Has anyone got bored of their MT07?


Jamieking86

New member
Hi guys, I am currently on an L plate on a YBR125. I have my first DAS lesson next week, i'm excited but quite nervous to be honest as i have never ever rode a 600cc bike. I believe its a Suzuki Gladius 650? Anyway, I passed my CBT just before Xmas 2017, bought my 125 which i have had for 2 and half month (ish) and have loved every minute of been out on it. I was out yesterday though trying to find the place where I'm doing my DAS as it's quite a ride out and this hasn't happened before but I quickly became bored riding. I was on lovely roads doing 50-60mph which in the past i have been buzzing, not the fact that I'm riding fast, but the basic fact I am finally on a motorbike which I have wanted for so long. But yesterdau for some reason I didn't enjoy it as much. I'm hoping this is because it's only a 125 and and the excitement of riding a bigger bike next week is on my mind. My question is, does anybody get bored of their MT07 or when your on your MT07? I really want the MT-07 as my first bike, I am so excited to own one, but i am praying i don't spend all that money on one, and then be bored of it in 3 month lol. Cheers.
 

Donut

New member
Love my 07 and had it about 3 years now.

That may be because I'm coming down from big bikes and want something light and nimble but it has enough power to be fun.

Have upgraded the suspension on mine as the stock stuff is a bit soft and bouncy - cracking first big bike and a good place to start.
 

Jamieking86

New member
Hi Donut thanks for your reply. As I'm only a short rider, 5 foot 3 on a good day and everage build, 10 Stone, do you think I'd struggle with the weight of the bike? I know it's hard for anyone else to judge how someone else would deal with the bike, but I have heard it is quite light and nimble, but as I'm a pretty short dude i do worry about dropping it regularly, especially at traffic lights and junctions lol.
 

nobull

New member
Hi Donut thanks for your reply. As I'm only a short rider, 5 foot 3 on a good day and everage build, 10 Stone, do you think I'd struggle with the weight of the bike? I know it's hard for anyone else to judge how someone else would deal with the bike, but I have heard it is quite light and nimble, but as I'm a pretty short dude i do worry about dropping it regularly, especially at traffic lights and junctions lol.
Hi Jamie,
the MT07 has a good reputation for very good reason. It isnt perfect of course, but no motorcycle I've ever ridden is. Its got the easy to ride nature but with added fun/grin factor, plus its nice & simple. I'm fortunate enough to have a 2017 R1, a 2015 MT07 & a Duke KTM 390 (now don't buy one of those or you will be bored!!), and the one i'm most looking forward to getting out on now the winters over is the MT07! I think that says a lot, especially as I bought the R1 in October & only rode it twice before wrapping it up for winter! The MT is just fun, its not too serious or scary, & i'm not bored of mine at all after 3 years. Flaw wise the front forks are the big issue for me (it dives more than a premiership footballer), I don't find the rear too bad. At your weight it will probably be perfect for you. If you find it too tall (its more manageable than most) lowering kits are available. Go for a low mileage 2014 or 2015 bike that's been well looked after, non ABS if you are a fine weather rider, ABS if you are going to be riding in the rain regularly. Enjoy!
 

nobull

New member
Oh, I nearly forgot - GET A LOUD EXHAUST! Mine sounds great with an Arrow full system, always makes bikes seem more fun(unless you are my neighbour!)
 

Jamieking86

New member
Hi Jamie,
the MT07 has a good reputation for very good reason. It isnt perfect of course, but no motorcycle I've ever ridden is. Its got the easy to ride nature but with added fun/grin factor, plus its nice & simple. I'm fortunate enough to have a 2017 R1, a 2015 MT07 & a Duke KTM 390 (now don't buy one of those or you will be bored!!), and the one i'm most looking forward to getting out on now the winters over is the MT07! I think that says a lot, especially as I bought the R1 in October & only rode it twice before wrapping it up for winter! The MT is just fun, its not too serious or scary, & i'm not bored of mine at all after 3 years. Flaw wise the front forks are the big issue for me (it dives more than a premiership footballer), I don't find the rear too bad. At your weight it will probably be perfect for you. If you find it too tall (its more manageable than most) lowering kits are available. Go for a low mileage 2014 or 2015 bike that's been well looked after, non ABS if you are a fine weather rider, ABS if you are going to be riding in the rain regularly. Enjoy!
Hello Nobull thanks for your reply. That's very helpful, I suppose it says a lot when you've got an R1 in the garage but you can't wait to get on the MT07 lol. I went to a dealer yesterday to sit on one and have a feel of it. I was on my tiptoes but he has said they can lower it 25mm for me which will bring the seat height down to 780mm, the same as the MT03 and the YBR125 i have now so I will more or less be able to flat foot give or take a few mm. I also thought I could take a teeny weeny bit of foam out of the seat just to give me another half inch or so? Once i get used to riding a big bike hopefully I will be more comfortable and confident on the weight of the bike, but that is my main issue at the moment. I'm not an idiot, I'm 31 now so my maniac days are long gone so I'm not going to be screaming the arse off it on every corner etc. The price he gave me for the MT07 was £5900 including it been lowered. Brand new, 17 plate with 1 mile on it in the tech black colour (I love that colour) with ABS. I thought that was a pretty good deal? I'm happy to buy a new one as I will have it for a very long time. I never plan on getting anything bigger than a 600-700cc bike as they'll just be too big for me lol. That a good deal?
 

