Rennie Scaysbrook | March 16, 2018
Punching Above its Weight
A few years back, Yamaha released the MT-07. No one, not even Yamaha, could predict how important the little bike would become. We headed to Spain to ride version 2.0
We’ll spare you a crappy rhyme about rain and Spain. Suffice to say it was wet. Real wet, and the little MT was a great ride for the conditions.
Here’s a question for you: What do you think the top selling Yamaha motorcycle in the U.S is? YZ450F? YZF-R1? The PW50? Any of these would be a fair answer, but none would be correct.
The bike that brings home the bacon for the Tuning Fork company is none other than the little FZ-07, now branded the MT-07, which is what the bike was known as everywhere else but in the U.S. since its release in 2014 (2015 in the U.S.).
In the 2017 model year, Yamaha saw 24,358 MT-07s roll into new garages across the globe, with 3891 of those in the U.S. The 07 accounts for over half of all Yamaha MT sales, with nearly four times as many MT-07s finding new homes as the big daddy MT-10.
Photography Courtesy Yamaha
This is more than the little bike that could. It’s the little bike that does; it’s proven a brilliant tool for everything from daily commuting to customizing to racing—it really is a jack of all trades.
Part of the reason the MT has been so successful is its simplicity. Take a good engine, put it in a light chassis, and price it competitively. It’s the same theory Yamaha used to excellent effect when they released the RD350 in the ’80s, a bike still credited as kick-starting a generation of new riders.
The MT-07 also benefits from a brilliant marketing campaign. The Dark Side of Japan campaign has been a stroke of genius for Yamaha, highlighting the weird and wacky Tokyo underworld and allowing the engineers to infuse some of that persona into the bike itself.
The MT-07 has been around in the U.S. at least for three years, which isn’t a great deal of time between updates. Gone are the days when bikes older than two years old were entirely replaced—development dollars need to stretch further as budgets conversely get smaller—so it helps if you knock one out of the park first time out so as not to have to reinvent the wheel in a few years’ time.
If you’re under 5’ 10,” this bike will fit you like a gem. Taller riders might be a touch cramped.
This year, the MT-07 gets a few ergonomics changes as well as stiffer suspension front and back swiped from the XSR700, itself just an MT-07 in drag. The fork now houses a six percent stiffer spring with 16 percent faster rebound damping (which remains unadjustable), while the shock gets rebound damping adjustment, an 11 percent stiffer spring, 27 percent increase in high speed rebound damping and 40 percent more high-speed compression damping, the latter also unadjustable.
To the naked eye, the ergonomic changes are small at best but they make a big difference in riding. The seat height is unchanged at 31.7 inches, but the tank is now 10mm shorter front-to-back and the rider and passenger seats have been expanded. For the rider at least, the seat is beefier all round with a claimed 30 percent more real estate, giving them more room to move front and back although, truth be told, there wasn’t much wrong with the old seat.
As far as looks go, the ’18 MT gets a repositioned headlight, a new one-piece front fender, a new radiator cover, redesigned tank cover and a brake light taken from the MT-09. Overall, the 2018 Yamaha MT-07 is pretty close to the bike that came out three years ago, which is a good thing. Trust me.
The tank cover has been shortened 10mm, bringing the rider closer to the front of the bike.
To confirm this theory, we headed to the stunning holiday resort of Malaga, one of the southernmost tips of Spain and a playground for the rich and famous. Malaga sits on the edge of Europe, where on a clear day you can see the beginnings of Africa and the mysterious land of Morocco while you sip sangria and much on fresh seafood, taking in the golden rays of Andalusian sun.
That’s what happens to other people, at other times of the year, because I can assure you, Malaga did nothing but absolutely piss down rain so hard we could hardly see 15 feet in front of us by the end of the day. Superb sunny Spain, this was not.
That CP2 motor is one of the best things to come out of the Yamaha factory in years.
However, the weather conditions didn’t stop us. Hell no! We ain’t wimps here at Cycle News, and the dodgy conditions highlighted just what a mechanically magnificent bike the MT-07 is. Thrashing the living daylights out of the MT was not going to happen, given the streams of water running across the road, so it gave the motor’s unintimidating nature a chance to really shine through.
Dash is unchanged—it’s not the most inspiring of designs but it does come with a gear indicator, which many more expensive bikes don’t.
The 689cc parallel-twin is designed to entice new riders, but that doesn’t mean riders with years of experience won’t have a good time with it. There’s 50 lb-ft of torque available at 6500 rpm from the CP2 motor with its 270° crank, the uneven firing order making for a delightfully smooth ride which was a welcome characteristic in the pouring Spanish rain.
It’s pretty close to a 1-1 ratio in that what you ask for at the grip is what you get at the tire, which is something new riders are going to relish. The torque is delivered in a delightfully unintimidating fashion, which allows you to really surf that midrange between 4-7000 rpm in third and fourth gears as you roll in and out of the throttle between 40-75 mph. There’s also a surprising amount of top-end on offer with the CP2 motor, and it takes minimal impetus to have the front wheel waving at the sky in any of the first three gears. Not bad for a bike aimed at new riders.
