We travel from the top to the bottom of Wales looking for our top 5 Welsh trails, and we chose the Yamaha Tenere 700 to do it on. #offroad #yamaha #tenere
Great video and some very important points. I've been on all sides. As a kid growing up in Wales, riding bikes illegally from age 14 in the mountains, we had great fun! However, the growth in popularity around here means the fun police (and the actual police) clamped down on it. Many years later, I joined the TRF and learned just how much they do for legal riders and all the work they put into keeping these routes open! I would urge anyone who can afford the few quid a year to pay the membership just to help them fight the legal battles to keep routes open if you are interested in riding these routes. Think of it as an investment cos when these routes are gone, they are gone!
Chris is becoming one of my favourite internet bike guys. You can tell there’s thought behind his opinions. God I want to try the Yamaha off-road experience. God I miss Wales.
Even here in Australia forests and parks are closing to bikes and 4wds. It only takes a few idiots to blow it for as us all. Loud bikes, no registration, not being polite to others is all killing our passion for riding motorbikes. It will come one day when motorised vehicles will be banned for use on trails and tracks. And battery bikes will be norm very soon.
Thanks for making the point about the TRF, Im not a member and I probably only go offroad a couple of times a year but their organisation really is important. I wish more people could see the good side of the hobby because if it encouraged more trails to be reopened, it would reduce the wear and reckless riding that occurs on what remains.
Thanks for this video, I have been doing trails on my GS (it is lowered) for the past year. It's been a mixed experience, overall great but lately I'm finding it not enjoyable as I'd like. Mainly as I have short legs :( I have to stay offroad riding as a short arse is incredibly frustrating, you can't get a bike with decent suspension travel and its all a compromise. I'm at a crossroads and dunno what to do.
Nice video...good riding skills too!. And glad you said your piece about joining the TRF and treating the trails with respect. The T7 is great all round bike...I'm really pleased with mine! Cheers, Steve
You'll love every minute! Did day 1 & 2 last year and looking forward to 3 & 4 next year. Dylan and the team were ace, the bikes, the gear, the whole day was bang on 👍
Thoroughly enjoyed that chaps, thanks for putting in the effort to bring it to us - even though it reminded me why I no longer attempt any off roading (ran out of local trails to me plus my arthitic shoulders fight against me)...that Tenere 700 is no doubt a capable machine but for me I just can't get by the looks, but as Chris said, that's a personal thing....keep up the great work, really loving your recent videos, gone up a gear now Chris appears to be fronting the show...long may it continue! All the best for 2022!
Great vid. I have a T7 and take mine off road in UK. And totally agree with his comments on the T7. Although I would add, if you are a bit shorter (like me) stick the lower link and the lower seat on it (and drop the forks a bit) and your confidence in the rough slippy stuff will increase. The suspension still has full travel and works as intended, you just lose a little ground clearance.
So Chris, is it really true that it's easier to pickup a big GS after a fall because the cylinders sticking out the side don't allow the bike to fall completely over vs even the Tenere 700?
On flat ground, for sure. Only time a boxer-engined GS can be harder is if it falls fully upside down on a big hill or camber, but even then the cylinders provide something useful to spin it around on!
maybe, but the tenere isn't exactly hard to pick up. You'd be picking up a GS way more times than a tenere or 790 so you'd be down on energy by the end of the ride
Really enjoyed this video. Nice to see a little bit of home 🏴 and great to see what’s out there if you go off the beaten track! I’ve never ridden the GS off road but I’ve taken my little Series 1 Landy on these tracks plenty of times in the past……
Definitely! That one near Trecastle I've been along in my Series 3 Landy for fish and chip date night a few times, great fun. But you should definitely get some adventure bike off roading in at some point, really enjoyable.
Excellent review, your point about respecting others is spot on, i'm lucky to live near the Nant y Moch trail. Local walking groups really do appreciate it when riders slow down when passing by, and keep to the trail, it keeps a lid on negative mutterings.👍👍
Damn you Chris and Bike World. I’m trying to resist trading in my Z900 for a Tenere (no space for the Zed, a Series Land Rover and a Tenere). And the Yamaha Off Road team are brilliant, I’ve spent a day on a trials bike and a couple of days on a Tenere with these guys; I’ve learnt a lot and enjoyed every minute.
