A couple of issues back we featured Yamaha's Euro-only MT-07 (see First Ride, June, MC). We try not to get too excited about bikes we'll never see on our shores, but we had a hunch Yamaha would bring the FZ-09's little brother to the US market. Our suspicions have now been confirmed.
Yamaha Motor Corp. USA announced recently that the domestic version of the 689cc parallel-twin FZ-07 will land stateside this summer as a 2015 model and will be mechanically identical to the models already in production for use in other parts of the world. That means the same claimed specs of 74 hp, 50 pound-feet of torque, and 395 pounds full of [fuel. Power at the rear wheel will be a little more modest than that, but the FZ-07 stacks up well. The only downgrade is available colors, of which there will be three options (red, white, and graphite) rather than the five in Europe—hope you didn’t want it in blue!
Price was the big question. With the larger, three-cylinder FZ-09 retailing for less than $8,000, we wondered how low Yamaha would be willing to go with a smaller version. Sub $7,000 was obviously the goal, as Yamaha announced the FZ-07 will hit dealers in July with an MSRP of $6,990. That falls between Honda’s $5,799 CB500F and Suzuki’s $8,149 SFV650 (nee Gladius), and has the potential to outperform both. As with the FZ-09, ABS will not be an option.
In other Yamaha-related news, the Star Bolt returns for 2015 with new colors and a gauge cluster that’s easier to read (yay!) at the same $7,990 ($8,390 in R-Spec) as before. Good times!
Photos: Yamaha