RIDE IMPRESSION: 2026 TENERE WORLD RAID

Russell Hicks from Morisset-based Yamaha dealership, Powersport Central, speaks about the key changes made to the much-updated 2026 Tenere World Raid, and whether or not Yamaha has delivered on the mods his customers have been asking for.

Midway through 2025, when Yamaha released their new and improved Tenere 700, the marketing revolved around a “You spoke, we listened!” message – a slogan intended to reinforce that the changes made to its flagship, mid-capacity adventure model were primarily consumer-driven. And to be fair, they were right. We found the new Tenere 700 to be a much more capable bike.

But is the same also true of the longer-haul, up-specced Tenere World Raid, which came in for quite a few changes for 2026? Has Yamaha delivered on the changes its more touring-oriented adventure customers have demanded over the past few years?

To answer those questions (and because we were busy running a Transmoto 8-Hour event when Yamaha staged the media launch for the 2026-model World Raid), who better to ask than a Yamaha dealer; a bloke who speaks with adventure riders on a daily basis and knows exactly what they do and don’t want?

That’s why we asked Russell Hicks, dealer principal from Morisset-based Yamaha (and Husky) dealership, Powersport Central, to give us a snapshot of the key changes made to the 2026 Tenere World Raid, and whether he thinks they’ll be well received by his adventure-savvy customers…