Fans of Pol Tarres and the seemingly impossible stunts he performs on big adventure bikes in his Seeker video series know that each year the trials champ brings a different Yamaha T7 to the set. In the first video he used a lightly customized bike with professionally-tuned suspension, while in the second Seeker film, his bike featured more elaborate refinements. 

To accommodate Pol’s latest antics, his T7 was recently rebuilt from the ground up by Dakar racer and FIM 500cc Baja World Champion, Manuel Lucchese, who loves to get his hands dirty creating custom bikes and helping develop new products for the dirt and adventure bike community. In his latest YouTube video Manuel reveals all the refinements built into Pol’s latest hot rod. 

Visually, the most striking element is the carbon fiber replacement windscreen from Rebel X Sports, purveyor of rally raid and adventure bike accessories. The one-piece windscreen fits right on top of the stock headlamp using just two bolts to allow easy access to the bike’s cockpit instruments. 

The windscreen’s two headlamp eye holes give the T7 an edgy Batman-esque vibe that’s complemented by matching Rebel X carbon fiber body panels that replace all the stock molded plastic panels, a move Manuel says shaved some weight from the bike. After the video was shot Pol added a unique graphic kit created by Living This Bikelife, now available to consumers as the “Pol Tarres Artic” replica kit. 

An updated Outback Motortek crash bar set and custom bash plate that extends to protect the rear suspension has once again been applied to Pol’s T7 play bike to protect the bottom end. “We all know Pol doesn’t do normal stuff with the Tenere 700,” says Manuel of the Spaniard’s aggressive trials-style stunting, adding how impressed he was that the bike’s previous Outback Motortek bash plate was still in great shape when it was removed. 

To further protect the bike’s mechanicals, high density polyethylene engine covers from TripleClamp Moto were added, while flexible, bright red water pump hoses from Rebel X make an aesthetic statement as well as aid reliability since they won’t dent or crack on impact, explains Manuel, as the OE metal tubes they replace are prone to. The hose kit is matched to a CNC-machined water pump cover.

Pol’s new bike’s suspension is entirely custom, including a custom-built 48mm fork from KYB that uses special springs and Kashima coating that provides an extra hard, yet super slippery surface. Manuel says the unit, which includes a custom-machined triple clamp from CNC, provides a custom travel length of 270mm for Pol, as well as improved rigidity.

On the rear is a new Tractive shock from Rally Raid that offers 225mm of travel, an additional 25mm over stock. It also provides increased stability and adjustments for high and low speed compression, as well as rebound. Manuel says Rally Raid really nailed it with this T7 offering, a unit he also uses on his personal bike. 

The T7’s gearing was also completely redone, employing new sprockets by CHT Chiaravalli and an RK 520 chain, which is lighter than the OE 510 chain, and typically used on 450cc Rally Raid bikes. The 520 chain has so far performed well on the larger bike during testing. 

New rims with reinforced spokes are Takasago Excels, which Manuel describes as 30% more shock resistant than stock T7 wheels. The rear rim is also more narrow (2.5 in) than stock to accommodate a very soft mousse Pol favors. A low, vented, front fender from Rebel X adds fierceness to the bike’s looks, while Mitas Terra Force knobbies aid traction. 

Another major change is the use of a single caliper brake on the front wheel, a move that along with the removal of the stock ABS technology, jettisons quite a bit of weight. To improve the performance of the single disc, Manuel replaced the stock T7 brake pump and hose with a WR450F assembly.  

A full Akrapovič with matching carbon fiber end cap and heat guard give an added dollop of torque, helpful for all the front end lofting Pol does in his trials riding.

In the cockpit we see an entirely new view. ProTaper Contour handlebars are capped with soft ProTaper sport-edition grips. The new ProTaper levers with quick adjustments for position as well as clutch tension are also flexible in the event of a spill. A handlebar bracket from Rebel X Sports doubles as a GPS mount, in Pol’s case, securing a Garmin Montana 750i. The bracket can also be fitted with a Ram mounting system. To keep Pol’s iphone close, Rebel X Sports supplied a quad lock bracket. Below the stock instrument panel we see an hour meter used to track running time. 

Lastly, the T7’s seat wears a Selle Dalla Valle cover over Yamaha’s optional rally seat. On top the cover offers a quick dry leather finish and ridges for added grip while the sides feature a carbon pattern to match Rebel X carbon fiber panels.

This edgy new bike is sure to feature in some new Pol Tarres videos, though his near future will also be shared with another Tenere, this one a specially prepared “World Rally” Yamaha special edition he’ll be racing for the Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team in the Africa ECO Race this October. Pol’s teammate for the season is Dakar veteran Alessandro Botturi, who won the last two Africa ECO races. Manuel Lucchese is the team’s manager. 

So it should be an extra interesting year for Pol as a newcomer to Rally Raid racing with a stunning result at last year’s Romaniacs, and also for Yamaha, which is trading 44 years of Dakar racing for an experimental start racing adventure bikes in a series designed for much lighter machines. 

For a taste of what’s in store check in for the Tenere World Raid Team’s first shakedown event, the Tunisian Desert Challenge, an 8-stage, 2,700km rally, which runs from April 21st and 29th. 

Photography by The Who Project and Living this Bikelife.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.