Yamaha MT-07
The bike that reset what value meant in 2014 has been winning that hand ever since. And at £6900 the stack ’em high, sell ’em cheap twin is still doing brilliant things in high-tech 2021
Doff your cap to the revised-for-2021, box-fresh, straight-off-the-boat, still-rubbing-its-eyes MT-07. You can tell it’s the spanker from a glance at its cyclops face and ‘winglet-shaped’ air intakes. Look closer and you’ll spot the Thermos flask in the header pipes of the now Euro5-compliant parallel twin. Should you have a tape measure to hand, you might even discover marginally larger front brake discs and a slightly broader handlebar. Lovely. But what the update doesn’t do is put the Yamaha wheel-to-wheel on spec with the upstart new Triumph. No traction control? Old-hat LCD dash? For crying out loud, the MT hasn’t even got riding modes. What are they dicking around at? It’s a wind-up wristwatch next to Aprilia’s fitness-tracking, message-taking, GPS smartwatch. No matter. The MT-07 is, of course, the perfect example of not trying to fix something that doesn’t require any fixing. Yamaha have shifted more than 125,000 examples of the bike that’s defined affordable middleweights since it arrived seven years ago, and it makes up 20% of their sales. There’s clearly nowt amiss with the straightforward bike. Doesn’t take many miles to see this is still very much the case, despite the lack of shimmering trinkets and glistening baubles. ‘I’m just having so much fun,’ blurts an enthused Langy after ushering the Yam briskly down a series of dancing, squirming, rutted back lanes. ‘It’s skipping about and wriggling beneath me, but I feel completely in control – and love the feeling of actually being able to push a bike so you get a sense of its limits.’
There’s a care-free way to how the MT rides. The right-way-up forks and laid-down shock have nothing like the Aprilia’s damping quality, yet in most situations we don’t care. The Yam merrily scampers across the surface, wheels rattling up and down as bumps are swallowed by the most absorbent suspension here. It’s the winner for ride comfort, both Hugo and I finding it the nicest road suspension. And though the sportier-feeling Triumph has superior outright handling, the Yam is the most nimble sub-60mph and feels lightest.
Yamaha’s 689cc side-by-side twin feels lightest too, being the most free-revving of the three bikes and having a pleasingly light throttle. There isn’t the surging low-rev drive of Triumph’s droning triple or the zippy top-end of Aprilia’s record-breaking twin, instead, the MT is somewhere between the two. The motor’s got the same sort of care-free character as the handling, supplying flexible and usable drive with more than enough power to excite as you thrash up and down the gears on a suitably tangled B-road. And a fine exhaust rumble from the 270˚crank. This year’s mildly-tweaked ergonomics put the MT-07 somewhere between the Triumph and Aprilia, too. It’s our favourite riding position, midway between the sat-in reassurance of the compact Trident and the perched-on control of the Tuono. It does that cunning thing of feeling right for everyone, from diminutive Langy to beanstalk me.
‘Nice controls,’ notes Hugo. ‘I like the compact switchgear, especially the killswitch, and it feels better quality than the others.’ The display can be fiddled with from the ’bars, with more than ample info. There are no modes to wade through, and there’s no traction control or switchable this, that and the other causing distraction. Nobody bemoans a lack of gizmos, or wonders quite how they’re expected to cope without a colour TFT dash connected to their smartphone. This is the best thing about the MT-07. It’s still just a motorcycle – a cheerful, fun, unpretentious bike you simply hop on and ride, and that’s constantly engaging and fun. Swift commutes, smooth thrums? Yes. Mischievous sunny capers, sneaky back-lane wheelies? Indeed. Well built and reliable, too. ‘I don’t like the new headlight, and the Aprilia and Triumph cause greater sensations when the garage door opens,’ says Hugo. ‘But it doesn’t matter when you’re riding. It’s my favourite.’
‘No traction control? Old-hat LCD dash? What are they dicking around at?’