the bottom of the fork and slide it out of the fork leg. Mine just decided to come apart quickly and give me a shortcut that ended up taking me a longer time because it scared me.

So at this point, we’re good to continue on with the installation, however. So you’re going to need the bolt that comes out the bottom of the fork leg and the copper washer on it. You’re going to reuse all of this, so set that aside. The fork leg itself, of course we’re going to reuse, but all of the stuff from the cartridge, the spring, the stock cartridge, the spacers, the fork cap, everything else, you can just set that aside. I recommend laying out a piece of cardboard and just putting on there because it’s going to be oily and dirty and gross.

Make sure you leave your fork leg inverted for a few minutes to let all the extra oil and everything drain out. And if the oil’s especially dirty, maybe give it a good spray out with some brake cleaner to make sure you get all the particulate out of there. It’s not critical because our system is a closed cartridge. So all the damping oil is contained inside the cartridge, but it’ll just keep the oil in the fork that’s lubricating the slider bushings clean a lot longer if there’s not a bunch of garbage in there right from the get go.

Now we have to remove the fork cap from the Touratech cartridge. In order to do that, you’re going to need a 15-millimeter slim wrench. That’s five or six millimeters thick at the head and a 22-millimeter wrench to grab the preload adjuster knob on the top. If you only have SAE wrenches, that’s a 5/8s and a 7/8s. So first thing I like to do is slide the 15-millimeter wrench into the locknut at the top of the fork cartridge. To do that, you have to push down on the ring to expose the nut and then slide the wrench in.

Once you have the wrench in, take your 22-millimeter and put it at the top on the preload adjuster knob and then loosen the preload adjuster knob on the top. Once you’ve broken it loose, you can just spin it off by hand. I also like to remove the damping adjuster rod just keeping it out of the way. Put it somewhere safe so it doesn’t get dropped or damaged, that way it won’t fall out if you turn anything upside down.

Now you can push down on the spring and remove your 15-millimeter wrench. Grab the two spacers and the spring itself, and slide it off the top of the cartridge. At this point, another good practice is to turn the locknut clockwise all the way until it bottoms out on the threads. That way you know it’s always in the right position where it needs to start when you’re reinstalling the fork cap. Now that we’ve removed the fork cap from the Touratech cartridge, done on all the disassembly with the different pieces and screwed this nut all the way down, it’s time to put the fork cartridge into the factory fork leg. And then fasten it from the bottom using the original bolt and copper crush washer.

I torqued this bolt at the bottom up to about 15 foot lbs. Now that the fork cartridge is installed in the fork leg and we’ve tightened up that bolt at the bottom, grab the 15 weight fork oil that comes with the cartridge conversion. And you’re going to fill this fork all the way up until it covers the holes in the top of the slider here. And then we’re just going to work the fork up and down a whole bunch of times like this to bleed out any air bubbles.

It’s important not to extend the fork further than about the stock travel because if you bring it really far up, you’ll expose the sharp holes up at the top of the lower slider and you could damage the fork seals. Once the fork leg moves through its full travel very smoothly and you’d don’t see any more bubbles coming up in the fluid, that means that you’ve got the fork bled properly. Now we’re going to grab a syringe and a piece of hose, and we’re going to set the air gap at the top of the fork.

Now that the fork has been filled with oil and we’ve bled out all the air bubbles, it’s time to set the air gap at the top of the fork. The easiest way to do at is to use a syringe and a piece of hose, and draw a line at the hose where you want the air gap to be set. The F850GS and GS Adventure actually use the same range. We recommend a 65-millimeter air gap for all around riding and a 60-millimeter air gap for more off-road-specific riding.

So the way to do that is you actually compress the fork cartridge all the way down into the fork so it’s displacing all of the oil that it will be displacing. And then you line up your mark at the top of the fork leg and then suck out the oil until it comes to the height that you’ve drawn your mark at. This is something that’s a lot easier with a second set of hands, but we’ll see how we get along here.

The air gap is now set properly in this fork so it’s time to reassemble the spring, the damping adjuster rod and the fork cap and then we’re going to close up the fork.

