Yamaha MT-07 LA Review | LAMS Motorcycle Test TechTricks365

Yamaha MT-07 LA Review

I questioned the choice of motorcycle that Yamaha had selected for me to ride back from Sydney to Melbourne and then put through its paces for a further few weeks. ‘Are you sure that’s right Trev? A naked learner bike? From Sydney? Not the new Tracer? Well… okay then, if that’s what they want!’

I questioned it again after spending far too long trying to set up and connect the turn-by-turn GPS apps in mid 30 degree heat. All while knowing that I still had to my make way out of peak Friday afternoon Sydney traffic, still having several hours to go before my destination of Canberra.

Whoever signed off that turn-by-turn registration and set up process needs to have a good hard look at themselves by the way – I gave up on the first day. Opting to get out on the road, stop occasionally and double-check the next few turns, old school style.

I questioned it further as I rode out the gate of Yamaha HQ and felt the sporty suspension and reasonably firm seat, thinking of the 1,200 odd kilometres ahead of me to get home to Anglesea, via some of my favourite Victorian high country roads.

I was still questioning the naked bike choice on day two, when I was dumped on from above in a big way. Getting wet to the bone riding through a thunderstorm North of Gundagai. To be fair it was still well north of 30 degrees so I left all the vents on my Motodry Tourmax jacket and pants open and just ran with it (and was dry again in an hour).

But after spending a little over 300 kilometres on the little MT as I write this, including lots of commuting and plenty of shorter day rides – I think they’ve got most of the bike right on balance.

My butt is now pretty well used to the seat, the suspension has settled in a little more and while definitely still on the firm side, is pretty damn good for more expected duties and distances. And for a lot of riders looking for a sporty, urban-oriented LAMS bike, this will tick most boxes.

It’s hard to believe it’s six years since I rode the old MT-07 HO. Quite a bit has changed with the new bike since then and I’ll try and summarise the biggest points here for you:

Quite the nice styling update. The headlight might be a little polarising in true MT form, but I don’t mind the overall aesthetic. Minimal, purposeful, sporty.

Part of that styling is what Yamaha call ‘Acoustic Amplification’ of the intake snarl. To you and me that translates to holes in the top of the tank-airbox cover to let more sound out. It works too.

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

New 41 mm forks up front and a preload and rebound adjustable shock out the back.

New frame and swing-arm, offering additional stiffness where deemed appropriate while remaining the same weight as the old one. The swing-arm cops a major rework for better stability while retaining ample agility…

Especially when matched with the new lighter wheels.

Updated brakes up front offer serious stopping power.

New 5 inch TFT screen with a terrific, customisable dash design as well as smart phone integration including turn-by-turn Nav (which actually works quite nicely once you figure out how to set it up). Plus updated switch-gear.

If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. Overall this is a sportier, more refined bike than I remember the old one being, but still very usable for everyday riding. The riding position is comfortable, with no real weight on the wrists as such – and it’s still nice and light to wheel around from standstill.

The engine is still a wonderfully usable thing. It feels nice and strong off the bottom end and tapers off in an old-school kinda way that I rate. You don’t need to rev the ring off to make the bike work and it doesn’t hit a wall in this tune – which is down to 655 cc from the 689 cc that the full power (HO) model runs.

You get a choice of standard Street map or a custom map allowing you to adjust power and traction control levels. So you could run it as a softer rain mode, or full power mode with TC off if that floats your boat. Can be changed on the move too. Which is ace.

It feels torquey and easy to ride off the bottom in a way that I’m not sure any other LAMS bike can match. And while it probably doesn’t have quite the mid-range of some of the others by comparison, in everyday riding – especially around town, it’s a particularly accessible lump.

Really nicely fuelled and even though the MT doesn’t come with a quick-shifter (which is a bit of a surprise) the gearbox and clutch are just fine. Even moreso once you get a few thousand kays into it and things start to loosen up. I don’t think the box will ever be the slickest out there, but it does the job and doesn’t miss any shifts no matter how much you stuff things up.

From a handling point of view the front end on the new bike feels absolutely bolted to the deck. Particularly so in power level two. There might not feel like a lot of difference between the two settings. But level one has a stronger hit off the bottom. Especially noticeable if you’re trying to loft the front. Hypothetically…

That translates to tremendous confidence in the front end when it comes to cornering. A very natural bike to fling from side to side at eight-tenths, because even though it’s firm – it’s nicely balanced front to rear. The front suspenders are non-adjustable but there is room to play with the rear from a pre-load and rebound perspective.

Although over rougher sections or decent bumps mid corner the firm suspension will give you a little to think about. At first I was thinking I might actually dial back some preload a little more, but opted in the end to leave it exactly as I’d found it. Worth noting that when you manage to find a decent pothole – you do get a fair old thump in the freckle. It’s still definitely on the firm side.

In town, filtering through traffic, it’s the proverbial silent assassin. Relatively light at 183 kegs wet, nimble, small enough to squeeze through most gaps and with a good steering lock. On the days I was running a smidge late on my commute and needed to make up a few minutes – this was the bike I chose instead of my slightly bigger and wider Tiger.

Probably the one thing that felt slightly out of balance was the strength of the front brakes. They’re really quite powerful. Hard braking does push the forks towards their limit of feel and I was getting a bit of vagueness under those conditions, but anything back from maximum braking was fine.

I’d recommend opting for a slightly less aggressive pad – especially if you’re a less experienced rider – that front bites pretty hard, even with one finger.

Turn-by-turn GPS registration and set up aside, I love the dash layout – including the GPS display. In particular, I loved the ability to customise the data points to your preferred info. You can cycle through a whole sweet of options for each of the X display slots and choose your preference. Major kudos there. Something I wish a few more manufacturers would allow.

I also found that the distance to empty readout was a bit schizophrenic at times. As it got down to the business end of the 14 L tank’s range, the reading would vary up and down a little more than I’d like. This means you’ll probably end up opting to fuel up a little earlier than you need to in most cases – around the 250 km mark. Which will be plenty for most riders.

The new switch-gear is all nicely executed too, although I’m still not convinced about the ‘off-centre’ indicator toggle design… I just found it a bit odd. At first I thought it was broken. Occasionally the tap-again to cancel wouldn’t work for me, even after riding it for that long.

All in all – there’s a lot to like. Both the LAMS model and the full power HO model are priced at just under 15 grand ride away which is certainly at the higher end of the LAMS bikes. Especially without having a quick-shifter or cruise control, but they won’t be deal breakers for most.

So while at first I was questioning if it was too firm for a naked LAMS bike. In the end I think it’ll be a popular update for those who are looking for that sporty first step. It’s definitely one of the sportier feeling LAMS bikes available, with a grunty little engine that punches pretty hard down low and in the mid-range for everyday use.

I think there will be quite a few riders who enjoy these on the road. Especially those who bleed blue… And that little CP2 engine sounds lovely with a pipe on it.

MT-07 LA Hits

• Great new styling and tech update.
• The engine is lovely, even in LAMS guise. And doesn’t feel electronically nobbled.
• Absolutely planted front end.

MT-07 LA Misses

• Front brake fairly grabby and could have a less aggressive pad.
• No quick-shifter or cruise control at that price…?
• Not necessarily a miss, but the suspension is certainly on the firm side.
• Begging for a slip-on muffler to let out some more bark from the little cross plane twin.

For more info or to find your local dealer see the Yamaha Motor Australia website.

Yamaha MT-07 LA Specifications

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