Great video and so true regarding behaviour. It takes very little to be polite and courteous but not doing can cost the use of these lanes. I like the T 700 even if it strayed from the concept bike. I’m no spring chicken but want to have a go before decrepitude takes a hold. This has inspired me to have a go! Good luck for 2022.
loved this ! I've been to Wales doing some trails on an enduro bike (KTM) - add another 100KG's or so on an adventure bike not so easy !! IOM is good too ... have you ever visited Devon ??? 100's of Geen lanes of all types to explore... as good or better than anywhere !
Great video, I bought T7 last year and have ridden it here in Washington state off road!! It’s awesome, agreed on the height and too heavy part. I’m 5’10 so I bought the lower seat which helps. Thanks again, Wales looks cool!
Nice one mate. I also have a T7 Tenere. Great views in both landscapes and the need to show respect for not just the places we ride, but the other users of those trails as well. I always make it a habit to give the local farmers a wave too or to stop for a chat. Yes even here in OZ, we have huge issues with the "Greenies" and the closure of many tracks to "motorised vehicles" but horses that excrete the seeds of intrusive weeds into the forests etc are fine. WTF? Seen many of your videos... Keep up the good work. Have a great day. From the Land of OZ.
Great stuff. Really enjoyed it. Imagine how good a modern big bore 2T adv bike would be DT600MX anyone. Also a (4T) VFR400 Africa4. Sorry I have an over active imagination.
Great job. Txs for all the videos. Please let me know how you compare your modified KTM 950 unfinished project vs a 2024 Tenere World raid vs KTM 890R. Wich one you would take for what conditions ? Txs in advance and continue the great jobs and nice wheelys 😊
Nice one Chris as usual. Any chance you can provide GPX files or links to the trails you’ve ridden? Totally agree with your assessment of the T7 although I’m riding a 701 for off roading as I wanted something as light as I could make it considering the lump it has to carry!! Lol Hopefully see you all next year at ORS.👍
Great vid again, some of the best on RU-vid! Any plans to get the Triumph tiger rally pro muddy? (I just bought one, can't get a T7 here in Canada, and the Desert X is months away!)
Thanks for the info on legality and some common sense when it comes to riding off road trails in the UK. It's important to me at least to know how it works in here. Peace.
52 quid a year to join TRF - if you can pay it ,please do - they help us legally when assholes try to shut trail access down BUT they also offer us community, a place to get help, advice, rideout groups etc
Good points on the trails. I got so sick of moaning dick heads when I was respectful just trying to enjoy my motorcycle I packed up and left. Not the trail, the UK. It a happier motorcycling place now. 👍 Good review Chris.
I've listen and played it back but I can't quite get the name of the forestry road.if anybody knows can you let me know please, really really enjoyable video dude.
Awesome work Chris. Ridden the Tenere for a couple of days with Yamaha and it’s a great machine. Some great advice about joining your local group and respecting other people on the Trail. Just another note.. it’s easy to pick up 😅 and it’s supremely reliable. A decent set up and some good tyres and it’s very capable.
Great video I've been trail riding for 30 years loads of lanes have been closed it's a shame. They shouldn't close roads if people miss behave these roads should be policed like other roads and insurance and tax checked too weed out chaves . If you have a horse in the uk you can be rude,shit outside someone's house and leave it and ruin roads in the wet and pay nothing towards repair in tax. Hikers have so many places to go if a sign was put up showing the were on a road maybe it would help calm them.
My next bike WILL DEFINITELY be a Tenere 700. I have an FZ-07 but I'm always wanted to ride sand and dirt trials and hop curbs and train tracks and go in the grass. And while I do try it a bit on the FZ, it's just kinda sketchy. Awesome riding! Check out what Fast Guys Slow Bikes is doing. He hangs with YZ450s on motocross courses. Same with Pol Tarres.
I don't consider the T7, hard to pick up, compared to the biggest adv bikes, and Yamaha should rework the T12, based on this bike, just as Triumph did with the new 1200 Explorer, on the 900.
