What other bikes do you own (have owned) and how do they compare to the MT ?

[cosmikdebriis]

Firstly I should say I didn't put this under "Versus the Competition" because that's not really the point of this thread. The idea is simply to see what other bike(s) people may own/have owned and how they compare to the MT. (But if a moderator wants to move it I've no objection).

Not really a question of better or worse but more Pro's and cons if that makes sense.

To give you an idea...

I also own a Benelli Tornado. which, as a piece of sculpture is sublime. The riding experience however is almost the complete opposite. Sure it's fast and sounds absolutely wonderful from the exhaust, but the engine sounds like a box of spanners in a concrete mixer (on fast spin) and I'd never trust the thing on any sort of long journey for fear of breakdown. On the other hand, if you want to park it up and count the admiring glances from other bikers, then it may be the bike for you. On the whole, it's heavy and unwieldy until it's on the open road at which point it's brilliant fun, but not really an "everyday" sort of bike..

The little MT is almost the complete opposite as it's fuss free and, whilst it may not be particularly "fast" it makes up for that in pure enjoyment. Unlike the Benelli, the Yamaha is superb round town and in traffic where it's lightness and agility come in to their own and on the A and B roads, up to a point, the Yamaha is more fun.Given a couple of hundred yards of straight though and you wouldn't see the Benelli for dust (unless it broke down of course).

 

[sdrio]

Haha. I think you win. I have an Aprillia sr125 Motard.

It was a 'this is a good idea' moment. My MT03 got stolen, I decided I didn't need a big bike for commuting, so I bought the Aprilia.

It is a hateful little thing, and has been sulking in the back of my garage since I came to my senses and bought the MT07. I take it out for a quick ride every couple of weeks just to keep the cobwebs at bay.

My wife keeps talking about getting her CBT and using it for fun. She's welcome to it . . .

(truth: I keep it as a spare just in case the MT is ever off the road. Still hate it though).

 

[rrbarna]

I've owned many different bikes over the years ('01 GS500 [fun, simple, not highway friendly] > '03 R6 [sexy, smooth, FAST] > '01 VFR800 [heavy, nice engine, master of long distance touring, durable] > '05 KLR650 [it goes anywhere and over anything without hesitation and this is what made it a blast to ride] > '99 SV650S [great performer - can easily put sportbikes to shame in the twisties] > '07 SV1000S [great exhaust sound!, very viby and uncomfortable] > '07 GSXR1000 [unlimited POWER! very comfortable and a very smooth engine/transmission] > '08 VSTROM 650 [the ultimate practical bike - it does it all and I might get another! > MT-07 [fun, refined hooligan bike/commuter!] ) all of which I loved and were perfect for me at the time. For now, I don't have much riding time so I needed a bike that was cheap, fun, totally unpractical and ABS-free. The MT is a nice little hooligan machine and that's the way I like it. I can't imagine it being the only bike for me since I like long-distance touring when I find the time, so it will have a companion sooner or later. I did ride the MT-09 and THAT bike really is in a class of its own.... I mean that's crazy power/torque. 1st gear is good for nothing but wheelies. If you guys have a chance, test ride it! Too much power for me though. I can handle it, but just wanted something friendlier and that's the MT-07! This bike wheelies like a champ too... even during break-in keeping it under 5000 rpms ;-)

 

[Ralph]

Had lots over 60 bike but have at the moment well I have had it 20 years a Motomorini 350 Strada,
it's 40 years old but it's not that much different to the MT, it's lighter than the MT about 160 kg fully
fueled but a lot less power 35 bhp from 344 cc so if it was a 688 cc it could be giving 70 bhp at 7500 rpm
so not totally out of the ball park, handling is so like the MT you would feel right at home immediately and
that is no bad thing, the brakes are very powerful the rear is up there with any modern bike but the front
wile well capable of locking the front wheel has very little feel and wile I can brake right on the point of
locking it riders that have just got off a MT would likely lock the front first time they put it on, mpg is about
90 running round in no hurry 60/65 mph it's a 72% V twin so fires at similar intervals to the MT and as that
same low rev feel but with a few more vibes, like the MT it will pull from 2000 rpm but not as hard.
Morioni made a come back in the last few years but with a big V twin that did not sell that well, what they
should have done was build the MT and sell it by the ship load, the MT feels like a thoroughly modernised
Morini and thats why I have one on order.

Buyer's guide Moto Morini 3½ Strada

 

[Paul_R1]

I have a Yamaha R1 as my weekend toy and at the moment use a dt 125 to run about on to work and back and in shity weather but its getting on a bit, but its so much fun to ride in the city and i just did'nt know what to go for that was going to be cheap and reliable and as much fun. I tried the MT07 and came straight home after picking it up and to be honest didnt really like it, After a while i thought come on give it another go and i gave it a bit of stick and it just seemed the harder a rode it the better it got, My wife couldnt believe how i had changed my mind when i came back with a big grin on my face and told her that i had ordered one as it is so much fun. Just to put the icing on the cake my 2005 Dt 125 is £70 per year for insurance i asked about the mt07 and its £72.....I can't believe how something thats so much fun can be so cheap.
I am counting the days untill Sept when i pick her up.

 

[Rouqui]

agree with Ralph, the MT07 is like a Morini, I had a 500.

