Yamaha MT-03
£3,299 to £4,250| 321cc parallel-twin | 41.5bhp | 22lb-ft Tested by Mikko Nieminen | Usually rides a Honda Africa Twin
Small-capacity bikes such as the Yamaha MT-03 may seem like the Holy Grail when you’re moving up from 125s, but moving down the cc-ladder isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. With reduced displacement, weight and size, come very different handling, performance and capabilities. On the surface, the Yamaha has all the hallmarks of modern naked bikes: exposed engine, small headlight with a tiny fly-screen, big air-intake vents and a simple dash and switchgear. The quality of the finish and components is not skyhigh, but then, neither is the price. There are no ride modes or traction control, and ABS is constantly on. This bike is as easy to just hop on and ride as they come.
The MT-03 doesn’t look that small, but jumping off a litre bike and onto the 168kg Yamaha, I found that it is. Having said that, apart from the CB500, this was the only bike in the test that I didn’t feel cramped riding. With the others I simply couldn’t get my legs comfortable. Urban riding is a doddle – there’s enough torque to pull away from the lights fast enough to get ahead of the pack, and the gearbox is as smooth as any. The front brakes need just two fingers, with the ABS only kicking in when it needs to. Finding gaps big enough to filter through is easy too, as the overall width of the bike is only 745mm.
It’s the faster roads where the game changes. On my commute through the winding back roads of Lincolnshire I rode at roughly the same speed as I would have on my big bike, but boy did it feel faster on the MT-03! As I hurtled round the corners I could feel the bike bouncing off the bumps, requiring more careful steering and generally demanding attention in the way that a heavier, more powerful bike wouldn’t. But don’t get me wrong, this is not a criticism, the ride was exhilarating.
Even with spirited riding, fuel consumption only fell to around 55mpg. Riding more sensibly, the figure was comfortably in the sixties. Strangely, there’s no bright yellow fuel light in the dash, which almost caught me out. Instead, the last bar of the digital fuel gauge starts to blink when you’re near empty.
The bigger the roads get, the more obvious the limitations of the parallel twin become.
The top speed may be above 100mph, but reaching that would require flattening yourself on the tank and finding a very long, straight stretch of road.
The comfortable maximum speed lies somewhere in the region of 85mph. The faster the speed, the less acceleration there is available, and high-speed overtakes must be planned with much more care than when you’re on a 100bhp bike. I have a fairly long commute, and after a few days the MT-03 started to feel a bit too small and powerless to make for a comfortable and enjoyable journey. For longer distances, two-up riding or touring it’s not your weapon of choice, but as a sensible urban commuter it delivers the goods – and it’s got enough poke to go backroad scratching at weekends.
As many adventure riders have proven, any bike will make a tourer, but if you’re thinking of downsizing, it’s worth bearing in mind that with a smaller capacity bike you might also need to reconsider how and where you ride.