Don’t forget to reinstall the damping adjuster rod before you put the fork cap on. Before you install the fork cap, make sure that the locknut on the cartridge rod is screwed all the way down until it bottom out. Then you can screw the fork cap down all the way until it stops. And then you’ll tighten up the cartridge rod locknut until it hits the bottom of the fork cap. Once you’ve tightened the locknut between the fork cap and the cartridge rod, you can slide up the black portion of the fork body and screw the fork cap down into it.

You won’t be able to get the fork cap all the way tight until we have it back into the clamps on the motorcycle. Now is the time to reset the damping adjuster. Turn it clockwise gently until it hits the stop and then turn it out 10 clicks to get back to the factory default setting. The cartridge kit is now installed in this fork leg, so it’s time to reassemble the forks at the front of the motorcycle. Twist the fork leg while applying gentle upward pressure to slide it up through the clamps.

Once you have the forks slid up into the triple clamps to the appropriate height, tighten one of the lower fork clamp bolts to hold the fork in place. While we tighten down the fork cap. Use the provided pin wrench from the cartridge kit to tighten the fork cap. It doesn’t need to be really tight, just enough to make sure that the fork cap stops spinning and is locked down against the top of the fork tube. Once the fork cap is tightened, loosen that lower triple clamp bolt and then rotate the fork to make sure that the writing on the fork cap is facing the correct direction, and confirm that the fork height hasn’t changed while you were doing this process.

Now that I’m done adjusting the height and the orientation of the fork here, it’s time to tighten down all of the fork triple clamp bolts. The Torx spec on these guys is 19 Newton meters. That’s about 14 foot lbs and there’s two bolts on the bottom so you have to make sure that you tighten them alternating so they both come down to the final torque, and there’s a single bolt on the top clamp.

The fork is now installed and the upper and lower triple clamps are properly tightened, now it’s time to install the brake caliper, the lower fender and the clamp for the brake line. Don’t worry if the bottom of the four tube isn’t lined up properly. You can rotate this thing freely now that everything’s installed. The brake caliper bolts get tightened to 38 Newton meters, which is about 28 foot lbs. The small M6 bolts for the lower fender get tightened to three Newton meters, which is like two and a half foot lbs. I like to install red Threadlocker on all of these bolts here because these aren’t things I want coming loose later.

Now we can reinstall the front wheel and lower the bike back down. When reinstalling the front wheel on the F850GS, you tighten the axle nut to 50 Newton meters, which is about 37 foot lbs. And then you tighten down the pinch bolts on both sides to 19 Newton meters, which is about 14 foot lbs. Be sure that you alternate back and forth between both of the pinch bolts so that they both come down to an even torque.

This cartridge installation is now complete. If you want to learn more about products we make for your bike, please visit our website touratech-usa.com. And if you like this video and you want to see more like it, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Overview

The Yamaha Tenere 700 is opening up the adventure motorcycle dream to a broader market with its low barrier to entry at around $11,000. The affordability of this bike is even tempting some riders to add this middle-weight bike to their moto-fleet because it’s smaller, simple and easier to manage off-road than their full-sized BMW R1250GS or KTM 1290 Adventure R. It’s refreshing to throw a leg over a bike that doesn’t require you to navigate a menu to figure out the electronic settings. It’s more of an old-school dirt bike with the exception of one button to engage the off-road ABS. The bike and motor feel surprisingly refined and smooth for a bike at the value-end of the cost spectrum. The 21” front wheel and 18” rear are perfect for riding dirt and a wide range of full knobby tires are available to help riders conquer a wide range of terrain. For anyone looking to get into ADV riding or just wanting a mid-sized bike, it will be hard for them not to consider the Tenere 700.

