Yamaha MT-07 LA Review | LAMS Motorcycle Test

Yamaha MT-07 LA Evaluation

I questioned the selection of bike that Yamaha had chosen for me to trip again from Sydney to Melbourne after which put by its paces for an additional few weeks. ‘Are you positive that’s proper Trev? A unadorned learner bike? From Sydney? Not the brand new Tracer? Effectively… okay then, if that’s what they need!’

I questioned it once more after spending far too lengthy attempting to arrange and join the turn-by-turn GPS apps in mid 30 diploma warmth. All whereas understanding that I nonetheless needed to my make manner out of peak Friday afternoon Sydney visitors, nonetheless having a number of hours to go earlier than my vacation spot of Canberra.

Whoever signed off that turn-by-turn registration and arrange course of must have a great laborious have a look at themselves by the way in which – I gave up on the primary day. Opting to get out on the street, cease sometimes and double-check the following few turns, old-fashioned type.

I questioned it additional as I rode out the gate of Yamaha HQ and felt the sporty suspension and fairly agency seat, considering of the 1,200 odd kilometres forward of me to get dwelling to Anglesea, through a few of my favorite Victorian excessive nation roads.

I used to be nonetheless questioning the bare bike selection on day two, once I was dumped on from above in a giant manner. Getting moist to the bone driving by a thunderstorm North of Gundagai. To be truthful it was nonetheless nicely north of 30 levels so I left all of the vents on my Motodry Tourmax jacket and pants open and simply ran with it (and was dry once more in an hour).

However after spending slightly over 300 kilometres on the little MT as I write this, together with a number of commuting and loads of shorter day rides – I believe they’ve received a lot of the bike proper on stability.

My butt is now fairly nicely used to the seat, the suspension has settled in slightly extra and whereas positively nonetheless on the agency aspect, is fairly rattling good for extra anticipated duties and distances. And for lots of riders searching for a sporty, urban-oriented LAMS bike, this can tick most containers.

It’s laborious to imagine it’s six years since I rode the previous MT-07 HO. Fairly a bit has modified with the brand new bike since then and I’ll attempt to summarise the most important factors right here for you:

Fairly the good styling replace. The headlight is likely to be slightly polarising in true MT kind, however I don’t thoughts the general aesthetic. Minimal, purposeful, sporty.

A part of that styling is what Yamaha name ‘Acoustic Amplification’ of the consumption snarl. To you and me that interprets to holes within the prime of the tank-airbox cowl to let extra sound out. It really works too.

Tweaks to the terrific little 655 cc CP2 engine have liberated some extra torque and sharpened up the gear-change.

New 41 mm forks up entrance and a preload and rebound adjustable shock out the again.

New body and swing-arm, providing extra stiffness the place deemed acceptable whereas remaining the identical weight because the previous one. The swing-arm cops a serious rework for higher stability whereas retaining ample agility…

Particularly when matched with the brand new lighter wheels.

Up to date brakes up entrance supply critical stopping energy.

New 5 inch TFT display screen with a terrific, customisable sprint design in addition to good cellphone integration together with turn-by-turn Nav (which really works fairly properly as soon as you determine set it up). Plus up to date switch-gear.

If that feels like loads, it’s as a result of it’s. General it is a sportier, extra refined bike than I bear in mind the previous one being, however nonetheless very usable for on a regular basis driving. The driving place is comfy, with no actual weight on the wrists as such – and it’s nonetheless good and light-weight to wheel round from standstill.

The engine continues to be a splendidly usable factor. It feels good and powerful off the underside finish and tapers off in an old-school kinda manner that I charge. You don’t must rev the ring off to make the bike work and it doesn’t hit a wall on this tune – which is all the way down to 655 cc from the 689 cc that the complete energy (HO) mannequin runs.

You get a selection of ordinary Avenue map or a customized map permitting you to regulate energy and traction management ranges. So you can run it as a softer rain mode, or full energy mode with TC off if that floats your boat. Might be modified on the transfer too. Which is ace.

It feels torquey and simple to trip off the underside in a manner that I’m undecided another LAMS bike can match. And whereas it in all probability doesn’t have fairly the mid-range of a few of the others by comparability, in on a regular basis driving – particularly round city, it’s a very accessible lump.

