2005 Yamaha MT-01

Yamaha made the MT-01's riding position quite sporty, so the pilot leans slightly forward to the near-flat one-piece handlebar. Likewise, Yamaha positioned the rearset footpegs reasonably high, but a fairly tall saddle provides adequate legroom (unlike a Boeing 747 coach seat, for example).

Yamaha made the MT-01's riding position quite sporty, so the pilot leans slightly forward

Based on the Road Star Warrior's 1670cc 48-degree V-twin, this iteration of the pushrod-operated eight-valver is liberally tweaked and lightened inside, boosting maximum output 10 horses to 90 bhp at 4750 rpm. But from the moment it's fired up--with an improbably loud bellow through those high-level titanium mufflers and an audible sucking from the downdraft throttle-body--the Yamaha has the lazy, offbeat V-twin lope familiar to cruiser riders. Once you're in motion, the MT's saddle proves a fine place to rumble through Cape Town traffic. The solid-mounted engine's slight vibration is far more pleasurable than it is painful, making it easy to understand why Yamaha uses the word kodo--Japanese for pulse or beat--to describe the MT's sensations.

Yamaha insists the bike's initials don't stand for anything in particular, but Massive Torque sounds appropriate enough to us. It churns out heaps of the stuff almost before the tach needle has moved from its stop. The new fuel-injection system works well, and throttle response feels perfectly smooth from as low as 1500 rpm, or about 40 mph in the slightly clunky-shifting five-speed transmission's top cog.

On the outside, the MT-01's 1670cc air-cooled twin looks essentially identical to the engine in Yamaha's Warrior cruiser. Inside, a multitude of reciprocating bits have been strategically tweaked to save weight and add power. The crankshaft and flywheel are markedly lighter. Like the Warrior, this version cues the quartet of valves above each piston with a pair of pushrods. Twin spark plugs light the fire in each 97 x 113mm cylinder. Bores wear a ceramic-composite anti-friction coating. The beast inhales through a seven-liter airbox situated above that two-barrel throttle-body slotted neatly into the 48-degree Vee. Gradual bends in the exhaust plumbing let it exhale efficiently.

On the outside, the MT-01's 1670cc air-cooled twin looks essentially identical to the engi

Peak torque--a hefty 111 pound-feet, some 10 percent up on the Warrior's peak output--arrives at 3750 rpm, with the sweet zone living between 2500 and 4500 rpm. Crack the light-action throttle between those numbers and the MT leaps forward hard enough to overwhelm the fat, 190-section rear Metzeler's grip. First gear cues up effortless, instantaneous wheelies.

The 5500-rpm redline is effectively irrelevant; there's little point in revving the massive twin that high. Shift early and cash in some of that elephantine midrange. And while the big MT has neither the horsepower nor the aerodynamics to put big numbers on its digital speedo, the relatively modest 130 mph it showed (at the end of a gentle downhill straight) should be plenty for most riders, considering the fierce windblast created by the mostly upright riding position.

On twisty roads, Yamaha's biggest twin responds much better than I expected. When this production version was revealed some months ago I was impressed by its styling, but cynical about its likely feel and performance. I guessed the MT would corner more like a cruiser than a sportbike. I was wrong on both counts.

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