If you think you have a sharp memory (not that we’ll blame you if you don’t), Yamaha had showcased its mid-weight adventure concept last year and called it the ‘T7 concept’. It was then we knew that the Japanese guys are coming up with a winner in the adventure class for the next year.

Alas! Our excitement was short lived when they showcased just another concept model at this year’s EICMA and badged it with a new name, 'Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid'. Apparently, they need to further develop the machine by testing it on public roads.

Damn you Yamaha.

Essentially, Yamaha took the naked MT-07 (FZ-07 before) and added a bunch of things, or rather removed, to give us a focused ADV concept model that will take you over anything that has ‘earth’ written on it.

It all started when Yamaha made a few Dakar champions like the original Yamaha XT600Z Ténéré that opened up a slew of possibilities for them to think of making a few for the adventure folks. They soon became some of Yamaha's best-selling motorcycles, and now the same guys will be making one now using the credentials of the MT-07 naked series.

The Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid gives us the final specifications of the production model that is touted to hit the showroom floors in 2019. The rugged rally-inspired character oozes out of this lightweight adventure bike that comes with a sleek chassis and a potent powerplant.

On the outside, the Ténéré 700 resembles the T7 in a lot of key areas but gets a lower seat height to make it accessible to a wider range of riders. Yamaha claims that the lightweight fuel tank on this one has enough capacity to take the bike beyond any competition can and is contoured to give excellent ergonomics.

Keeping the weight low has been rendered a serious issue here, and hence the folks at Yamaha have opted to use carbon-fiber just about everywhere. It’s on the side panels, front fender, and the one-piece rear tail.

Mechanically, the Ténéré 700 will run on the same 698cc parallel-twin “Crossplane Concept” engine that powers the 2018 MT-07 naked belting out close to 74 hp and 92 lb-ft of torque.

This, of course, will be tuned to suit the harshness on the tarmac and dirt, while its mass-centralized layout and low weight contribute to the bike's agile handling characteristics.

A custom-made rally-style Akrapovič exhaust takes the rugged visual extravaganza up a notch and also delivers a deep, powerful tone. USD forks and rear monoshocks are top-spec, and the front cowl is equipped with a Dakar-esque 4-projector headlight assembly.

Hopefully, we will still be excited just as much as now when the 2019 model year rolls around, and we will still make saliva bubbles seeing it in the flesh. Until then, abide and check out these cool photos of the World Raid Prototype.

If you live in any of these continents: America, Australia, Africa and Europe, you might just get a chance to see, feel and hear this motorcycle as Yamaha will be taking the Ténéré 700 World Raid prototype on a challenging trip across the world throughout 2018.