What’s it like on the road?
Nimble, perfectly balanced, slightly squidgy — in a good way, mostly. It’s forgiving of crude steering inputs and the ride quality’s good enough to cope with rough tarmac and potholes. The downside is a slight lack of precision and the faster you go, the more imprecise it gets. There’s plenty of ground clearance for normal riding, though mid-corner bumps and fast roundabouts see the pegs grinding away merrily. Yamaha claims 179Kg but it feels even lighter on the move. The illusion’s helped by the lack of screen and the low-mounted clocks – you feel there’s you and the road and nothing in between. Often, there is something in between the front tyre and the road though — several feet of clear air.
The MT is geared fairly low overall (but with a taller top gear for motorway cruising) and throttle response is instant – wind it on hard in first from low revs and the front wheel WILL come up. The same happens in second with a little effort, and if you must, it’ll wheelie off the clutch in third. None of this drive arrives with a big bang — it’s controllable, soft-edged, with a smooth power curve that gives a direct connection from right hand to back wheel. So if wheelies aren’t your bag, you’ve still got the kind of drive that used to be the preserve of litre twins.