2018–2020 · Naked Bike · Buyer's Guide
The Reliable City Hustler
The RM17 is built around Yamaha's 689 cc parallel twin, and that engine is the whole personality. Liquid-cooled, 75 hp at 9,000 rpm, 50 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm, with the pull stacked low enough that you use it constantly instead of chasing the redline. Around it sits a light chassis: 401 lb wet, a 55.1 in wheelbase, 17-inch wheels on a 120/70 front and a 180/55 rear, ABS as standard. Suspension is deliberately simple, with preload and rebound damping on the rear shock and a fixed telescopic fork up front. In its class it plays the honest middleweight that gives back far more than it asks for.
On the road it stays approachable in a way heavier, taller machines never manage. The steering is light and the bike never feels like it is testing you, which is why it works as well for someone two seasons in as for a rider who has been at this for twenty years. It ages honestly, and the parts supply is deep enough to keep an older example fresh without hunting. The caveat is worth saying plainly. This is a stripped-back machine: ABS is the entire rider-aid package, the fork is set the way it left the factory, and a salted winter shows up on the swingarm and fasteners.
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 | 401 lb (182 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 3.7 gal (14 L) |
| Fuel economy | 57 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Safety
Thumb the starter and the twin settles into an offbeat, slightly lumpy idle that tells you there are two big pistons doing the work. It has a pulse you feel through the pegs and the seat, present enough to keep you company without buzzing your hands numb on a long stretch. The riding position is upright and narrow, bars wide, knees tucked close to a tank you can actually grip with your legs. At 31.7 in the seat lets most riders get a boot down without ceremony, and the bike feels smaller than the numbers suggest the moment it is rolling. Past 50 mph the wind starts pushing at your chest and everything feels quicker than the speedometer says, which is precisely the point of a naked bike. With 3.7 gal and roughly 57 mpg, the stint between fuel stops is genuinely useful.
This section is not my riding impression. It is years of listening: dealer-lot conversations, talk at fuel stops and club evenings, and the messages owners keep sending me. What comes back on this MT-07 is consistent, and the criticism lands on a short list.
Agility leads. Owners describe a machine that goes where they look and asks almost nothing of them physically, and they bring it up most on roads that turn. Cost is the other constant: riders put it near the top of the class for what they pay. The parallel twin gets similar billing for the way it pulls from low revs and for how alive it feels under the throttle. Riders who traded up from the earlier bike add that the newer springing holds a line better.
Suspension heads that list too. Ridden hard, owners describe a front end that gives up its accuracy and a chassis that moves under them mid-corner. Equipment is next: riders coming off newer machinery point to what is absent from the dash and the rider aids. Corrosion turns up less often but often enough to note, on the swingarm and hardware of bikes that see rain and road salt without regular washing.
Chain guard bolt loosening recall
Bolts connecting the drive chain guard to the swingarm may loosen, potentially causing the guard to contact the drive chain and break, increasing crash risk. Recall NHTSA 18V483000 (Yamaha 990120).
Swingarm and fasteners corrosion
Swingarm develops surface rust and fasteners corrode when exposed to winter road salt or moisture; regular maintenance and anti-corrosion treatment recommended.
Where this Yamaha MT-07 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 is actually built for.
You are chasing lines, not speed, and that is exactly where this bike pays off. Light, forgiving and cheap to run on repeat weekends at the Dragon or the Cherohala. It rewards technique instead of covering for it.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
Angeles Crest suits it well. Light enough to flick through the tight stuff and honest enough that mistakes stay small, though there is no traction control to catch you when a canyon turns dusty.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
It handles city traffic without drama and still gives you something real on Skyline. Just know the tech list is short. No TFT, no phone connection, no USB port. The appeal here is the ride, not the dashboard.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2014–2017
Raw Twin, Weightless Handling
Compare to the previous model →If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Yamaha MT-07. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
Successor · 2021–2024
Built to Beg for More
Successor · 2025
Sharp Chassis, Honest Twin
Competitor · 2017–2019
Light, Honest, and Sorted
~$1,000 cheaper used than this bike at 7 yr
Competitor · 2016–2020
Reliable V-Twin, Zero Drama
~$1,000 cheaper used than this bike at 7 yr