Rally Styling

Yamaha nailed one thing for sure on the Tenere 700 and that is the rally-inspired body work. From the moment I laid eyes on the T7 concept bike at a trade fair in Germany a half-decade ago, I loved the look of this bike. The production version that finally made it to the US still has that rally look and very good wind protection from the tall navigation-tower-shaped windscreen. I have friends who’ve dumped a small fortune into their Husqvarna 701s to get this look and wind protection that comes stock on the Tenere 700. My only upgrade to the cockpit so far is the Locking GSP Mountand GPS Mount Bracket that I installed onto the triple clamp. On the front side of the fairing I’ve installed the Removable Headlight Guard.

I also chose to protect this body work with Touratech Upper Crashbars which wrap around the front of the bike for maximum protection and enhance the styling. Another benefit is that it provides a good place to mount accessory lights or Crash Bar Bags.

Third Gear of the Gods

On many an ADV bike over the years, I had to change the stock sprockets to get the right gearing for off-road riding. This isn’t necessary on the Tenere 700. In fact, I felt like the gearing could not be more perfect. I fell in love with the Tenere’s 3^rd gear on most of the forest service roads and two-track along the WABDR. It has the perfect range of speeds for this type of riding. At times when the trail got tight, steep, or more technical, 2^nd gear was perfect for tractoring up and through the challenging terrain. It’s a simple thing, but some bikes require a lot of shifting on your typical BDR-style tracks and the Yamaha didn’t. It just felt perfectly geared like it was made for exactly this type of terrain. I installed an Aluminum Chainguard to protect the drivetrain from rocks, sticks and debris on the trail.

B-minus Brakes

My initial reaction was that the Brembo brakes could be better in terms of shear stopping power. The 4-piston caliper dual 282mm disc front brakes are adequate and I was able to modulate with just one finger which is great. They just didn’t give me that ‘wow those are good’ feeling that I have sensed during my first ride on some of the recent twin-cylinder ADV bikes. The rear brake reservoir is somewhat exposed so I protected it with a Brake Reservoir Guard. Yamaha did score points with me on the off-road ABS system.

Off-Road ABS

One of the best inventions of the last decade is off-road ABS. I remember the early days of ABS where we had to constantly remember to disable it and when we forgot to turn it off, there was an oh-shit moment coming into that first corner, feeling the overactive ABS rejecting your instructions to lock up that rear tire and the front brake just wouldn’t bite. I don’t miss those terrifying moments. The off-road ABS on the Tenere 700 is fantastic. It allows you to completely skid the rear wheel to help turn in those corners and for braking assistance in loose gravel. The beauty of this mode is that the rider can grab the front brake hard without completely locking up the wheel. This reduces crashing risk and makes the bike safer to ride, especially for people with beginner or average off-road skills. I protected this critical system by installing an ABS Sensor Guard.

698cc Parallel Twin Powerplant

While it’s not the most powerful twin in the segment, it has plenty to get the job done on pavement, even at highway speed, and it’s very good on the dirt. Riding this bike some 1,500 miles with about half of those miles being off-road, I came to really like the character of this motor. My first impression centered on how smooth it was and that it pulled better than I expected on the highway. I came to enjoy the sounds it made while riding on the twisty high-mountain two-track.

Lofting the front wheel sometimes takes a down-shift as compared to the more powerful twins in the class, but it makes up for this in excellent fuel economy and very manageable traction. This bike has no electronic traction control whatsoever. This was done partially to keep the bike affordable, but also because the bike simply doesn’t need it. I rode aggressively with a full load of camping gear and never felt I was breaking the rear wheel loose excessively. For the first 1,500 miles I’ve averaged 48.8 MPG. It is a very enjoyable motor for slabbing it to and from your favorite BDR and is a joy to ride once you are on dirt. If you like this motor as much as I do, you’ll want to protect it with a Skid Plate, and Crash Bars.

This bike also has a water pump that is exposed so I added a Guard to protect it. There is a lot to love about this motor, but if you are looking for exciting power the T7 might not do it for you.

Toss the Tires

If you are commuting to the office with the occasional fire road on a dry sunny day you might find the stock tires acceptable. I was riding classic BDR roads with loose desert terrain and some slick mud on the higher mountain trails. This rear tire is not adequate for clawing a fully-loaded bike up a steep loose section of rocky or sandy trail. When it comes to mud, the bike control quickly gets sloppy. In most of the conditions I encountered, the tires were just fine. In a few places I was ready to toss them in the dumpster and spoon on a set of Scorpion Rally or TKC 80’s.

