Since its release in 2019 in Europe and the arrival in the US in 2021, there’s no question the Yamaha Tenere 700 has become one of the most popular and sought out adventure bikes on the market. With its rally-inspired design, it hits a sweet spot in power, performance, simplicity, and price that’s hard to beat. But despite all the high points, a top drawback often reported by owners is its suspension.

While the stock KYB suspension is decently capable out of the box for average trails, it has its limits in technical off-road terrain, especially in the hands of a skilled rider. Soft springs and limited travel of 8.3 inches (210mm) in front and 7.9 inches (200mm) in the rear mean you’re likely to start bottoming out on the larger bumps at faster speeds, which gets worse when loaded up for travel. The stock damping adjusters can take you only so far in tuning out negative characteristics and the limited ground clearance leads to early skid plate scraping in rough terrain.

Compared to other off road-focused adventure bikes in the class like the KTM 890 Adventure R, Tuareg 660 and Tiger 900 Rally Pro, it’s down about an inch on the suspension travel specs. Even a casual off-roader like the V-Strom 800DE offers more.

Few Adventure Bikes seem more deserving of a suspension upgrade than the T7 and we’ve all seen the upper end of the model’s potential on full display in the talented hands of Pol Tarres, who uses TracTive suspension components on his custom-built bikes. 

For those owners who want to unleash their own potential on the trail, TracTive Suspension has the killer T7 mod in the form of the X-Treme Pro (+25mm) Long Travel kit. The kit not only increases suspension travel and ground clearance by roughly an inch front and rear, but also upgrades the quality of the suspension with race-level componentry for improved stability, control and confidence on the trail.

Front Suspension Upgrade

Ever felt your T7 fork clunk on a big rock or deep rut? That’s exactly what the TracTive front suspension upgrade is designed to fix. The X-Treme Pro (+25mm) Long Travel front cartridge kit is a drop-in upgrade to the existing 43mm Tenere 700 fork that doesn’t require any special mods to install. Not only does it increase suspension travel on the fork to 9.3 inches, it also offers rebound damping on one leg and compression on the other with convenient hand-adjustable dials right on top. No more getting down under the bike with a screwdriver to change compression damping settings at the bottom of the fork. The fork kit also adds preload adjustment to the front, which is useful in setting up the optimal attitude of the bike.

The TracTive Tenere 700 fork kit utilizes an advanced closed-cartridge system that separates the oil from the air in a closed chamber pressurized with nitrogen gas. With the oil under pressure, it won’t foam or cavitate when heat builds up during aggressive riding like it can with a standard open-cartridge fork. Air bubbling in your fork oil causes a reduction in damping performance and doesn’t keep the internals well lubricated either. The main benefit is smooth and consistent performance that won’t taper off, along with more-precise damping adjustments.

Damping and bump absorption is further improved with the use of a large 35mm cartridge piston, one of the biggest among aftermarket suspension suppliers. This big piston facilitates high oil flow transfer during compression and rebound for maximum damping control — the more oil you can transfer, the more you can slow down fork movement. And when you’re really getting down to the end of your suspension travel during a big impact, there’s a hydraulic end stop waiting in reserve to help prevent any hard bottoming. (MSRP: $1,695)

Rear Suspension Upgrade

Just getting the stock Tenere 700 airborne a few inches off the ground can sometimes lead to bottoming out the rear suspension, especially if you’re a rider in the 200+ pound range. To combat this, TracTive swaps the stock shock for a much beefier unit that features a CNC-machined 6082 T6 aluminum housing with a hardened 42CRMo4 piston rod attached to a stout 46mm damping piston, along with high-strength bearings and stainless-steel bushings.

Like the fork kit the TracTive X-Treme Pro (+25mm) Long Travel rear shock increases the travel of the suspension, raising it to 8.9 inches in the rear. Damping is provided through high-flow oil channels, low-friction seals, an off-road specific shim stack, and an external reservoir containing significantly more oil and cooling surface than the stock shock. This ensures predictable, stable, fade-free performance in the rough stuff. 

In addition to rebound damping adjustability, the shock features separate high- and low-speed compression damping adjusters to provide more precise tuning of the rear suspension’s behavior for both quick hits and slower undulations on the trail. All damping adjustments are performed using convenient clickers for quick changes on the fly, instead of tools like the stocker. The preload adjuster also has a greater range of adjustment to support higher loads that may occur during travel, especially two-up. In addition, the shock can be purchased with or without a hydraulic ‘hand dial’ preload adjuster (HPA) that enables quick and easy preload adjustments for varying loads without tools.

If the longer travel and more-effective damping aren’t enough to counter a particularly big hit, the TracTive X-Treme Pro shock is equipped with a Position Dependent Damping System (PDSII) as a final defense against hard bottoming. The PDSII is a secondary damping piston mounted on top of the main damping piston. When a big hit occurs, this second damping piston enters a cup at the end of the compression stroke that creates an additional damping force. It’s like a high-tech bump stop that effectively absorbs and dissipates energy in the final phase of compression, when needed. Minimizing the number of big impacts during long off-road rides not only improves comfort and safety but also reduces wear and tear on the bike and body. (MSRP: $1,395)

Custom-Tuned Suspension

While the installation of both the fork kit and replacement shock can be done by anyone with basic mechanical skills, the technical fine-tuning work is performed at the suspension shop. Upon purchase, you’ll fill out a form that details exactly how your suspension gets configured before your products are shipped out. Both the X-Treme Pro fork kit and replacement shock get custom springs and application-specific tuning based on the rider’s weight and intended usage, whether your focus is racing, overlanding, two-up touring, or technical trail exploring. 

If you’re not the long-legged type and want to keep the stock T7 ride height, you can also opt for the standard height X-Treme Pro fork and shock upgrade kit instead of the ‘Long Travel’ option. You still get all the benefits of a premium aftermarket suspension with technology on par with what top-level racers are using, like the improved damping performance and hard bottoming resistance. TracTive also has a low suspension X-Treme fork and shock kit that reduces suspension travel by about 0.8 inches (-20mm) for those that want to drop the seat height even more.

All TracTive products are fully serviceable and include a 2-year warranty. Pricing for the X-Treme Pro Long Travel shock starts at $1,395 and $1,695 for the fork kit. Not a bad investment considering that after upgrading a new Tenere 700 you’d still have a few thousand dollars in your pocket for additional mods when compared to purchasing a KTM 890 Adventure R, as well as a roughly 15-pound lighter machine with higher-spec suspension.

So if you are looking to upgrade your beloved T7 with the suspension Yamaha should have put on it from the factory (even better in fact), TracTive’s X-Treme Pro kits are definitely worth a look.The kit is also a compatible upgrade for the Tenere 700 World Raid and Extreme models for those who live overseas. Check out the TracTive website where you can see the range of options for the Tenere 700 and search local suspension shops that carry their products.

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Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.