Yamaha’s Tenere 700 has earned its place as a favorite among adventure riders. With its rally-inspired design, it hits a sweet spot in power, performance and simplicity that’s hard to ignore—especially at its price point.

While many owners are content with the stock setup, others make targeted upgrades, such as stiffer suspension, a beefier skid plate, crash protection, or a flatter rally-style seat. But one rider was after something altogether different. He didn’t want a refined T7, he wanted something more like a T9. So he turned to Australia’s Purpose Built Moto (PBM) with a bold idea: build a long-travel, off-road-capable machine using Yamaha’s MT‑09 as the foundation.

Shop owner, Tom Gilroy, was happy to oblige, turning the Queensland custom house into ground zero for the ambitious project, dubbed MT-09 ‘Rally Raid’. 

At the heart of the build is Yamaha’s 115-horsepower CP3 triple, and the challenge would be mating that engine to a package capable of handling trail riding and extended backcountry travel. “On paper it makes a lot of sense,” PBM wrote in a build blog. “Yamaha built a 73hp 700 twin adventure bike that weighs around 205 kg. They called it the T7 Tenere, built off the MT‑07 platform. So if you wanted something more, the next logical step would be a T9 Tenere, right?“

Of course, there were two options when it came to selecting the donor machine: Yamaha’s hyper naked MT‑09, or the slightly heavier Tracer 900 touring variant. While both share the same CP3 engine and basic platform, the naked MT‑09 was ultimately chosen for its lighter subframe, simpler bodywork, and more compact dimensions.

A 2019 MT‑09 was sourced and immediately put under the knife by the team at PBM, with suspension upgrades topping the to-do list. Up front, they grafted on a set of 48mm forks from a KTM 1190 Adventure R, mounted using a custom-machined stem and triple clamp. The fork legs were matched with an aftermarket KTM hub by Haan and laced to a 21-inch Excel rim. The Brembo brakes and triple clamps were also utilized from the KTM.

Fitting the KTM front end wasn’t a simple bolt-on task. The stem required custom bearings and spacers to mate with the Yamaha head tube, though PBM described the machining involved as “nothing too crazy.” A dirt bike-style aluminum fender and hand-formed fork shrouds completed the front end transformation, setting the tone for the bike’s rally-inspired aesthetic.

Out back, things got far more complex. A custom Wilbers shock — sourced and tuned with help from Costanzo Racing and Ride Dynamics — replaced the stock unit. But to make it work correctly, the BPM had to reengineer the entire shock linkage system, so they designed and fabricated new shock linkages, then reworked the central frame brace and top shock mount to allow the longer-travel suspension to operate through its full range.

To gain additional rear wheel travel, they elongated the dog bones connecting the swingarm to the alloy suspension linkage and fabricated a new forward shock mount to reposition the rear shock slightly. The changes allowed for greater articulation while maintaining proper geometry, even with the added height up front. According to PBM, the final setup delivers more than seven inches of ground clearance.

A Haan hub meant for a Tenere 700 was adapted to fit the MT‑09’s swingarm. “That was a bit of a prick,” Gilroy admitted. “There was a lot of finicky spacing and little adjustments to get it all lined up right.” A 21-inch front and 18-inch rear Motoz Tractionator RallZ knobbies were mounted to optimize traction.

With suspension and rubber sorted, attention turned to the exhaust. “From the outset I knew I wanted to run a twin under tail muffler set,” Gilroy said. He sourced Yoshimura cans from a late-model R1, then modified the factory 3-into-1 header, fabricating a custom mid-pipe to route exhaust gases rearward and upward. The mufflers were remounted with new linkage pipes and wrapped in custom aluminum heat shields. “This would ensure that Triple would sing, and deliver that experience [the client] wanted when he twisted the throttle on the Yamaha 900.”

The riding position also had to be reworked for ADV use. Because the MT‑09 has a sporty, rear-biased peg position, the foot controls were moved forward to align more closely with traditional adventure-bike geometry, placing the rider’s feet near the swingarm pivot. Cognito Moto off-road pegs were scavenged from a past project and bolted to custom-fabricated mounts. Additional bracketry was made to relocate the rear master cylinder and accommodate the bike’s quick-shifter linkage.

Once the rider triangle was dialed, PBM turned to the cockpit. The rally tower — a focal point of the build — started with an off-the-shelf T7 kit sourced from Italy and mounted to the frame using CNC-machined aluminum brackets. It was modified to fit the MT‑09’s proportions and houses stacked LED headlights, the factory gauge cluster, and a quad-lock phone mount with wireless charging. The tall rally-style windscreen is flanked by custom-made yellow-tinted Perspex wings to echo the retro livery.

Further back, the team fabricated matching aluminum panels to blend the stock MT‑09 tank and radiator shrouds into the new front end. Cody, one of PBM’s fabricators, shaped the pieces to create a consistent line across the bodywork. “We wanted to see the twin exhaust come out the tail, with a rally raid tower on the front,” Gilroy said. “That was the original vision—and it all came together.”

Down low, protection was a key focus. The MT‑09’s engine is a stressed member, leaving the sump and exhaust exposed. PBM addressed this with a full-length chromoly crash bar setup and a fabricated crossbar beneath the exhaust, which serves as a mount for the custom aluminum bash plate. Cutouts were added to improve airflow and reduce weight, and the entire assembly was shaped to blend seamlessly with the rest of the build. “It’s a big, bulky piece but it blends in and looks right at home on the bike,” Gilroy said. 

The rear subframe area was also reshaped into a custom tail box with integrated lighting and Omni LED indicator pods. Despite the bulk of the twin mufflers, the tail maintains a narrow waist to allow for knee grip when riding off-road. The seat was leveled using foam to counteract the MT’s sloping subframe, then finished in grippy vinyl with yellow detailing by Timeless Auto Trim.

The bold paint scheme was handled by Justin from Popbang Classics, who laid down a classic Dakar-inspired speedblock graphic scheme in flat blue and yellow. The goal, according to PBM, was to make the hand-shaped aluminum bodywork look like the molded plastic body work on modern Yamahas. “It’s a weird thing to wrap your head around,” Gilroy said of the “plasticky” finished look. 

To accommodate luggage, the team fabricated removable racks to accept the client’s Kriega saddlebags and a tail pack.

On the performance side, the CP3 engine was left mechanically stock but given a few key enhancements, including a DNA air filter and an ECU flash from Dynamite Moto in Brisbane. On the PBM dyno, the bike produced 105 horsepower at the rear wheel, just shy of the engine’s factory-rated 117 hp. “I didn’t expect insane gains,” Gilroy said, noting the fresh knobbies likely accounted for some of the measured power loss.

What stands out, though, is the power-to-weight ratio. The finished build tipped the scales at 463 lbs (210 kgs), right in line with the latest stock Tenere 700’s 459 lbs (208 kgs), but in a different league entirely in terms of output, considering the T7’s claimed 73 horsepower. 

While Gilroy hasn’t taken the finished build off-road, he said it’s a blast on pavement, and despite the aggressive knobbies and taller geometry, the MT‑09 still feels like the streetfighter weapon its original form was known for. “My God is it fun,” he says. “Ripping the throttle on will bring the front wheel up without hesitation, and once traction control is turned off, the bike is a wild animal — only tamed by the rider’s throttle control.”

Will Yamaha ever build a Tenere  900? It’s certainly not out of the question, though if the brand is paying attention to current trends in the ADV market, the next addition to the lineup would look more like a T4 or T5. But at the end of the day, Purpose Built Moto has made a compelling case for what a little extra power — and a lot of ingenuity — can offer.

Photos by Purpose Built Moto

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.