What’s not to love about the Yamaha Tenere 700? Trail tested, worthy of long journeys and decidedly nimble, the T700 has lived up well to the hype on all fronts… almost.
Like many adventure-ready motorcycles, the Tenere comes with an OEM skid plate that’s slightly sturdier than a sheet of aluminum foil. That is to say, if you’re riding your T700 as it begs to be ridden, having a bashplate that lives up to the rugged riding the bike was named after is an essential aftermarket upgrade.
Enter Black Dog Cycle Works, one of the most trusted names in motorbike protective parts on the market today. With 13 years of development experience, Black Dog has put some grueling hours into designing and testing the perfect skid plate for the new Tenere. They’ve created the perfect pipe protector and created a product to keep the T7’s underside unscathed, even in the gnarliest of conditions.
Photo: Black Dog Cycle Works
“One of the biggest challenges on the Tenere is that the header pipes are very exposed so we had to get really creative with this design,” said Kurt Forget of Black Dog. “Yamaha gave us a cradle frame to work with— unfortunately the bolts used at the stock mounting points are way too weak to consider solely supporting a rugged skid plate from, so we started fresh.”
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A skid plate is only as strong as what it’s connected to, so Black Dog created four different mounting points for support. Conveniently enough, the rear submount that attaches directly to the frame and does not have to be removed for oil changes and provides extra strength for the whole assembly.
Black Dog’s skid plates are made of 5052 3/16-inch aluminum and are designed to dent, rather than cracking like more brittle metals. The plate provides a “crush zone” allowing for space between it and the header pipes while still maximizing ground clearance. So, when a rock goes careening at the tender underbelly of the Tenere, the skid plate will give a bit on impact, lessening the force transmitted to the mounting points.
Black Dog’s Tenere 700 components, including the skid plate as well as foot pegs and a pillion rack, are currently either in development or available for pre-order at the time of this publication (November 2020). The skid plate is compatible with most crash bars and, if you ride your T7 like it’s meant to be ridden, you’re going to be glad you have the best protection possible.
Photo Credit: Black Dog Cycle Works
Motorcycle Industry News by Eva Rupert. Follow Eva @augusteva.
