2015–2018 · Naked Bike · Buyer's Guide
Street Grit, Zero Pretense
Yamaha took the MT-07 platform and dressed it for a street-stunt life: cage bodywork over the tank flanks, loud graphics, and very little else. Underneath sits the 689 cc parallel twin making 75 hp and 50 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm, in a package that weighs 406 lb wet. ABS is standard, and that is the whole electronics story. For a bike built around this kind of engine, that's enough. The torque curve does the talking here, not a menu, and the character comes from how the twin pulls rather than from how it's managed.
It ages about as well as a naked bike can. The twin is a durable unit, running costs stay modest, and the aftermarket for this platform runs deep enough that you can take the bike in three different directions without hunting for parts. It suits a rider who wants real adrenaline on ordinary roads and doesn't need a spec sheet to justify the purchase. The caveats are honest ones. The fork offers no adjustment at all, the rear shock gives you preload and nothing more, there's no traction control, and at 31.7 in the seat is tall enough that shorter riders should sit on one before signing.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 75 hp (55 kW) @ 9,000 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 50 lb-ft (68 Nm) @ 6,500 rpm |
| Displacement | 689 cc |
| Engine | Parallel twin |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Telescopic |
| Front brake | 282 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55-17 |
| Wheelbase | 55.1 in (1400 mm) |
| Seat height | 31.7 in (805 mm) |
| Wet weight | 406 lb (184 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 3.7 gal (14 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Safety
The first thing you notice is how small it feels between your knees. The tank is narrow, the bars are wide and flat, and you sit on top of this bike rather than down inside it, which is exactly what the bodywork promises. The twin has an off-beat bark to it that never sounds synthetic, and a live buzz comes up through the pegs and grips as the revs climb, the kind that tells you the engine is working rather than the kind that numbs your hands. With no fairing, wind pressure builds early. At 60 mph you're already braced against it, and that pressure is a big part of why the bike feels fast on roads where it isn't going fast. The 3.7 gal tank keeps things slim up front, though it also has you thinking about fuel sooner than you'd like on a long day.
None of this is my own riding. It is what owners have told me over the years: emails that arrive once the odometer has real miles on it, talk at bike meets, and long conversations in parking lots. On the Moto Cage those accounts overlap far more than they contradict each other.
The seating position gets described as natural rather than sporty, with a wide bar and pegs that leave room, and riders of very different builds report the same thing after long days. The engine draws the warmest language of all: pull from low revs, a willingness to spin at the top, and a beat closer to a V-twin than most twins. Steering effort comes up right behind it, with owners calling the bike flickable and the cornering genuinely fun. Price runs underneath everything, since many say it reads as more machine than the money buys elsewhere.
Three complaints repeat. The stock silencer leaves the engine sounding muted to a lot of owners, and a different can is one of the first purchases many make. Suspension draws steady criticism as well, with the fork and the preload-only shock going harsh over rough surfaces and running short of control when riders push. Styling is the third, and it splits people cleanly: the graphics and the red cage strike some owners as juvenile and others as the entire point of the bike.
Chain guard bolt may loosen (2018 models)
On certain 2018 MT-07 variants, the chain guard bolt can loosen due to vibration, potentially allowing the guard to contact the chain. A recall was issued (NHTSA campaign / Yamaha #990120) to replace the bolt free of charge.
Rust on swingarm under chain guide
When ridden in wet weather and not cleaned, the steel swingarm can develop rust where the rubber chain guide traps moisture.
Where this Yamaha MT-07 Moto Cage pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the MT-07 Moto Cage is actually built for.
If you run the Dragon and the Cherohala for line quality rather than speed, this is an honest teacher. Light, predictable, and cheap to keep running, so all that repetition costs you very little.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
Push hard enough on a canyon day and you'll find the limit of a fork that takes no adjustment. What you get back is a light, quick-steering bike you can afford to ride hard every weekend.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
It handles the city week without wearing you out and still has the legs for Skyline on Sunday. The cage bodywork and graphics give it a look that holds up in the parking lot at Alice's.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