 

[Signum]

I traded in my beloved SV 650 (1999) for my MT.
It's a bit like comparing apples and oranges but, the MT felt toy like to begin with due to its lightness and quietness and the tiny switchgear. The SV had slightly more roll on torque and was happier on the motorway. But the MT is such an easy and fun bike to ride in the city and on tight country lanes. I'm loving it

 

[AJ Nin]

I've owned a bunch of motorcycles but the closest were the 2012 Ninja 650r and the 2012 Street Triple r. My last 3 motorcycles were the 2013 Zero S (best bike of all for me), 2014 Ninja 300, 2014 Honda Grom. The Ninja 300 is a fantastic bike, but lacks good acceleration as you would expect and although also an in-line 2, there is no comparison to the MT/FZ-07.

 

[Deputy]

20 years riding and lots of bikes, and always chose the best option at the time eg:
Living in North London = Vespa 300
Single bloke, no car = VFR800
Single bloke, with car and lots of spare time = Ducati 748SP
Married bloke, family, car and no more spare time ! = CBR1000RR, GSXR750
After getting frustrated with bonkers sports bikes on the road which don't come alive below 80mph and doing max RPM in FIRST get can get you banned on a motorway! I went for a fun in the real world option.
Initial impression on power was someone had stolen half the engine, luckily they've left the best half behind and the low RPM torque is great and I can enjoy using the power rather than checking if I'm doing 60 or 160!
Suits me perfectly for what I'm doing now, B roads, errands and blowing away the cobwebs on the way home. My sportsbike riding mates are already saying I've done the wrong thing, but they are narrow minded fools! But I'll let them have a go and then wait for their responses (as they trade theirs in.....).

 

[William]

I traded in my beloved SV 650 (1999) for my MT.
It's a bit like comparing apples and oranges but, the MT felt toy like to begin with due to its lightness and quietness and the tiny switchgear. The SV had slightly more roll on torque and was happier on the motorway. But the MT is such an easy and fun bike to ride in the city and on tight country lanes. I'm loving it

I'm sort of like you comparing your SV 650 to the MT-07 because my ER6F is like your SV 650 and really nice on the freeway. They call it a
650R here. I don't know if I could give up my 650R because of the freeway aspect.

 

[robodene]

I traded an MT-03 for my MT-07, a bike in many ways similar. But I never really liked the thumper engine and was very happy to see another parallel twin from Yamaha. The 07 is a fun bike and that comes across in most reviews and that's mostly down to the fab engine. Before that I had a TDM 900 whch had an engine that had similar characteristics to the 07's. But it was too tall and heavy for me by the time I let it go. I also have a Kymco Venox 250 (cruiser) which got me back into biking. I started with an Ariel 350 in 1956....

 

[sdrio]

I've had loads, starting with a Fizzie in 1982, then a 250lc, probably 20 other bikes up to today where I have an MT07 and an R1.

Most of my bikes have been Yamaha. The only notable exception was a Kawasaki GPZ750 in 1989, and a Honda Fireblade in 1992.

The MT07 follows a distinct line of DNA - had an xt600 in 2002, chopped it in for a new XT660, then bought an MT03, which has the same engine as the XT, then after that got nicked I bought the MT07.

To be honest the MT is the last new Yamaha I'll ever buy, it's a bit of a lemon and I didn't get any help from Yamaha with the problems it has. I suppose being 49 I'm probably not going to be buying a lot of new bikes anyway, so chances are these are my last 2 bikes. I have no plans to replace either of them in the foreseeable future.

The MT is my commuting hack, so apart from heated grips it's completely standard, and will be run into the ground.

 

[Eddieh93]

I owned a 2013 Yamaha YZF-R125 for 2 years until some scumbag nicked the bike from outside my house!! they couldn't get it started so they dumped it in a field across the road. Somehow they had knackered it in the process and it was written off.

It was a really fun bike to ride, only thing is having to rag it everywhere to get a little bit of speed, but it was a welcome upgrade form a 50cc moped.

I went straight from the R125 to the MT-07, it was a such an exciting day to get on the bigger bike. As i had been dreaming of that day ever since I was young.

I also ride motocross and do as much greenlaning as I can. I own a 2005 Yamaha WR250F which i have had for a couple of years. I try to ride it as much as I can but work commitments and other things have been rather restricting lately.

Don't own a car so I am a full time motorcyclist. Come rain, sun or snow!

 

[sdrio]

I just realised this thread is more than 18 months old, and that was the second time I posted.

I still have the Aprilia, I was just keeping quiet about it as it ruins my street cred.

 

[Gee]

My old Bandit

 

[Ralph]

That looks a beast.

 

[Ralph]

Well the Morini has gone swapped for this,



So I now have 2 700 and odd cc parallel twins, both 2014 but there the similarity ends, will run the two for a
week or two then decide which to keep.

 

[Rockardbiker]

Sorry about this list, I am a bit of a Nerd for records.
Of the following list only the CB500R is remotely similar to the MT07's feel, largely because it was another twin, light and flick-able.
All of these bikes have had there own character, I wish I still had them all with the exception of the TL1000r.
I think the triple is the best motorcycle engine overall, but tuned twins sold better (sorry HD owners).
SS50
CB200
CB550F2
CB750F2
CBR1000FJ
TL1000SV
VTR1000FV
CD200TB
CB550F1
CD250U
CB1 (400)
GXSR400
CB500R
RF600R
SV1000K3
SV1000SK3
VFR800Fiw
TL1000Rx
GSF600S
Speed Triple 955i
FZ1Faser
Z750s
Tiger 1050
Street Triple
Daytona 650
CBR900RR-3
ZX6r J1
CBR1000rr5
Speed Triple 1050
Street Triple R
FZ1n
GSXR1000K7
GSF250NR
XSR900
MT07