One of the silliest segments of the motorcycle industry is the adventure scooter. These bikes combine two sizzling moto segments into one extremely weird, yet attractive vehicle. Yamaha has just announced that it’s entering the adventure scooter market with the RW Series, and the flagship is a 689cc, 68 horsepower beast that could eat cruisers for lunch before hitting a fire road. It’s all sorts of absurd, and I’m here for it.
Yamaha really is calling this a scooter, though maybe that is a bit of a stretch. Historically, scooters have been bikes with floorboards, a step-through design, and an upright seating position. Think about a classic Vespa, and you’ll be right on the money. Technically, bikes with small humps in the middle, like the Suzuki Burgman 650, also count as scooters. A big scooter like that Suzuki Burgman and its smaller 400cc variant is known as a maxi-scooter.
There have been an increasing number of designs that play a bit loose with the definition of a scooter. A great example is the Italjet Roadster 400 and the Italjet Dragster 559. Sure, both of those are scooter-shaped, but they’re more like motorcycles emulating the look of scooters. The Yamaha RW700, I think, is sort of the same. Sure, it’s sort of scooter-shaped, but it otherwise shares nothing in common with a step-through scooter. Yet, I’m not sure I really care, because I’m here for the madness on display by Yamaha.
68 Horses Of Adventure
Yamaha unveiled the RW700 and the smaller RW350 adventure scooters at EICMA 2026 (International Two-Wheeler Exhibition) this week, and it’s the continuation of an interesting trend.
The adventure scooter is merely a blending of the ease of use of a scooter with the off-roading ambitions of an adventure bike. As crazy as that sounds, there’s a whole market of these things out there. Honda pioneered this segment and has been selling adventure scooters since 2017. Team Red has since been joined by offerings from Aprilia, SYM, Kymco, Lexmoto, Voge, Zontes, and perhaps many other brands. Even the old king of maxi-scooters, Suzuki, got into the adventure scooter segment.
If you’re one of our American readers and haven’t seen an adventure scooter before, it’s probably because most of them have never made it here. As of right now, the primary adventure scooter on sale in America is the Honda ADV160. Aside from maybe getting one from a Chinese brand, that’s it for now.
Yamaha has decided to jump into the pool headfirst with the RW Series, and the company says it’s aimed at riders in global markets.
The heart of the RW700 is the 689cc CP2 270-degree crossplane crank parallel-twin engine. This dual overhead cam, eight-valve, and water-cooled powerplant is best known for its use in the MT-07 naked sportbike, the XSR700 retro standard, the YZF-R7 sportbike, and the Ténéré 700 ADV. In the MT-07, it’s good for 72 HP and 50 lb-ft of torque.
The RW700 version is good for 68 HP at 8,250 RPM and 48 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 to 6,750 RPM. The engine’s tuning is said to bring peak power at 750 RPM sooner than it does in sportier versions. Yamaha also claims 57 mpg fuel economy and an endurance of 210 miles from its 3.7-gallon tank.
Backing up the engine is Yamaha’s Y-AMT six-speed automated-manual transmission. Yamaha says this is the first scooter in its history to have something other than a traditional belt-driven CVT. Y-AMT has been around since 2020 in the European-spec MT-09.
Like an automated manual transmission found in a car, there’s no way for the rider to manipulate the clutch; instead, it’s computer-controlled. Likewise, there’s no gear lever, either. Instead, if you want to change gears “manually,” you use a thumb switch. Power reaches the rear wheel through a chain drive.
This heart lives in a high-tensile steel frame, which is flanked by a 41mm inverted fork with 6.3 inches of travel and a linkage-mounted rear shock with 6.1 inches of travel. Total ground clearance is 6.7 inches. Like many ADVs, the RW700 has a large aluminum skid plate up front to protect the engine and exhaust.
