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What we’re seeing here is a middleweight Ténéré based on the FZ-07 parallel-Twin engine. The obvious giveaway being the sexy little S-bend of the header pipes betraying its family origins, here shielded by an aluminum bash plate. Launching a mid-size ADV bike fills a hole in Yamaha’s current model lineup and should offer stout competition for the likes of Suzuki’s V-Strom 650XT, Triumph’s Tiger 800s and BMW’s F800GS.

Sena has been on a tear, lately. The Bluetooth communication company threw down the gauntlet with the release of the Sena 20S Motorcycle Bluetooth Communication System, bringing class-leading features and ease-of-use to the helmet communicator market. Then, back in December, Sena jumped into the action-camera fray with its Prism Bluetooth Action Camera featuring a unique Bluetooth audio recording capability. It might seem logical to sit back and let these two products gather market share. Instead, Sena has released a product that combines many of the key features of the 20S and Prism into one package that checks in at $349 – significantly less than the 20S/Prism combo, even with the recently lowered Prism price.

Action cameras have moved beyond their infancy, and much like the shift in language from calling all paper copies Xeroxes, they are no longer referred to by the brand name that made them ubiquitous. Regardless, GoPro remains the 800-lb. gorilla in the action-camera world, making the challenge for every new entry into the market to find a way to differentiate themselves. Sena entered this market late last year with its Prism camera adding to an already impressive line of Bluetooth communication devices. We’ve tested several Sena products and have been impressed with their quality in this quickly developing market.