Yamaha Tenere 700 vs Aprilia Tuareg 660 | Off Road Bike Review 

Thanks for watching 👍🏻

Thanks for watching 👍🏻

It’s definitely a great platform. It will be interesting to see how the Aprilia holds up over the next 12 to 18 months once people starting to put some real mileage on the bike.

@@SedlakOffroadSchool Yes that will be the decisive moment. But Aprilia have a winner, with the Tuareg 660 platform. Aprilia would be fools not to run with this success, coming out with a 2nd iteration that addresses the niggles, and that has built in more reliability, and sturdiness for hard usage.

The reviews for the Tuareg are the most positive I've seen for any bike. The Harley Pan America has similarly glowing reviews, but the Harley is probably double the price, and 100 pounds more.

Why do you think Aprilia is not as reliable as the Yamaha?

Think Aprilia is using Yamaha engine then reliability won't be a problem

Yep, an extra inch of suspension travel in the rear and the shock. Cruise control is not relevant off road so we didn’t really consider that as a feature. The Tuareg is definitely a good platform. Have you ridden both bikes?

and the infamous Aprilia reliability.....LOL

@@nemerkha hohoho

Haha yes cruise control. Exactly what an off-road use bike needs

@@Sinister_fartbox Adventure bikes arent strictly off road bikes.

I also put value on Yamahas dealer network at areas where I usually ride and live. Yamaha has so much dealers and support all around Europe. Needed it many times 😊 Plus I do love my T7 😂 Next summer I will definitely test ride that Aprilia

@@PatchedBandit but, reportedly, Yamaha's are so reliable, I would have thought you never need a dealer nearby. Sorry, for being cynical here, but hope you get my point.

@@davidmallia628 No I don’t. I travel with my motorcycle. Last year I used Yamaha dealers all around Europe all the way from Greece to Finland and many places inbetween. It’s not always about breaking down but basic service, parts and addons that yamaha dealers have in stock pretty well usually. Dealer network FOR ME is essential.

@@PatchedBandit useless dealership support, because the Tenere just doesnt need it! The tenere is built with reliability in mind, none of that rider modes bollocks and shite like that. proper rider's bike. and this is me talking after owning an R1200GSA and a Tracer 9GT (amongst many others)

@@nemerkha I have bought oem parts all over europe during my travels and bought factory servicing to ly Tenere on my trips. Dealers dont only repair faults Just because you cant see the value doesnt mean its not there for me.

The Aprilia has antilock brakes standard on the front I think? At least in one review, the dirt mode selection shuts the ABS off in the back, but leaves it on up front, so you don't lockup the front wheel. In another review I watched, the guy said that the Tuareg is better than the Tenere in every way, better engine, suspension, handling, and electronics, basically every aspect of the bike is better. The Tenere is a really good bike, but if you're being totally objective, the Tuareg is more bike for the money, because they are priced very similar.

@@Ritalie the Yamaha looks better .. I bought the light blue rally version and every time i look at her i'm forgiving her that she's top heavy :))

and better brake system and TUBELESS

not sure it is the better bike for the money, maybe just when you buy it new...but, especially if you need to sell it second hand, I live in Italy and still didn't see one tuareg on the road, then it's going to have a very small market...cheers@@Ritalie

If Aprilia had a different art designer working for them, and if they had just copied every visual feature from the Triumph Tiger 800, they would have created the single greatest ADV bike in history. Unfortunately the Tuareg is the perfect bike, one of the best motorcycles ever made, but it's only a 9 out of 10, because of the odd front end. I normally won't consider buying an ugly bike, but the Taureg is a masterpiece, and from the side, it's much better looking than the KTM's with their ridiculous fuel tanks. It's also possible that if you painted the bike red, or blue, and got rid of the weird rally colors, it might actually make that front end work, visually speaking.

@@Ritalie Interesting! I did test ride the Aprillia and found it very nice and there was enough power. The front end is a different story though... in reality it doesn´t look that weird than it does in pictures but your idea of painting it sounds good. Maybe I will ask the dealer to add some spray cans to convince me to buy it ;)

Headlight is ugly as F

Why do you think Aprilia are not reliable?