Well made tour of some historic countryside. To think that Rome built those roads 2000 years ago..and the natives were there for thousands of years before that..did the Romans introduce the wheel to Britain? The T7 is a great bike if you are tall enough. The high center of gravity is its biggest design fault. On road it isn’t an issue, but off road it not only makes one crash more often, but makes it really difficult to pick up. The KTM split tank design really works to lower the CG, similar to the BMW boxer design but without the shin banging. Paddling along on the boxer is frustrating.
We will have to do anything to not be hated. But I hate: - Horses on off road trails leaving big piles of shit all over the place. - People walking on the off road trails, being loud when they are talking so I can't enjoy my special exhaust system - Dogs barking and chasing you leaving big piles of shit on or next to the trail. - Tractors, useless vehicles to me. - Cows or sheep on the trail - 😁 Very nice video.
Great film, you summed the UK off-road scene up very well. The Tenere looks like a big unit to me. OK, it will do most things but I think you'd have more fun on something lighter and crashes wouldn't be as expensive either.
Thanks Chris, Ive actually put a deposit down with the Yamaha Off road guys to do a Tenere day. Ive got a T7 myself but thought Id rather drop theirs to start with, can't wait
Awesome video and also 💯 agree that our trails should be treated with respect so we can continue using them! Can I ask what your camera setup on the front of your helmet was? Obviously a GoPro but how did you do mics?
Great video. I have a tenere XT660Z and my Mrs has a Himalayan. These trails would be ideal for us newbies. Is there any more info on how to find these please 🙏
Thanks forthe amazing video! Cool content! Gotta love the T7 beast! Well said about those simple rules for offroad riding and respect. Thanks! Keep it up with your cool content!
great content, as my welsh isnt that great, can you pop the locations in the description? (start and finish). Hope to see you on the BMW off road skills course later this year
The best bike channel and reviewer bar none. Fair, balanced and to the point. Chris, an extra shout out to you for making the point about being respectful. I love bikes. I ride all year round both on road and off. But it seriously naffs me off when you see people tearing up byways in big groups, hammering it towards other users and churning all the paths up for a "laugh". It gives us all a bad name. Brings heat from the Police and ruins it for the rest of us. Keep up the cracking work. Ride safe and i look forward to many more videos this year.
Cheers from the new England, New Hampshire USA to be more specific. Thanks for including crash footage. Made me laugh out loud primarily because that happens to me just about every I ride off road. Great insights into riding and good to advocate for being a responsible and proactive rider.
A lot of key pointers given. Truly appreciated you folks sharing this. It's not only applicable for the UK / Welsh road, but actually can be used for the better part of the world. Just be respectful of your surroundings and things should turn out for the better. Ride on!!
As a property owner and avid motorcyclist I have to say thank you Chris. I had no choice but to shut down the greenway because the young motorbike kids had no respect for the neighbors horses. I find it sad for it had been open for all my families generations till now. god bless and safe riding.
Good vid , it’s well and good going faster and standing up on someone else’s bike that doesn’t matter if you drop it. Different story of you are all alone on the French tet fully loaded and in the middle no where though isn’t it. I’ll plod along on my transalp thanks and it’s always got me through.
Excellent video and I totally agree about respecting all trail users. I’m a TRF member and thankfully there’s still plenty of green lanes open near me but by god the looneys are trying to close more every year 🤬 T7 is a special machine as you so convincingly demonstrated 👏🏼👏🏼
That was a really informative video Chris. I went off roading for the first time with a few experienced guys and went home after an hour or two bruised and battered, confidence knocked beacause the trails were like the gnarly ones in your video ! If I'd have seen this first I would have sought out some easier trails for myself. My mission for this year is to learn on easier stuff and get my confidence back.
Great video! I do love the look of the T7. As for the trails amazing! I ride my GSA off road a lot and after watching your video want to get over to Wales a give them a go...
Thanks Chris for being a good ambassador for the sport. I really enjoy trail riding and there are plenty of people out there who want to see us us banned, so your advice to new riders is much appreciated.
