Yamaha launches LAMS approved MT-07

Yamaha launched the LAMS approved MT-07 in Sydney this week.

Yamaha officially launched the new MT-07 in Sydney this week, the first chance kiwi and Aussie journos have had to park themselves on Yamaha's latest learner legal offering.

Image 1 of 26: MT-07 in Matt Grey

The Australasian MT-07 is structurally he same machine as debuted in Europe five months ago, but with cubic capacity brought down to under the 660cc cap imposed by the Learner Approved Motorcycles scheme. This was reputedly achieved by reducing the cylinder bore of her parallel twin engine, bringing cubic capacity down from 689cc to 655cc.

While power is nicely under the 150kw per ton limit, torque figures for the MT-07 are a class leading 57.6Nm. Combined with a lightweight chassis at 179kg fully fueled the MT-07 is not only a great bike to learn on, but a great bike to hone your skills on.

While probably the least skilled rider on launch even I was able to keep up the pace with everyone, a testament to just how easy this bike is to ride.

With a route that included some of Sydney's notoriously confusing tunnel system, through the Royal National Park and back via the suburbs, the MT-07 launch included enough riding for journalists to get a good feel for what this bike is truly capable of.

Pricing starts at $10,999 plus on road costs and the bikes are available in New Zealand now.

• Read the full test ride from the Sydney launch in Driven Magazine in the coming week.