Aprilia is for tall people too

Thanks for watching. The ADV bikes are definitely tall. We are getting the new Kawasaki KLR S in a couple of weeks with the lowered set up. Really interested to see how that will compare to the taller bikes.

Correct, The Aprilia has more travel in the shock and the fork. In the video I referred more to the feel of the bike with the suspension set up to OEM spec. Both of them would need a suspension upgrade for real hard offroad riding just to keep the suspension higher up in its stroke. Have you ridden both bikes?

You are right the shifting is hard. Was surprised by that when I first jumped on the bike. Did you modify the DR or running it stock?

@@SedlakOffroadSchool Its heavily modified, jet kit, exhaust, lowered final drive, fork cartriges and springs up front. Just need to replace the rear shock to something decent.

Agreed & in the market for a DR 650

Thinking the same. Ride a Tenere with Öhlins on it and its awesome in all aspects except the top heavy weight. Wondering about the DR, can you set up a really good suspension on that one?

Thank You! Near Warner Springs. Unfortunately not a very long section.

Thanks for subscribing! Have you ridden one of the bikes?

@@SedlakOffroadSchool yes

The gear ratios are shit on the Tuareg, and they are shit on ALL BIKES. There needs to be a worldwide global "Summit" to force manufacturers of all motorcycles into changing 6th gear into an overdrive. And they even need to mandate the engine RPM algorithm, so manufacturers have to install a REAL OVERDRIVE gear on EVERY MODEL motorcycle they sell, except for race only motorcycles that won't be driven on public roads. Only a race track motorcycle should have a tight ratio 6 speed, with no overdrive. Back in 1970, Malcom Smith had to get Husqvarna to make him an 8 speed transmission for his 250cc enduro, to use for Califonria desert racing, and other longer races, because of the shitty horrendous low gears. IT was a problem 50 years ago, and it's still a problem today - bikes NEED TALLER GEARS.

If I remember right, the Yamaha used some type of odd crankshaft configuration on the Yamaha Tenere 700cc, which makes it have a rough, coarse sound. There is a trend right now (I hope it ends sooner rather than later) for companies to use flat plane crankshafts, and non-standard non-balanced crankshaft configurations, just to be different, and for no other reason. There is no good engineering reason to change the crankshaft but that's what Yamaha and Triumph have done to all their bikes, and they sound awful as a result. Fortunately the Yamaha triples are using a standard crankshaft, and they sound awesome, but most of their other bikes are using the "flat plane" crankshaft, which sounds awful. It's clear that the Aprilia sounds like a normal parallel twin, so they are using a standard crankshaft, which gives it that glassy smoothness, which is AWESOME. Sorry I'm a bit rusty on the actual terminology, but you can go and listen to a new Triumph Tiger 900, or a new Yamaha R6, and listen to the Tenere, if you want to hear the horrible "odd" firing order they have. Ditto on the new Corvette which sounds WEIRD.

​​@@Ritalie Both the T7 and toureg 660 use the same cross plane crank configuration. Most people love the sound of the CP2 motor with nice exhaust as it sounds like a V twin.

Same situation for me with both bike and body. Agree.

Wäre für mich auch einfacher, weil ich auch Deutscher bin. Die Motorräder die uns hier gestellt werden kommen immer nur mit den US Specs, aber in Zukunft werden wir die restlichen Infos Googeln und dazu schreiben 👍🏻 Danke für dein Feedback.

Thanks! 👍

I’ve test ridden both and the Tuareg feels much lighter, and more balanced

Did you ride them off road or on the street?

The Tuareg is easier to turn in slow, tight sections. That’s where the weight sitting lower in the bike helps a lot. At higher speeds that weight starts to push the front end more and gives you the feeling of losing the front end in the turns.

What are the most popular ADV bikes in Brazil?

@@SedlakOffroadSchool Down here is the GS 12xx and Tiger 900. We have a great group of KTms, most of them 990, 690 and now few 890. Our problem here is the availability of different bikes and the price that is really expensive.