Visually, I feel like this bike is the off-road equivalent of the bizarre Alligator motorcycle (below) that Dan Gurney designed:
Braking action comes from a pair of 298mm discs up front that are squeezed by four-piston calipers, and a 267mm rear disc with a single-pot caliper. Like a traditional scooter, there are no pedals, and instead, all braking action is actuated through the handlebar levers. The rubber hits the road through a 15-inch rear wheel and a 17-inch front wheel. Both feature aluminum rim material and Yamaha’s reported first stainless-steel cross spokes.
The bike’s pretty tech-heavy, featuring a throttle-by-wire system, five riding modes (including off-road modes), switchable ABS, traction control, slide control, and cornering ABS. These options are controlled through a 5-inch color TFT screen with app connectivity.
There’s also USB lighting, keyless operation, and an under-seat storage area with room for one full-face helmet. There will be an RW700 Explore, which adds preload and damping settings plus heated grips and a heated seat.
All of this comes in a machine that weighs 487 pounds, or 494 pounds for the Explore version. A windscreen is standard, and like most ADVs, the list of accessories is a mile long, featuring everything from top cases and headlight guards to soft bags and a radiator guard.
It Has A Smaller Sibling, Too
The RW350 is closer to a traditional scooter with its CVT and its 327cc single-cylinder engine. The one is good for 28.8 HP and 23.2 lb-ft of torque. One of the big deals about this one, Yamaha says, is that the engine is rigid-mounted to the frame without rubber isolators. This means the scooter is one solid unit, save for the CVT swingarm. Otherwise, the RW350 has largely the same features as the RW700, but at a smaller scale.
Both scooters are said to have 31.8-inch seat heights and pegs for off-roading, with deployable footboards for cruising. The RW350 is a lighter 423 pounds wet.
On paper, the RW700 is a beast. The current biggest and fastest adventure scooter, the Honda X-ADV 750, is beaten by the RW700 by 10 HP and weighs 35 fewer pounds. The Honda has 1 lb-ft more torque and a DCT. I would call the RW700 the world’s fastest adventure scooter, but there might be an even crazier “scooter” on the horizon. QJ Motor is rumored to launch something called the “X-Adventure 900” this week, which is supposed to be a 95 HP adventure scooter. If that happens, China will take the crown for the world’s fastest production scooter.
Of course, all of this is sort of based on a technicality, anyway. As I said earlier, this is pretty much just a motorcycle. If I were charitable, I would suggest the creation of a new category called “step-over scooter,” or SOS. Otherwise, this thing seems like an adventure motorcycle with a low seat, and little else.
Still, technicality or not, I’m a fan of weird, and this has a lot of it. The big question will be if Yamaha’s definition of “global markets” means North America. Honda never had the bravery to give us the X-ADV, and there’s been a big-boy scooter vacuum since the Suzuki Burgman 650 left our market. If Yamaha were to bring the RW700 here, it would basically have the market to itself. But who knows how big the adventure scooter niche in America even is. For now, we know it’ll be sold in Europe. Prices have not been announced yet.
I really do hope the RW700 or the RW350 come to America. Are they silly? Yes. Are they not really scooters? Totally. But they’re weird and fun, and I bet I’d have a great time on them. Come on, Japan, give us your weird adventure scooters!
Top photo: Yamaha
I just want to note that it was entirely a coincidence that I had two “this thing isn’t what it says it is” posts in a row. This one was actually supposed to be published yesterday. 🙂
I do not see the point of this. It seems like a heavy enduro bike with smaller wheels?
I thought scooters are made so you can sit on them easily, like you sit on a chair, your legs in front of you, not on the side of the bike, but Wikipedia says a scooter provide a platform for the rider feet, so .. maybe this count.
I started in 86′ riding a Honda Elite 50. Then progressed to their Elite 80 and 250 Deluxe before my first “real” motorcycle. Something like this would be a “Full Circle ” for me. I still enjoy riding my Versys 650, but I’m hitting the age where ease is at the forefront of my decisions nowadays. I Was doing the “Adventure ” thing with my Elite 80 when I was a teen. Many times I had to wash mud off my scooter after a fun weekend. That’s when I realized street tires suck on trails.
