New CP3 models: Yamaha launches a three-cylinder Ténéré and a sporty XSR900

EICMA 2026 is already on everyone’s minds. The industry’s leading trade fair, which traditionally takes place in Milan in November, will once again mark the end of the current motorcycling year for manufacturers, with brands offering a preview of their products for the coming season. The show will be particularly important for Yamaha, as reports suggest the Japanese manufacturer is set to expand its range of touring enduro bikes. Within this range, the best-selling Ténéré 700 has stood alone since its launch: “Our model range is structured so that our customers have the opportunity to move up to larger models step by step. You don’t have to be a genius to see that, of all things, this is not yet the case with one of our best-selling models,” said Clément Villet, Yamaha’s European Director for Land Vehicles, referring to the most obvious gap in the company’s own model range as early as the end of last year in an interview with our colleagues at MCN.

This gap will be filled this autumn with a Ténéré 900, which will feature the company’s own CP3 three-cylinder engine instead of the CP2 twin found in its smaller sister model. Meanwhile, Yamaha itself has provided further clues via an invitation to the model’s launch. Although the Japanese manufacturer did not provide any specific technical details, a heartbeat-style graphic was used to symbolise a triple with a different crankpin offset and a correspondingly staggered firing order. This should also make it clear that the engine has been further developed compared to that of its naked sister, the MT-09. The motorbike itself, that much is certain, is set to cope with any terrain, much like its smaller sister model. The Ténéré 900 will therefore feature a wheel and tyre combination similar to that of its twin-cylinder little sister – 21 inches at the front and 18 inches at the rear. On light to moderately difficult terrain, it is expected to outperform its rivals in this class.

The Yamaha XSR900 SP, on the other hand, is intended purely for road use, as suggested by type-approval data from the US. Unlike the Ténéré 900, this model is likely to be powered by the current, unmodified CP3 triple from the MT-09 SP, as the registrations suggest. Like the MT-09 SP, the XSR900 SP is likely to differ from the base model primarily through higher-quality suspension and more responsive brakes. It, too, will make its debut at EICMA in November.

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