Confidence in your equipment is a big part of the fun, especially off road

absolutely

Thank You! I think a proper off road front tire will make a big difference. We just mounted some Mitas on the Tenere and that was a great step in front end feel. I’m sure the Tuareg would benefit from that.

The bars on the Aprilia are too close when standing, so body weight is in wrong place. I think straighter bars would help enormously

Have you tried the lower seat option??

Two years And unlimited Mileage is problematic?

@@rustyupton168 Italians tend to refuse warranty claims, so it doesn't matter how many years :-).

in Jan 23 Aprilia has officially delivered an upgrade in the ECU which grant more punch in low revs

Definitely! Have you ridden both?

@@SedlakOffroadSchool I haven't gotten the chance on an Aprilia yet.

I'll take cruise control for the non-dirt part of the Adv trip

Yeah if you're really gonna do any road work to the trails which really what these bikes are designed for, CC is a game changer. Very few people are gonna trailer these adv bikes to the dirt.

We set them both up according to their manual to get the most OEM feel for both bikes. In the terrain we rode there wasn’t a big difference in the feel of the bike. The Aprilia has an extra inch of suspension travel in the front and the rear so that will provide you with more room to play around with your set up. Depending on rider weight and riding style, both bikes would need a suspension setting upgrade. Someone commented on our Aprilia video that they put 12k miles on the Tuareg without any issues. Reliability seems to be the biggest concern when it comes to the Tuareg.

@@SedlakOffroadSchool .. The ADV I buy will be kept for a long time. I do my own repairs and maintenance. Reliability and even simplicity are important to me. It'll also be a 3rd bike for me so the less I have to do the better ;)

Reliability is the reason why I just buy japanese bikes. Never had problems with them so far. Friends of mine ride Ducatis, KTMs, Aprilias etc. and they never had a season without any issues. I would love to own a Moto Guzzi V85TT or an Aprilia Tuareg..but I'm really afraid of "unexpected issues" tbh. And I think the T7 looks way better than the T660 (on the front end).

@@sebbwebbo7557 ... I couldn't agree more, seb...

@@sebbwebbo7557 This statement was true 30 years ago - now there are plenty of Japanese lemons out there. When I was looking for a new bike I wish I bought a Moto Guzzi V85tt, which was the bike I wanted instead of an Africa Twin, which I bought because I thought it would be easier to maintain. I was horribly wrong, I ended up with an unreliable bike that I didn’t like, and very expensive to maintain. Funny enough, those Guzzis seems to be very solid

it has to do with the compression ratio of the engine

@@francescoporcari8597 yes I know small engine on real high compression,

Definitely one of the biggest upsides to the Tenere 👍🏻

Tuareg is the king too

@@SedlakOffroadSchool the most important thing in an adventure bike!!! obviously

Both are 204kg wet

🤷🏼‍♂️ It’s an off road review so cruise control is definitely irrelevant. And most riders that ride either of these two bikes mention that the suspension is too soft for their liking. Almost every Tenere that comes through our training classes has upgraded suspension and non of these guys race their ADV bikes.

Yes ,I was under the impression the extra HP on the Aprilia came at the cost of low down Torque, that seems to be what most reviewers say, One guy said he stalled the Tuareg a lot more than the T7.

@@silverdale3207 got the tuareg its awsome in my opinion , i do belive down low tenere have much more torque at start , bike is very easy to stall especially if machine is not warm enough

have you owned one? have you tried one? literally over 60k group members and not one mention of any mechanical problems. the most balanced bike i ever owned (i had an r1200gsa and went to the t7)

