14 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.auSOIL SAMPLE HOT OFF THE PRESS
ADVENTUREFEST
THE EICMA MOTORCYCLE SHOW IN MILAN LIVED UP TO EXPECTATIONS WITH A PLETHORA OF NEW MODELS
Show
timeTÉNÉRE 700
Yamaha used EICMA to further fuel
interest in the Ténére 700, this year
giving it the name Ténére 700 World Raid
Adventure. Yamaha provided just enough
information to maintain the media hype
but an arrival date is yet to be confi rmed.
Although the World Raid Adventure
is just a prototype, Yamaha claims
it is “being used to develop the fi nal
specifi cation of the production model”,
unlike last year’s T7 “concept”
presumably, which featured what looked
like a WR450F single-disc front-end.
It’s powered by the sweet 689/655cc
Crossplane twin from the MT-07 roadie,
features a new steel trellis frame with a
fully-adjustable, upside-down fork and
monoshock rear. Yamaha claims it will
be light, extremely capable off-road and
“unlike anything currently offered,” but
there are no specs to back this up and a
production date is yet to be confi rmed.
One thing we do know for sure, the
Ténére 700 will replace the heavy and
outdated XT660Z Ténére, which is still
available here but no longer being built
thanks to the Euro 4 emission regs.KTM 790 PROTOTYPE
KTM stole the adventure show with its
790 Adventure R prototype. Based around
the new LC8c parallel twin from the 790
Duke, the 790 is KTM’s take on a compact
adventure bike and appears to have more
serious off-road potential than the latest
in that class from Germany and Britain.
Details are limited, but the 790
Adventure R prototype was sporting
long-travel WP suspension, slim seat and
fuel tank, twin front discs, LED lights,
handguards and Akrapovic exhaust. The
thing does look Ready to Race but you
probably won’t be able to until 2019.
The Duke is expected to tip the scales at
150kg dry so this thing should be light.SWM GOES MX
SWM unveiled three junior two-stroke
MX models at EICMA. The Italian fi rm has
plans to produce a 65, 85 and 125cc to be
targeted at junior riders. Also unveiled
was an updated RS300R enduro model
featureBNGsandArrowexhaust.BETTER BETA
Beta introduced its new Xtrainer the
week before EICMA but, for most people,
the show was the fi rst chance to see it.
The most notable changes to the 2018
Xtrainer involve the engine.
It received the same updates
introduced in the 2018 RR two-stroke
range to improve its performance and
reduce weight.
This includes a new clutch, cylinder,
piston, cylinder head, crankshaft, conrod
and combustion chamber – with increased
compression.
The chassis remains unchanged but
sports a new look thanks to the red and
white plastics.BLINGED-UP GASSER
Gas Gas fans have more to get excited
about, with the Spaniards unveiling an
Enduro GP Factory Racing edition. Not to
be confused with the Six-Days special, this
Enduro GP is the real deal.
Based on the 2018 EC range, the Enduro
GP is treated to a Rekluse clutch cover
and housing, upgraded cylinder head with
revised combustion chamber, complete
FMF exhaust system, Renthal 997
handlebar, X-Trig machined and anodized
triple-clamps, Kayaba ‘Factory Racing’
EnduroGP fork, Floating front disc,
gripper seat cover, machined handlebar
clamp and black anodized rear sprocket.
Local availability is yet to be confi rmed.