Cigarette Plug for Cell Phones

On my first day on the trail, I went to help my riding buddy air up her tires and found a limitation on the accessory power plug. My Stop n’ Go Air Compressor started for a split second then stopped. Troubleshooting revealed I had blown the fuse for the cigarette socket. This power plug is fused for only 2amps which is enough for a cell phone charger and that’s about it. This was a bit disappointing to see on an adventure bike, but Yamaha scored points by having a spare 2amp fuse on-board making it an easy fix.

Battery Access

The passenger seat comes off easily with the ignition key inserted into the lock bezel located just above the foot pegs on the clutch side of the bike. This gives you access to the modest OEM tool kit which surprisingly doesn’t include the 4mm hex key required to remove the main rider’s seat to gain access to the battery.

So, you will be relying on your friends or will need to carry a 4mm hex key with you. Fortunately, I had my CruzTOOLS RoadTech M3 tool kit for Japanese metric motorcycles with me which contains the 4mm hex. I also had a CruzTOOLS Outback’r 14 multi-tool in my Universal Enduro Tank Bag which also has a 4mm hex so I was able to gain access to both the fuses and the battery.

Seat for Standing

I’ve never met a stock seat that I liked and the Tenere 700 is no different. On the tarmac my back-side got uncomfortable after about an hour. Fortunately, my ride involved a lot of dirt and this seat is easy to move around on and encourages riders to stand up. I’ll be upgrading the seat before my next ride.

Suspension

As with any new motorcycle, the suspension is set up for a rider who weighs 170lbs with riding gear and carrying 15lbs of gear. Most of us are far beyond that. First impressions of riding this bike around town is that the suspension is not bad. Without a load it feels pretty good. Once loaded up with camping gear, tools, food and water for a week-long trip in the mountains, it became clear the bike wasn’t going to work for me with the stock suspension.

I installed the Touratech Suspension Extreme Rear Shock and Progressive Fork Springs in the front forks. This dramatically improved the handling and kept the bike level when loaded up with gear. After riding it a bit, I increased both the high-speed and low-speed damping until I felt it was providing maximum control with the heavy load I had for a week-long adventure. I always bring a few nice extras like a camp chair, hammock and like to roll into camp with plenty of water, a bottle of wine and a great selection of appetizers. I am definitely not one to pack light, and I like to ride hard and enjoy launching an occasional water-bar, so upgraded suspension is a requirement for me.

How does it carry the load?

There is a lot of talk about smaller is better. A lighter bike is easier to pick up for sure. A lighter bike does handle better in technical terrain, but only if you pack very light. If not, the front wheel can become too light which creates tracking and control problems and you can feel the weight on the back pulling the bike around.

In my experience, a larger adventure bike carries the load better. A balanced bike is always easier for me to maneuver than a lighter bike with too much junk in the trunk. So, determining how the T700 would handle a full load of camping gear was the real test for me. I was happy to discover that it handled the weight better than some of the 650 thumpers I have ridden. I am a heavy packer, so I reached the limit of weight this bike wanted to carry. When riding the bike with full fuel, water and lots of groceries on board I could really feel it. The larger bikes like the BMW F850, KTM 1090, or Africa Twin can generally handle that type of load better. For me this bike is good, I just need to keep the load reasonable.

For luggage I installed a Zega Pro Pannier System with 31/38 liter anodized boxes which was great for secure and dry storage. It’s nice to be able to take the boxes off at camp for sitting or cooking. The Pannier Lid Dry Bag further extended my storage and also doubled as a camp cooler as it fits a full bag of ice. My tent, hammock, chair, pad, pillow, and sleeping bag fit in a 50 Liter Waterproof Extreme dry bag strapped between the panniers on the seat/fender. This set-up gave me enough space and organization to carry what I needed while keeping the load balanced.

