In the past few years, I've really begun to appreciate the aesthetic appeal of late-80s/early-90s dirt and dual sport bikes. And even I couldn't tell you why, exactly. It's not like I grew up riding dirt. Or even riding at all, for that matter. It didn't run in my family, so I don't have happy family memories that are spurring my nostalgic bent on.
Maybe it's just the next logical outcropping of my already-existing love for standard and sport bikes of the era, aesthetically speaking. Or my overwhelming desire for bright splashes of color to make a comeback and save me from the endless sea of neutral colors and fifty shades of drab that many modern bikes have become? Honestly, who can say?
What I can tell you for sure is that these retro fairing kits for the esteemed Yamaha Ténéré 700 hit the jackpot in terms of retro appeal. They're made by the Lisbon, Portugal-based customizer Holy Moly, and they are absolutely perfect.
Gareth from Bike Shed Motorcycle Club London recently teamed up with Holy Moly and had one of these kits installed on his own T7, which you can see in the video above. While the kit wasn't designed specifically to help your T7 lose weight, it does apparently result in a drop of around 10 kilograms (or 22-ish pounds, give or take) from a stock T7. Obviously, that can't be a bad thing.
Don't like this color scheme, but like the general idea? No worries; Holy Moly is sure to have a color scheme you'll like. There are currently five different standard colorways on offer for this kit, which you can see over on the Holy Moly Instagram account. Incidentally, if you're interested in learning more or ordering one for yourself (apparently it's all plug-and-play, though of course you'll need to remove things from your stock T7 first before installing this fairing kit), you'll need to DM Holy Moly on IG with questions and order information if you go this route.
And for those who really miss the appeal of the old Marlboro livery in motorsports, Holy Moly did a special, limited-edition take on that as well. Neither I nor RideApart has anything to do with them, just to be totally clear, but I have to say they're on an absolute roll with their design choices.
No welding, no worries about pesky wiring issues; none of that. It's extremely easy to see the appeal of a kit like this. If I had a T7, I'd absolutely be saving up for one of these.
What about you, is this the type of thing you want more of in your life? Would you (or will you) put a kit like this on your bike, especially if you're a T7 owner? Let me know in the comments.
