Forgive me Yamaha creatives, who came up with an excellent slogan for the updated MT series, but I can only attribute the new urban naked MT-07 to the “cute side of Japan”. Or darkness, or power, or whatever. And it's not that the motorcycle is for children or a toy - far from it! Although it is indeed very compact, miniature and light - lighter than many in its class - only 179 kg in curb condition, and with its low center of gravity and ideal weight distribution (51% rear, 49% front), these kilograms are "lightened" even more . It’s just that MT-07 is such a hand-me-down devil, very cute and cute, but just about ready to release claws, teeth, wings and tail.
However, he will not direct them against his master: the “seven” is distinguished by some unimaginable obedience and understanding. It is said that especially intelligent horses understand the commands of the rider by the movement of the knees and other subtle hints. So is MT-07 - just thought, just moved a little, and he had already done everything! All that remains is to smile enthusiastically, make admiring interjections and onomatopoeia and catch the thrill of riding in the element for which this motorcycle was created - in dense city traffic.
Drifting between cars on the "seven" is a pleasure. Writing out a pretzel in narrow streets, avoiding manholes and bumps, is another thing. Ride along the highway - the third. Although the MT-07 still cannot be called a station wagon: for travel or just long hauls it is small and light - on the highway it starts to naturally blow off the lane. And for a driver with a height of 180+ cm, in principle, it is not very suitable precisely because of its size, despite even the high steering wheel, which allows you to relax your back. Yes, and riding together on the MT-07 is a conditionally possible enterprise, in fact, like on any other roadster, naked, road builder and anything, except for tourers and some cruisers. And no one will convince me otherwise!
But how happy the engine! The new two-cylinder 689-cc cross-plane in-line engine (this is when the flashes in the cylinders do not occur simultaneously) produces almost 75 “honest” horsepower, not regulated by any ultra-modern electronics. The "Seven" can move around the city in only one third gear: the moment and elasticity of the motor is enough to drive without touching the switch foot, at speeds from 30 to 100 km / h - the standard city mode. But even after 100 km / h, the MT-07 retains a sufficient supply of dynamics, you don’t even need to turn it into a ringing (I don’t like it at all when the equipment yells): the peak moment, 68 Nm, falls on 6500 min-1. The engine, for example, the Honda NC700 is much duller, more boring and practically requires an "automatic". It is clear that the concept behind these motors is completely different, but how much more fun it is to ride the MT-07, even if it eats twice as much as the NC700 ... Eh!
By its nature, the MT-07 power unit is more similar to V-twins - in this regard, the competitor of the "seven" is, for example, Suzuki Gladius: it is even a little more comfortable in terms of vibrations, which appear in an in-line Yamaha deuce almost from the minimum speed, and to medium turn into an incessant fine trembling, albeit not very annoying. But in terms of the softness of the suspension, the MT-07 outperforms the Susa, despite the fact that on the Yamaha it is possible to adjust the preload of the spring of only the rear horizontally located monoshock absorber, and on the Gladius also forks.
The "Seven" on a solid four copes with all the standard shortcomings of the road surface, it does not rearrange it on the markings and in the rut, it does not shake the soul out of the driver on bumps. The usual chassis for its class: an inverted front fork, a steel asymmetric swingarm, a steel diagonal frame with a carrier engine and a horizontal shock absorber, nevertheless turned out to be light and fairly rigid, and Michelin Pilot Road III tires provide excellent grip. On the Yamaha MT-07, you can even play a little hooligans, frolic, just not forgetting about safety. After all, this is the good side of evil!