nobull

New member
Certainly sounds it to me! Give Tamworth Yamaha a call, I happened to see an ad for the R1M at 18K (after the YRE experience, old stock effectively), popped down from Derby and unfortunately it sold the night before, but to my amazement they had 4 new R1s for sale at 13K+otr fees unregistered, not even mentioned on their website. Got a 5K trade in on my 2008 R6 too. And good service (better than my local dealer I bought new MT07 from). Point being none of the R1s were advertised, its worth a phone call, it was the same thing with my R6 before that (got a great discount on a bike that wasn't advertised by calling around dealers to ask what they had, bought it with 50 miles on clock for 6K they hadn't got round to advertising it). Everyone delivers these days too. But yeah, that sounds like a good deal you got offered, think I paid almost that for my non abs bike in 2015 (the one bike I paid full price for I was that impressed with it!). You do know there's a new model out this year though? If its the new model its an especially good deal, if not its still a very good bike. I hear they firmed up the suspension on this years bike so it may ride a little taller with less squat?
You could easily skim some foam off but might make the ride unpleasant. I added foam then recovered the KTMs seat (like a plank of wood,worst seat EVER!). You would need an air powered staple gun with short staples to reattach the cover, hand spring powered guns wont penetrate the plastic, I tried before buying air powered one. May be possible just to drop the forks through the yokes a bit too, but that may affect handling & make it a little twitchier by shortening wheelbase slightly (add a link in chain to compensate??). The old adage "where there's a will there's a way" is very true, I have broken both my wrists racing bikes, I have scoliosis & spondylitis and tendon problems in my left arm - but I still bought the R1, have had to buy a downblipper to help my problems & cut & shut some controls etc but there are people who overcome far far worse & continue to ride. I was once overtaken by a one armed guy on an Oulton test day, I wasn't very fast there but this guy was nearing BSB pace, I spent a session on the pit wall laughing in admiration at the guy after that. Seen plenty of other amputees (none anywhere near as fast) on track days too. On the last trackday I did I was dicing with Darley newcomer club champion, he had more metal in his back than Connor Cummins, he was seriously impressive I could only just keep him behind me with my R6 backing in to every corner. So forget worrying about it & get on & buy one would be my considered advice! I'm sure you wont regret it. Let us know how you get on!
 

bobh

Member
It's not the bike that's boring - it's the roads you ride and the way you ride them. And I don't mean by that you have to attack every corner like a nutter - concentrate on keeping it smooth, getting your lines spot on and avoiding nasty surprises, it gives immense satisfaction. Once you've done your DAS and got used to the bike, it will repay you many times over to get some advanced training. Not only will it help you to stay safe(r), it will show you how to make good progress (that old euphemism) while staying within your limits.

As I said, it ain't what you ride, it's the way that you ride it. Although, having said that, I confess that I did move up from the -07 to an -09 a couple of years ago for a tad more excitement.
 

