Minor changes have made a big difference to one of the top sellers in the Yamaha lineup.
Fresh from Yamaha’s recent reveal of its all-new MT-09 hyper-naked bike, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer has followed up with the launch of an updated version of its top-selling MT-07 middle-of-the-range naked bike.
The refresh of this firm favourite among riders begins with an all-new, and much edgier, bodywork. While the overall silhouette of the original bike remains largely intact, the Iwate-based motorcycle marque has presumably taken cues from the completely redesigned MT-09 and has fitted the MT-07 with a similarly styled compact LED projector headlight that is flanked by twin LED daytime running light strips with LED turn signals.
Moving down the bike, twin winglet-type air intakes are featured on the 14 litre petrol tank to give it that more aggressive aesthetic. A feat which is complemented by a plethora of blacked out components such as the brake and clutch levers, and is further amplified by a new colour and graphics pack such as the black and orange example seen here.
That is not to say that the bike is aggressive to ride however, as Yamaha has also added a wider 32 mm handle bar to accommodate a more diverse range of rider sizes. The monochrome LCD display has also been redesigned with a new white-on-black display for easy reading. Braking performance too has been improved significantly thanks too the four-piston calliper clamping onto larger 298 mm disks up front, up from the 282 mm of the outgoing iteration.
Performance-wise, power figures for the 689 cc four-stroke DOHC crossplane twin remains unchanged from the before, making the same 73.4 PS at 8,750 rpm and 67 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. What is new however is that the MT-07 is now Euro 5 compliant thanks to an updated air intake, new ECU settings and a reworked 2-into-1 exhaust system, which incidentally is also supposed to make a more sonorous noise.
Power is sent through the same six-speed manual transmission to the rear wheel, slicker shifts however could be expected thanks to different cut angles on the gear dogs. In terms of suspension, no apparent changes have appeared to be made to the non-adjustable telescopic front forks and rebound-adjustable mono shock out the back.
The 2021 Yamaha MT-07 naked bike will be available in three colours, Storm Fluo, Icon Blue and Ice Black. No word thus far on when this bike will be available locally, though it is expected to land in Europe and North America early next year.
