The surprise announcement that Yamaha was entering its popular mass-produced twin-cylinder adventure bike in the Tunisia Desert Challenge, a grueling eight-day desert race across the dunes in the Sahara, lit up the global motorsports media as it came on the heels of the shockwave news of Yamaha's withdrawal from the Dakar Rally (after participating for 40 years!) as well as the FIM Cross-Country Rally World Championship.
Walking into the bivouac upon arrival in Djerba, the first thing I wanted to see was these two Ténéré 700 World Raid factory rally bikes. I was certain they'd only share a cosmetic resemblance with the standard T700WR. Although they might share their DNA with the stock models, surely the blue body panels would hide the fact that there was not a single OEM part to be found. I was convinced they were totally redesigned, hand-built race bikes that had never come near a factory assembly line. In other words, purebred racing pedigree unobtainium!
And I could not have been more wrong. Conducting daily interviews with Alessandro Botturi and Pol Tarrés, the Yamaha factory riders competing in the Tunisia Desert Challenge (TDC), along with amiable team manager Manuel Lucchese, I learned the Ténéré 700 World Raid factory rally bikes are indeed unique and special, but not for the reasons I'd assumed. Contrary to my belief, they started life as standard models, coming off the same assembly line as every other Ténéré 700 sold in the global market, and are far closer to the stock models than one might assume.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January - February 2023 من Adventure Motorcycle (ADVMoto).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January - February 2023 من Adventure Motorcycle (ADVMoto).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Stuant Gregory IS IT AN ADDICTION?
Five-Time Dakar Malle Moto racer
INTO THE MUD
Strategies for Successful Off-Road Riding
CHASING PEAKS IN THE HIMALAYAS
It was 2:00 a.m. on my fourth day in India. My eyes blinked open in the dark of a hotel room in Drass, a town in the Himalayas on the Indian side of the border. Yesterday was our first day riding on a six-day trip through the Himalayas, and my brain could not process everything I'd seen and experienced.
Angels and Demons RIDING TWO-UP SOUTH THROUGH ALASKA
A not-so-warm welcome as we entered Hatchers Pass from Willow to Palmer, Alaska.
EXPLORING THE THRILLING WORLD OF RALLY RAID
A GUIDE TO GETTING STARTED
MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE
LESSONS LEARNED ON THE ROAD
White Desert
Riding Across the Frozen Landscape of Siberia
Kitti and Martha Forget Black Dog CYCLE WORKS
How do you start something from nothing? That’s what Kurt and Martha Forgét did when they created Black Dog Cycle Works (BDCW) out of their garage 16 years ago
Essential GROUP RIDING Tips
FOR ADVENTURE RIDERS (ON OR OFF THE ROAD)
MAKING MEMORIES
Kevin and I initially met in the Marines. We have been riding together for a few years, and riding BDRs the entire time. Our first attempt at a BDR was in Utah, where we were completely unprepared and significantly ignorant of our capabilities. It led to some interesting moments conquering Lockhart Basin where we developed our backcountry motto: “Less Gear and More Water.” We document our rides on our YouTube channel, “Be Gone for Good.”