The 2023 QLD Ténéré 700 Rally was a big hit with the owners of Yamaha’s 689cc twin cylinder ADV bike.
The two-day event started in Esk and took the long route – around 350km – to Kingaroy on the weekend of 10/11 June. The GPS plotted itinerary took in a wide variety of terrain and riders enjoyed slippery mud, dust, twin track, water crossings and fast open gravel roads on the trip.
The second of four Ténéré 700 Rallies for 2023, the QLD event featured special guests and Yamaha legends Stephen Gall and Rodney Faggotter. Rod was fresh from racing a Ténéré 700 on the Morocco Desert Challenge where despite a bent sprocket and missing waypoint, the super-fast Dakar racer finished second in class. Gall offered rallygoers test rides on his new Yamaha YDX-Moro 07 e-Bike. The pair kept rallygoers entertained at Kingaroy RSL on the Saturday night.
The organising team from RideADV was hyping the trails as the best they’ve ridden in 10 years – and day one did not disappoint. Every few kilometres welcomed different scenery and there were plenty of challenges lurking for the unwary. Including a sandy river crossing that caught out South African rider Gido Snyman. Fortunately sweep rider Lincoln Brien was on hand to dry out the drowned bike. Lincoln then donated his own special Ténéré 700 de-watering kit to Gido, consisting of an articulated plug spanner and ingenious spark plug removal device.
Day two offered more twisting gravel roads and cruised into the pub for coffee at Cooyar. And then threw up an overgrown twin track to keep riders focused. Those lucky enough to follow Gall and Faggotter received a free riding lesson that reflected the ADV mantra – smooth is fast.
“Once again all riders finished the Rally with no issues – a testament to the reliability of the Ténéré 700,” says Rally organiser Greg Yager.
The Rally series now moves to NSW and VIC in October and November to offer Ténéré 700 customers in each Eastern State the opportunity to join one of these fun rides.
“The effort the organisers go to to pre-run and check the tracks is impressive – this really gives you the confidence that the stretch ahead is relatively safe. They even put up flags to warn you of the more serious dangers,” remarks rallygoer Peter Witheyman. “All I’ve been thinking about is how I can make the next ride happen,” he adds.