Actually properly fuelled and despite the fact that the MT doesn’t include a quick-shifter (which is a little bit of a shock) the gearbox and clutch are simply superb. Even moreso when you get a number of thousand kays into it and issues begin to loosen up. I don’t suppose the field will ever be the slickest on the market, nevertheless it does the job and doesn’t miss any shifts regardless of how a lot you stuff issues up.

From a dealing with perspective the entrance finish on the brand new bike feels completely bolted to the deck. Significantly so in energy stage two. There won’t really feel like numerous distinction between the 2 settings. However stage one has a stronger hit off the underside. Particularly noticeable in the event you’re attempting to loft the entrance. Hypothetically…

That interprets to large confidence within the entrance finish on the subject of cornering. A really pure bike to fling back and forth at eight-tenths, as a result of despite the fact that it’s agency – it’s properly balanced entrance to rear. The entrance suspenders are non-adjustable however there’s room to play with the rear from a pre-load and rebound perspective.

Though over rougher sections or respectable bumps mid nook the agency suspension will provide you with slightly to consider. At first I used to be considering I’d really dial again some preload slightly extra, however opted in the long run to go away it precisely as I’d discovered it. Price noting that whenever you handle to discover a respectable pothole – you do get a good previous thump within the freckle. It’s nonetheless positively on the agency aspect.

On the town, filtering by visitors, it’s the proverbial silent murderer. Comparatively gentle at 183 kegs moist, nimble, sufficiently small to squeeze by most gaps and with a great steering lock. On the times I used to be working a smidge late on my commute and wanted to make up a couple of minutes – this was the bike I selected as a substitute of my barely larger and wider Tiger.

Most likely the one factor that felt barely out of stability was the power of the entrance brakes. They’re actually fairly highly effective. Arduous braking does push the forks in the direction of their restrict of really feel and I used to be getting a little bit of vagueness underneath these circumstances, however something again from most braking was superb.

I’d suggest choosing a barely much less aggressive pad – particularly in the event you’re a much less skilled rider – that entrance bites fairly laborious, even with one finger.

Flip-by-turn GPS registration and arrange apart, I like the sprint structure – together with the GPS show. Particularly, I cherished the power to customize the info factors to your most well-liked data. You’ll be able to cycle by a complete candy of choices for every of the X show slots and select your choice. Main kudos there. One thing I want a number of extra producers would enable.

I additionally discovered that the space to empty readout was a bit schizophrenic at occasions. Because it received all the way down to the enterprise finish of the 14 L tank’s vary, the studying would fluctuate up and down slightly greater than I’d like. This implies you’ll in all probability find yourself opting to gas up slightly sooner than it’s essential normally – across the 250 km mark. Which will probably be a lot for many riders.

The brand new switch-gear is all properly executed too, though I’m nonetheless not satisfied concerning the ‘off-centre’ indicator toggle design… I simply discovered it a bit odd. At first I believed it was damaged. Sometimes the tap-again to cancel wouldn’t work for me, even after driving it for that lengthy.

All in all – there’s loads to love. Each the LAMS mannequin and the complete energy HO mannequin are priced at just below 15 grand trip away which is definitely on the larger finish of the LAMS bikes. Particularly with out having a quick-shifter or cruise management, however they received’t be deal breakers for many.

So whereas at first I used to be questioning if it was too agency for a unadorned LAMS bike. Ultimately I believe it’ll be a preferred replace for many who are searching for that sporty first step. It’s positively one of many sportier feeling LAMS bikes obtainable, with a grunty little engine that punches fairly laborious down low and within the mid-range for on a regular basis use.

I believe there will probably be fairly a number of riders who take pleasure in these on the street. Particularly those that bleed blue… And that little CP2 engine sounds pretty with a pipe on it.

MT-07 LA Hits

• Nice new styling and tech replace.
• The engine is gorgeous, even in LAMS guise. And doesn’t really feel electronically nobbled.
• Completely planted entrance finish.

MT-07 LA Misses

• Entrance brake pretty grabby and will have a much less aggressive pad.
• No quick-shifter or cruise management at that worth…?
• Not essentially a miss, however the suspension is definitely on the agency aspect.
• Begging for a slip-on muffler to let loose some extra bark from the little cross aircraft twin.

For more information or to search out your native supplier see the Yamaha Motor Australia website.

Yamaha MT-07 LA Specs

2025 Yamaha MT-07 LA Evaluation Photos

Photos by RbMotoLens