Jamieking86

New member
Certainly sounds it to me! Give Tamworth Yamaha a call, I happened to see an ad for the R1M at 18K (after the YRE experience, old stock effectively), popped down from Derby and unfortunately it sold the night before, but to my amazement they had 4 new R1s for sale at 13K+otr fees unregistered, not even mentioned on their website. Got a 5K trade in on my 2008 R6 too. And good service (better than my local dealer I bought new MT07 from). Point being none of the R1s were advertised, its worth a phone call, it was the same thing with my R6 before that (got a great discount on a bike that wasn't advertised by calling around dealers to ask what they had, bought it with 50 miles on clock for 6K they hadn't got round to advertising it). Everyone delivers these days too. But yeah, that sounds like a good deal you got offered, think I paid almost that for my non abs bike in 2015 (the one bike I paid full price for I was that impressed with it!). You do know there's a new model out this year though? If its the new model its an especially good deal, if not its still a very good bike. I hear they firmed up the suspension on this years bike so it may ride a little taller with less squat?
You could easily skim some foam off but might make the ride unpleasant. I added foam then recovered the KTMs seat (like a plank of wood,worst seat EVER!). You would need an air powered staple gun with short staples to reattach the cover, hand spring powered guns wont penetrate the plastic, I tried before buying air powered one. May be possible just to drop the forks through the yokes a bit too, but that may affect handling & make it a little twitchier by shortening wheelbase slightly (add a link in chain to compensate??). The old adage "where there's a will there's a way" is very true, I have broken both my wrists racing bikes, I have scoliosis & spondylitis and tendon problems in my left arm - but I still bought the R1, have had to buy a downblipper to help my problems & cut & shut some controls etc but there are people who overcome far far worse & continue to ride. I was once overtaken by a one armed guy on an Oulton test day, I wasn't very fast there but this guy was nearing BSB pace, I spent a session on the pit wall laughing in admiration at the guy after that. Seen plenty of other amputees (none anywhere near as fast) on track days too. On the last trackday I did I was dicing with Darley newcomer club champion, he had more metal in his back than Connor Cummins, he was seriously impressive I could only just keep him behind me with my R6 backing in to every corner. So forget worrying about it & get on & buy one would be my considered advice! I'm sure you wont regret it. Let us know how you get on!
I will give that a go mate thanks. When I went to sit on the mt07 they did have a different colour that wasn’t on their website, and I did like it. It was the blue and black colour, race blue I think? Was a stunning bike but I think I do prefer the tech black out of all of them. I would most probably get the foam taken out professionally. I would be able to do it myself, it’s not a hard job but if I do bugger it up somehow it’d cost me more having to buy a new seat lol. Sorry about your wrists dude, but glad to hear your still riding. Do you ever go on any meet ups? I’ve googled them but they always seem to be 100+ miles from me.
 

Jamieking86

New member
It's not the bike that's boring - it's the roads you ride and the way you ride them. And I don't mean by that you have to attack every corner like a nutter - concentrate on keeping it smooth, getting your lines spot on and avoiding nasty surprises, it gives immense satisfaction. Once you've done your DAS and got used to the bike, it will repay you many times over to get some advanced training. Not only will it help you to stay safe(r), it will show you how to make good progress (that old euphemism) while staying within your limits.

As I said, it ain't what you ride, it's the way that you ride it. Although, having said that, I confess that I did move up from the -07 to an -09 a couple of years ago for a tad more excitement.
I totally understand that. As it happens I did go on the 125 a couple days later and enjoyed it, must have been having a bad day �� For some reason I like been in traffic. I can practice on my slow speed that way, I do filter sometimes but if it’s a little tight....I ain’t that confident yet lol. What’s the mt09 like? I would never get anything bigger than a 600-700cc. My outhouse is too small, it would fit the mt07 in, but may struggle with anything bigger
 

bobh

Member
What’s the mt09 like? I would never get anything bigger than a 600-700cc. My outhouse is too small, it would fit the mt07 in, but may struggle with anything bigger
It's just what you'd expect - 50% more cylinders and 50% more grunt! It also fits me better - I'm 6ft, or at least I was, though I think I've shrunk with age ;).

I do have a problem wangling it into the shed, now I've fitted Givi handguards. I plan to fit narrower bars from a MT-03, but it's not a straightforward substitution (is anything?)
 

Jamieking86

New member
I like the look of the MT09, only think i don't like is the petrol tank. It looks awful imo, and when your riding you can just notice it too much lol.
 

bobh

Member
I don't look at the tank when I'm riding, but anyway, I've got a tank bag on top of mine, so I couldn't see it anyway!
 

nobull

New member
I will give that a go mate thanks. When I went to sit on the mt07 they did have a different colour that wasn’t on their website, and I did like it. It was the blue and black colour, race blue I think? Was a stunning bike but I think I do prefer the tech black out of all of them. I would most probably get the foam taken out professionally. I would be able to do it myself, it’s not a hard job but if I do bugger it up somehow it’d cost me more having to buy a new seat lol. Sorry about your wrists dude, but glad to hear your still riding. Do you ever go on any meet ups? I’ve googled them but they always seem to be 100+ miles from me.
No, sorry, don't go to meets as I have very little free time I only get to ride the odd blast plus sunny commuting! Let us know when you get a bike!
 


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