Adventure experts Rally Raid has worked its magic on the recently released Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid – with some serious suspension upgrades to make it even more capable off-road.
Rally Raid’s built up an enviable reputation among those who know about adventure bikes, and has had plenty of success with its aftermarket upgrades to the ‘standard’ Ténéré 700 – including kitting out the bike that Pol Tarrés hoons around on in those insane videos that’ve been doing the rounds over the past couple of years. And Yamaha were so impressed that they actually asked Rally Raid for one of its rear shock units for its World Raid prototype.
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That means Rally Raid was pretty well placed to make a start on improving the already excellent World Raid version of the T7. And the first thing on the list was (you guessed it) suspension.
Getting into specifics, Rally Raid replaced the shock’s stock T7’s 20mm diameter piston in favour of a much chunkier 35mm unit. It reckons that translates to more controlled damping, helping the bike handle big bumps and jumps even better. A hydraulic end stop also reduces the impact at the end of the forks’ travel.
That’s not all, as Rally Raid also has been working with TracTive Suspension in the Netherlands to create a matching rear shock that’s just as capable. It uses a dual piston set up – which is essentially a 46mm main piston with 16mm rod, with a smaller second piston sitting on top. As the shock begins to bottom out, the second piston enters the housing, thereby increasing the damping resistance without mechanically overloading the shock. Pretty clever, right?
Of course, you’ll have to fork out (excuse the pun) a good whack of cash to get your hands on the Rally Raid kit. Available with both standard travel and -25mm travel, the fork kit costs £1199 and the rear costs £960.
That’s a just over a couple of grand extra, which is pretty hefty, but ultimately if you’re planning to properly put your T7 World Raid through its paces in the dirt, it’s going to be well worth the investment.
If you want to know more, or you’re interested in checking out Rally Raid’s fairly extensive range of off-road and adventure- focussed goodies, visit: www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk
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