It’s just a motorcycle with less tank to squash your numblies.
I have a 2022 Honda ADV and I’ve been looking for every reason to upgrade to something bigger but I can’t because that thing is FUN! It’s perfect for zipping around the city and then onto some rural dirt two-track. Yes, I’ve actually been off road with it.
Is it an optical illusion or does this thing have a crazy long wheelbase? Breakover looks low. Looks like a blast.
Hell yes. I’ve been waiting for something exactly like this. The dork factor is somewhat high, but this thing sounds awesome.
The dork factor is so high it borderline causes an integer overflow to be kinda cool again.
What a future that would be. But yeah, not a scooter. I still think it sounds fun, though.
Looks like a giant trials bike!
You know the CP3 version is coming next.
I am definitely interested in these, if they make it to the US. I hope they do!
Can we please get Jason “Maximum Overdrive” Torchinsky on giving us the definition of “scooter”, so that we may engage in spirited pedantry? I’d even settle for a solidly defensible definition, that I may debate with confidence.
The ‘historical’ details given herein feel a bit more like a description than a definition, and a bit too hand-wavy to be able to competently discuss this contraption’s scooteriness, or lack thereof.
I share the ‘yeah, no’ sentiment as to the claims of scooterdom, but without Torch’s authoritative declarations, and with no deeply held beliefs of my own, I don’t feel like I’m on solid footing to deny such.
On a motorcycle, the main interface that keeps you on the bike are your legs and knees. Your arms are there to work the controls. Trying to hang onto the bike by your arms will give you arm pump in a hurry.
With the step through, it seems like it’d be really hard to stay planted on the bike. Maybe scooter off-roading is less intense, but 72 hp is a lot of power in the dirt.
This looks both hilarious, and hilariously fun adventure-bike-scooter-mashup.
The low ground clearance would limit how far you take it, but that’s not really the point, is it. This is a long-distance bike.
Asian markets have embraced the adventure scooter. I’m not sure it really can go anywhere in the US. But maybe someone that wants an automatic adventure bike. I bet thats going to go more and more to the electric stuff. Maybe two wheel markers that don’t penalize higher cc that much could make an impact. Many of the Asian markets are 250cc or under then things get more expensive.
Honda had some amt on atvs for years. People liked them. I guess could be some cary over.
Gotta be honest. I don’t get it. But its nice to be logged back in finally.
Sounds fun! It would be great for overlanding. Especially for folks like me who could care less about the mechanics of shifting and enjoy the scenery.
I’m not sure what to think of this bike. I agree “scooter” is a stretch, but based on the “I know it when I see it” standard this bike is at least scooteroid or scooter adjacent.
I don’t see a lot of daylight between this and the Honda NC750X, though. That bike is billed as a motorcycle but also has a DCT and an enclosed storage compartment within the body of the bike. The NC750X and this have a similar seat height as well. The only difference is the Honda has no semblance of a step through.
Whatever it is, though, it is interesting. It isn’t a product I would buy (I don’t like how it looks and it doesn’t seem to offer enough benefits for me to get past the styling), but more variety is better than less variety. All motorcycles are good motorcycles, even if they might be a scooter.
I don’t like that for some reason. It might be my version of “moist”.
I’ll take that one.
Is this a scooter though? I feel like a scooter needs to be a step through.
What makes a scooter a scooter? I’ve got 3 criteria:
a] step-through aka “underbone” frame
b] clutchless transmission (or a single-speed)
c] the engine is mounted to the swingarm/rear suspension, not the main frame. (Example: the Honda Super Cub is not a scooter, but the Honda Metropolitan is a scooter.)
Since this bike only had 2 of 3 pieces of the definition, it is not at all a scooter.
What would you then call a pre 80’s Vespa or Lambretta though as they both had 4 speed manual shifters on the left handlebar grip with a clutch lever.
I suppose my rules are more modern. That may be the last ride that was a scooter but had a true clutch.