MotorBikes: Roadtesting the Yamaha MT-01: Think of MT-01 as meaning "the mighty one", a bike that has stacks of grunt, stonk, and attitude very much designed to satisfy the "mine's bigger than yours" segment of the market.
Its 1,670cc V-twin engine churns out 150.1Nm of torque, a figure exceeded only by three other bikes on the market.
It was unveiled as a concept at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show: we got our first glimpse of it at the NEC show last November. Yamaha's declared aim being to produce "something different, something that would fire the imagination". The large displacement V-twin's acceleration is meant "to let the rider feel every piston stroke and produce massive torque under acceleration in any gear". It is also meant to have sports handling characteristics and head-turning looks.
Faced with a machine like this, one wonders if it is meant to be taken all that seriously? Or is it meant to be all a bit of a laugh? In terms of practicability and utility it is very much a recreational machine. It is not a commuter bike. If you are a boy racer, it's not for you. If you are into touring, whilst one could tour with it, others would be better.
Technically impressive, the engine is a much re-worked development of the Road Star Warrior with the torque-boosting Yamaha EXUP valve system and a new lightweight crank assembly. Twin spark ignition, twin bore, downdraft fuel injection, titanium megaphone-type silencers are just some of the ingredients.
Interestingly, the separate die-cast alloy oil tank is located below the front of the crankcase - shades of the pre-war Model G Royal Enfield! A V-twin engine of this size should be able to produce masses of torque: the design would be way out if it did not. In terms of power output in bhp or kW terms the 66.3kW (90 hp) equates to a very modest 53.89 hp per litre.
In order to give the machine sports handling characteristics Yamaha raided the parts bin and used parts of the front and rear suspension from its successful (and 40 per cent lighter) YZF-R1. As for head-turning looks, what you see is what you get, a rather ungainly, muscle-bound machine where, when you look closely, five years of gestation has not resulted in perfection.
Such meagre provision as there is for a pillion passenger is irresponsible, so precariously high set are the pillion pegs without any grab rail in sight.
Now look at the brake and clutch hydraulic reservoirs, straight out of the plumbing department, and clearly a last-minute afterthought. A back street bodger would be ashamed of this shoddy layout which completely ruins the machine's looks as well as being highly susceptible to accidental damage.
Out on the road the engine does what it says; peak torque is achieved at 3,750 rpm and at 100km/h it is burbling at a mere 2,300rpm. This makes for fat, happy and laid back progress, and it barely matters what gear you are in. Pushed harder and it does become more "sporting" but as the speed increases so it becomes more and more apparent that this is not a sports machine in the generally understood sense.
On a good motorway-type surface, by the time the speed gets around the 130km/h mark it's getting busy and lively. At 160km/h prudence suggests that is quite enough, even though the bike is capable, on a rather-you-than-me basis, of 200 km/h.
On twisty back roads, any attempt to hurry it along, rather than lie back and enjoy all that torque, is fraught and a distinctly acquired taste. Putting the R1 suspension on a behemoth does not make it a sports bike, though in fairness, with more effort and more concentration than makes for relaxation and enjoyment, it can be persuaded to flow through the twisty bits.
It is a machine for a niche market where ultimate size, rumbling sound and muscular looks are all part of the lifestyle mix and thus greatly valued. For others, perhaps looking for effortless cruising, comfort and competent roadholding, there are better choices.