The Rabbit and the Hare

I know that the children’s tale is called “The Tortoise and the Hare” but, for some reason, “the rabbit and the hare” just rolled off my tongue better. Not to mention this analogy works well for the comparison of Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 and KTM’s 790 Adventure and Adventure R. Both companies created similar creatures to achieve the same purpose – to the untrained eye, they may even seem to be the same species. However, you may wonder if one is better than the other. Could a rabbit beat a hare? Or is a hare born to leave a rabbit in the dust?

The Yamaha Ténéré 700 and the KTM 790 Adventure and Adventure R were the most highly anticipated midsize adventure bikes within the motorcycle manufacturing industry for the past three years. This category of bikes attracts a large segment of the consumer market, and for good reasons: they are lightweight, and embody performance and style while sitting at a reasonable price point.

If you were to take a critical look at the specs of each bike, you’d notice that these bikes aren’t closely comparable, as they offer completely different assets for the rider, a different niche style of riding and different price points. But things aren’t always so simple; when multiple factors come into play, deciding if one machine is superior to the other is a muddle. So, that begs the question: which one is better?

Ténéré 700

I recently wrote a review about the Yamaha, Sept/Oct 2020), and I thoroughly enjoyed the bike. Riding a lightweight bike with full adventure capability without the electronic options to distract me from the ride at hand was refreshing. The T7 is capable, without a doubt, but does lack some high-performance components that a serious rider would consider upgrading at purchase. Of course, that was Yamaha’s goal: create something versatile for any skill level and every rider on a budget who is looking for a new bike.