Dear Yamaha,

Please build the trifecta of tree-fiddies.

The Tenere 350

At this stage, I shouldn’t need to convince anyone that putting an MT-07 engine into an adventure frame and launching an all new 700 adventure bike is a good idea. That idea was so good, I think Yamaha should take it further. Please revise the R3’s twin cylinder engine to 350cc and place it into a bespoke adventure frame, and launch an all new T3 for the ADV crowd that is clamoring for more Light adventure motorcycles. This new rally-esque machine can take cues from it’s larger sister, while offering a superior choice over Honda’s 300L Rally or Kawasaki’s Versys-X 300. This new T3 would need to bring at least 3.5 gallons of gas to the party, be equipped with at least 10-inches of suspension travel, wear a 21/18-inch wheel set, and weigh in close to 350 pounds. It’s understandable that beating the 300L Rally’s weight of 330 pounds may prove difficult for a twin engine, but as long as this new T3 tips scales under the Versys-X, KTM 390 Adventure, & the new CF Moto MT450 Adventure, and brings 37 ponies to the party, it’s a winning formula.  

The SCR350

Honda has decided to revisit the classic CL models by launching a new 500cc scrambler using its existing 500 twin engine. Triumph has just dropped a new set of 400cc Scramblers (standards). It’s evident, that despite some grumblings from moto-journalists, the Scrambler craze is here to stay. Wedged somewhere between the MT03 and the new T3 described above, there’s an opportunity here to ruggedize an XSR300-esque machine to offer a true scrambler from the Blu-Cru. While I recognize that this is mostly “a styling exercise” when street bikes get round headlights and high-pipes to capitalize on nostalgia, building a 350-twin based on an existing ADV machine offers the opportunity to recruit new riders that want to dip their toe into the ADV world, but aren’t ready for full commitment and don’t want all the farkles & wiz-bang. Simultaneously, it offers a true standard motorcycle with marginally more suspension travel to tackle the deteriorating road conditions of America’s urban centers. While Honda’s SCL500 is a stylized Rebel 500, I think it wiser for Yamaha to take a page from Triumph’s book and offer a mono-shock machine with 6-speed gearbox, 19/17-inch wheel combo, 6-inches of suspension travel, and tipping the scales under 400-pounds.

The WR350R

The hole left by the WR250R is palpable. In the absence of the Dubya-Ar-Ar, Honda and Kawasaki have both bumped the displacement of their quarter-liter dual-sports to three hundred. These new 300s are better suited to short interstate trips than ever before, but still lack the gusto offered by many of the European street & trail alternatives. There was never a better time to dust off the blueprints of the mighty 250R, and bump the displacement to 350. As WR owner myself, I’ll gladly concede, a new 350cc engine in the legacy WR250R chassis would already be a massive improvement over the competition; both Honda and Kawasaki’s options are tipping the scales over 300 pounds, while the classic WR stood a svelte 5 pounds lighter. 11-inches of suspension travel is still best in class, but I believe there’s an opportunity to offer an “extreme” package for the most aggressive dual sport riders that offers 12-plus inches of suspension travel akin to the WR250F. This idea is twofold. First, fools like myself enjoy riding from driveway to trail and home, with zero compromise off-road. Second, considering that Honda’s CRF450RL tips the scale at 289 pounds, a WR350R-x could be a direct competitor in terms of performance, but still extremely approachable with regard to price and serviceability.