One of the big points with the ’18 is the bigger seats. The rider’s seat is now a whopping 30 percent bigger, and the passenger also gets a wider pew.
The motor is married to a lovely and light tubular steel chassis, which is another welcome feature in the rain. It takes little effort to change direction on the 07 (indeed, claimed wet weight is just 403 pounds) but conversely it is not unstable at highway speeds—it’s an excellent compromise of street performance and practicality. This is character trait has been infused from the start and isn’t new to the 2018 model, but the ’18 does have a bit more sporting prowess than the 2015-17 edition thanks to the stiffer KYB suspension. The new bike is not worlds apart from the old one in terms of ride quality, but it has a bit more braking stability and doesn’t wallow about as much when you hit a bump while cranked over midcorner.
Helping the stability is the 180-section Bridgestone BT-023 rear tire—whereas something like a Kawasaki Ninja 650 uses a 160-rear tire, the MT’s wider rear rubber makes for a more secure ride as well as opening up the rider to a wider range of performance tires.
The intake funnels look tough as nails.
The brakes on the MT-07 are not superbike-level stoppers, and those with a keen eye will see they have been used on many different Yamahas in the past, but that’s because they work and work well. Recently I’ve noticed quite large variations in braking performance between bikes with higher-spec calipers than the MT but with a cheaper master-cylinder: the Yamaha’s is middle-of-the-road in terms of price point, but the front master-cylinder and dual four-piston calipers are good, quality units that provide predictable and repeatable braking performance.
There’s no electronics on the MT aside from ABS, which is good because you don’t need it, and thus won’t have to pay for it. Yamaha’s engineers have instead gone for the more traditional route of good mechanical grip via a well sorted chassis and an engine that does what it says on the packet, and nothing else. Besides, it makes the little MT great for customizing as the lack of wires and control units means you can get real creative without blowing something valuable up!
The MT-07 went to a party at the MT-09’s house and stole his brake light.
The ride position on the MT-07 is pretty much the same as before, although the rider’s seat is noticeably wider and a bit plusher. That 30 percent increase in seat space is more angled at the back of the seat rather than the front, which is itself changed for this year as the tank cover is now 10mm shorter front to back, moving the rider closer to the front wheel. Shorter riders are going to love this, but taller pilots may find the overall ride position a little cramped. This isn’t helped by the fact the handlebar is, for me, not quite wide enough. I asked a Yamaha technician about this and he informed me that widening the bar was a design priority, but due to the bend and material used, the engineers were at their max width and thus couldn’t change it. Changing the bar would also mean changing the dash mount and the top triple clamp, so sticking with what the bar/devil knew was the way to go.
Nothing fancy, but the brakes are quality units and used to be featured on bikes like the old FZ1.
Regardless, the MT-07 is still one of my favorite bikes for street riding, regardless of engine size. It’s got a great motor, a comfortable and versatile chassis that can handle proper canyon scratching and touring, and it’s priced super competitively. Yamaha did so well with the original, better than the MT-09 in my opinion, that there was no need to really screw with it this time around. The MT represents excellent value and you get a lot of bike for the money, and it isn’t necessarily a bike you’ll want to get rid of once you get your experience up. CN
The MT-07 with its party pants on. Check out the Akrapovic exhaust, axle sliders, rearsets, radiator guard, levers and bar ends—all part of the accessory catalog.
It’s All About The Accessories
Having an MT-07 is one thing, jazzing the hell out of it to make it unique is quite another. Yamaha knows this, and has given the MT rider a plethora of choices for their ride that cover everything from proper hot up street parts like exhausts and levers/rearsets, to touring items like saddlebags and top boxes. You can make this bike whatever you want, which is one of its strong points.
To check out the accessories list, click HERE
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SPECIFICATIONS
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2018 Yamaha MT-07 ($7599)
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Engine:
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Liquid-cooled, DOHC ,4-stroke, 8 valves, parallel twin
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Displacement:
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689cc
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Bore x stroke:
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80 x 68.8mm
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Compression ratio:
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11.5:1
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Clutch:
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Wet multi-plate
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Transmission:
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6-speed
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Chassis:
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Tubular steel
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Front suspension:
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41mm KYB inverted fork, non-adjustable
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Rear suspension:
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Single KYB shock absorber, preload and rebound damping adjustable
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Front wheel travel:
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5.1 in.
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Rear wheel travel:
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5.1 in.
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Front brake:
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282mm dual semi-floating discs, 4-piston calipers, ABS standard
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Rear brake:
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245mm disc, single-piston caliper, ABS standard
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Front tire:
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120/70 ZR 17 Bridgestone BT-023
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Rear tire:
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180/55 ZR17 Bridgestone BT-023
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Rake:
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24.8°
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Wheelbase:
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55.1 in.
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Seat height:
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31.7 in.
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Fuel capacity:
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3.7 gal
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Weight (wet, claimed):
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403 lbs.
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Color:
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Team Yamaha Blue; Matte Gray; Intensity White
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