Bottom Line

Just like people, bikes each have their own personality. You meet some you like more than others. I have a feeling that a lot of people will like the Tenere 700. Even though it’s not the lightest or the most powerful in its class there is something special about this bike. It might just be that there is little to dislike about it. This machine has few characteristics that would rub a rider the wrong way, and it has plenty of attributes that people will enjoy. The bottom line is that the Tenere 700 is a pretty darn good choice for riding a Backcountry Discovery Route and it’s at a price that many people can afford. You also have to admit that this is a great looking bike. The rally styling speaks to me and the extra wind protection is nice for long days in the saddle. It’s great to see Yamaha back in the adventure segment with such a strong contender.

Touratech has been making parts for Yamaha Tenere models since the 1990’s. For 30 years, adventure riders exploring the most remote locations on Earth have relied on Touratech.

Check out our complete line of products for the Yamaha Tenere 700 on our website.

Gone are the days of non-adjustable stock front suspension. The Touratech kit is completely tunable with rebound, compression, and preload adjustments made from the top of the fork caps. No matter where your adventure takes you, you can be assured that our cartridge system is designed to go the distance and tackle any terrain you throw at it.

BMW F850GS & ADV Touratech Cartridge Conversion Features:

•Easy Installation with simple “drop in” set-up. No irreversible machining or rework required. This kit includes everything you need to install the cartridge in the right side fork leg, and a decal to put on your left fork cap so they match. The cartridge comes pre-sprung, filled with oil and charged with nitrogen. Simply install and ride.

•Closed Cartridge separates the air and the oil to prevent oil foaming. This direct damping technology ensures that your fork will have smooth and consistent performance even in punishing environments.

•Separation Bladder delivers lightning fast responsiveness due to minimal friction and eliminates foaming by pressurizing the oil.

•Adjustable compression damping allows absolute control of fork tuning to give you the precise handling characteristics you want in any conditions. With 20 clicks of adjustment you can control how fast the fork compresses. If it feels too firm, you can reduce the compression damping. If the bike is going through the travel too quickly, feels too soft, or is bottoming out, you can increase compression damping.

•Adjustable rebound damping allows you to fine-tune the ride characteristics to meet your preferences. With 20 clicks of adjustment you can control how fast the fork moves back out. If it feels bouncy you can increase compression damping. If the fork is progressively using up travel (packing) you can reduce rebound damping.

• Preload Adjustment is easily done by turning the durable steel nut on both legs to achieve proper ride height and use the suspension to its full potential.

• Easy Access with all adjustment screws located on top of the fork leg. Compression damping, rebound damping and preload can all be adjusted while sitting on the bike. This makes it easy to adjust the suspension and have it perform just the way you want it.

•Hydraulic Bottoming Prevention – Like a pillow to prevent the fork from bottoming out suddenly, the hydraulic end stop offers secondary compression damping to smooth out the ride.

•High-strength 35mm aluminum cartridge body is lightweight and maximizes heat dissipation to ensure consistent damping.

•Large volume cartridge holds more oil resulting in cooler operating temperatures, consistent damping and longer life.

•Chrome-plated steel piston rod prevents wear and offers maximum strength and durability resulting in smooth action.

•Includes custom spring selected for your weight and riding style.

•Damping set up for fully-loaded F850GS or GSA right out-of-the-box.

Why is a closed cartridge system better?

1.) Damping oil is separated from the nitrogen which prevents foaming. This results in unmatched consistency in damping. An open system loses damping the harder it is ridden as oils gets mixed with gas.

2.) Closed systems allow the selection of different oil specifications for damping versus lubrication. Heavier oil is better for lubricating, while a lighter weight oil is better for damping. A closed system allows the engineers to select the best oil for each job which dramatically improves performance. Open systems have to make a big compromise with oil selection because they must choose an oil type that is resistant to foaming, can provide lubrication and also work for damping. The result is an oil specification that is not the best for any single job.

3.) A closed cartridge is a self contained “drop-in” solution that offers unmatched performance.

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