Yamaha Brings On the Hype With the New MT-07

Those of you who know me know that I’m an absolute Yamaha simp. It’s not that I’m sponsored by Yamaha or incentivized in any way to patronize their products. It’s just that I firmly believe that they make some of the best motorcycles out there.

For me, Yamaha’s bikes seem to have struck a balance between performance, technology, and an exhilarating and engaging ride. And for years, the bike that embodied this the most for me was the MT-07.

I love the Yamaha MT-07—so much so that I’ve owned three. And now, it looks like I might be adding yet another one to my collection, as the 2025 iteration of the middleweight naked sportbike looks nothing short of epic.

For starters, Yamaha’s gone with the times and given the bike the suspension update it deserves. The previous model—and that goes for all three previous generations—suffered from notoriously poor suspension, with a front fork feeling like it was going to come away from underneath you, and a rear shock that might as well be a pogo stick. And while we can’t say for certain just yet whether the new inverted forks will really give the MT-07 a better, sportier ride, it certainly looks to be this way.

Then comes the tech. Prior to the 2025 model, the MT-07 was bereft of any technology whatsoever. No traction control, no ride modes, no IMU, just optional ABS. But for 2025, Yamaha has thrown in some of the tech features found on its bigger bikes. So now, the 07 gets Yamaha’s chip-actuated throttle (that’s to say a throttle-by-wire system that still somehow incorporates a throttle cable), as well as a switchable traction control system, as well as multiple ride modes.

As for the engine, thankfully Yamaha’s kept it pretty much untouched. The 689cc parallel-twin with its 270-degree crankshaft changed the game in the middleweight segment, with literally almost every single manufacturer offering their own interpretation of the crossplane twin. Surely there are a few emissions related tweaks beneath the surface, but all things considered, the CP2 seems to be the way it was since its launch a decade ago. It’ll be interesting to see how Yamaha’s throttle-by-wire tech and ride modes will affect the way this engine feels.

Perhaps the biggest engine-related update isn’t exactly something to do with the engine, but rather, the transmission. The 2025 MT-07 will be offered with Yamaha’s new Y-AMT automatic gearbox. And only bikes fitted with Y-AMT will benefit from electronic cruise control. But don’t worry, Yamaha’s still offering the MT-07 in a good old six-speed manual gearbox. So expect this thing to continue to be loved by stunters and performance riders alike.

And while all these updates are pretty cool for the most part, I can’t help but feel like there may be a bit of a problem with the 2025 MT-07.

You see, the reason I loved the MT-07 so much was precisely because of how raw and unhinged the riding experience was. It’s a bike that forces you to develop good riding habits because of how analog it was, and every time I chased my buddies on their faster, more high-tech bikes, I felt like I was getting closer and closer to the limits of the bike. But as I pushed harder, I felt that the bike could actually give more. In reality, it wasn’t the bike, but rather, it was my skills that were improving.

Now that the 2025 MT-07 comes standard with riding modes, TC, and throttle-by-wire, it’s a much more forgiving machine—one that takes away some of the work from the rider. Ultimately, this might breed a generation of riders who are lazy, lack skill, and depend heavily on fancy tech to keep things rubber side down. But of course, it's also a good thing for riders looking for a bike they can safely and confidently grow into. 

Sure, all it takes is the flip of a switch to disable all these electronics. But that’s an added step when firing it up, and folks who’ve gotten used to the MT-07 know that it’s a bike that just wants to pop wheelies and do stupid shit the moment it wakes up in the morning.