@@nemerkha i have tenere 700 from april 2022. Mechaniicaly engine is very simple and i think that its realable. But that engine wasnt enginered to t7. His build is very high and on roght side touch leg. It has good characteristic but nothing what give ass thrills. But engine is even good in t7 but his high build not. And all is putt from shells with cheap garbage. All accesories no fit each other. Motorcycle is very hight on rider over 185 cm when sag is correct, and yamaha put in springs on 70kg rider. Short footpegs , they are like no one would buy it, and yamaha put this garbage to tenere 700. Next handlebbars. It has very small sweep, its straight, very uncomfortable, its the same, i think no one would buy it, and yamaha put it to tenere 700. Small tank, on internet there are lies about range. In reality range is about 260km, when we ride already about 50km with blinking reserve. And i put gasoline to cap, nuy i shouldnt, there should be air gap. Next it overheating every time in summer. Two cylinder simple engine , no covered, and fan is still running. Its garbage. I have vfr 800 from 99 v4 and there is better! Its shame. That should be repair on service action. Next front suspension. The same , no one would buy it from kayaba, and yamaha put that garbage to tenere 700. And they lie that it has 21 cm travel, when truth is 20cm. So its closer to vstrom 650 than gs800. But travel is good for specs, dimmension is what we should look on. This suspension is awfull, it rips arms from body. Next exhaust, shame how its mounted, why not closer under seat? That we could mount simetrical trunks? With this mount on offroad we can bend frame. There is not subframe removable. And finish qulity of exhaust, its awfull, not stainless steal, but something like black powder, with many scratches. Yamaha was testing this bike very long, i think that they looks for more garbage from market to put in on this bike and have better income. I dont know what costs in this simple motorcycle that we pay like for a car, and even suspension isnt decent. I dont recomend this motorcycle and yamaha enginers. They should utilise that all garbage around the world what people change in this motorcycle. I thing to send box to japan with that garbage, let they utilise it. On afterrmarket everything is very pricey. Yamaha had the best chance to produce good motorcycle, with decent quality of suspension, in good money. But they prefer to put garbages to they customers. And next they mounting top suspension for paul tarres and talk bulshittt how it is super oh ah. Yamaha enginers with 70 years expiriens.... what a shiliit! T7 is not cheap! I could buy 2 years used car in mild condition, which weight 1,5 ton, and is twice more sophisticated , twice better enginered than tis garbage t7.

@@pablobablo2057 to be fair nobody forced you to buy the t7. Am sure you knew what you were buying and researched it prior to that. You bought a bike that didnt meet your needs or desires, not the bikes fault its yours. Plenty of adv bikes on the market. You could have gone with the KTM or the bmw, AT? Those are sophisticated enough with bells and whistles.the CP2 engine IS the mist reliable engine in the last 15 years - fact. People who buy a T7, buy it for a reason - simplicity, reliability and fun. If you want a bloody ipad with wheels look somewhere else.

@@nemerkha cp 2 is reliable engine. Is it proved? Evryone complain on bmw for ecamle gs but their motorcyles run very much mileages in small years. People run it around the world. Cp2 engines has small milleages. But i know that its reliable. And i didnt wanted sophisticated motorcycle. I wanted simple but GOOD enginered its difference. I know about specs before i bought it. The most dissapointment is front suspension and small tank. Bigger tank like 19 litres would be only a few cmeters widther. So why they did so small. 19 litres would be accurate. Why so many people around the world talk about tank! Because its too small! And there is army people buyed for yamaha which lie that range is 350km or more. 5litres per 100km its 300km to total empty tank. Because its take 5 litres and even 6litres on highway. And this overheating. How its enginered. No car around me have running fun and this t7 wit nocovered engine is still running fan? Its garbage. I said sophisticated, i mean something with good quality, extra materials. I dontnlike electronic in motorcycles. But if yamaha dont put it in so why they not make decent feont suspension? On 2023 they put tablet on dadhboard, last thing what they should change. But it gives them easy income.

@@pablobablo2057 google it. The most reliable engine according to Motorrad research (yes, it’s a German motorcycling media company). Plenty of 100+k miles cp2 around. PLENTY. Google that too, a rental company in australia. Anyways, am not advocating anything am just stating my opinion. And yours doesn’t line up with thousands of other T7 owners. What’s overheating? Never heard if this problem. Do you mean running hot? You should try a ducati then! Lol