Will I learn on MT-07. Your thoughts on first bikes?

[YamahaOverDiploma]

Hello everyone,

I created this account to ask you a few questions, I rode a scooter Tomos when i was 8yo all the way to 11, then at 16 i rode a 50ccm scooter for a season or two, Now I'm currently battled between 2008 Yamaha R6 or 2018 Yamaha MT 07 ABS. People were suggesting that I should start on smaller ccm bike to learn the basics. I've done motorcycle course and had a NK400 for a day with no troble with heavyer bikes.  There were a few other choises like Honda CBR 500R, Yamaha R3, Ninja 400. All of them fell short for some reason, for R3 I'm 6 foot 2 and about 210lbs with normal clothes, Honda doesnt have aftermarket parts and revs to only 10k and reading the forums people were saying it was just so boring compared to all others, Ninja 400 could not be imported beacuse of EURO 5 standards. 

MY WISH was supersport bike to learn how to ride that type of bikes, my question was.

1. Are naked and SS somewhat similar to riding style, and will there be big transition between the two.

2. Will I learn on MT 07 like I would on some smaller bikes like people are suggesting.

3. If you could choose what would you have chosen.

4.  Is R6 really that bad for a novice rider

5. R6 is cheaper than MT for about 500 or 1k.

6. I want to tour and will probably be doing some highway riding is MT suited for that.

7. I want to learn cornering, taking racing lines, some track days, my goal is to become the best rider I could be.

Sorry for my English, it's my third language. 

[blackout]

The mt07 is a great bike to learn on and it will have enough power for the rest of your riding life.

For a Supersport, I would look at the new R7.  A much better powerband than the 4 cylinder 600cc R6.  The R7 will be easier to ride fast on the track.  

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@blackout I tottaly agree with you R7 looks so good to me, but the problem is I live in Europe and the R7 is not out, and when it does go out it will be near 10 000$. And it would be my first bike don't know if it's okay to have a new bike as first

[Triple Jim]

The R6 is a race bike that's street legal.  The MT-07 is a street bike that's fun on a track.  I've ridden for 43 years and have considered buying an R6 as a general purpose motorcycle, but decided that on public roads it would not be fun for me.  I would always feel like I want to go faster than is safe.

I guess the answer depends on whether you will primarily ride the new motorcycle on the track or on public roads.  An MT-07 is truly a great motorcycle for new riders or experienced riders.  It weighs just 400-ish pounds so it really is a small, light motorcycle.

For me, there is no comparison for touring.  My MT is very comfortable for riding hundreds of miles per day.  The sport-type riding position of the R6 would not be.

Here's an example of what the R6 is good at:

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by Triple Jim

[SkH]

Mt07 was my first bike.  I took a motorcycle course and failed.  I got one of those strict, by the book instructors and out of a class of 12, only 4 passed.  She kicked out one person on the "power walk" portion of the training, what was that, like the 3rd instruction?  Anyway, turns out I failed by a whopping 1 pt in the road exam because I didn't listen.  Apparently I was supposed to wait until she told me to go, the guy in front of me did it first, as soon as the other guy came, he immediately went without her saying go, and when he came back, I copied him and went without her saying go, and that failed me sadly.  I wasn't mad, but damn.  Anyway, I said screw it, went to the DMV (the driving/licensing government agency for those in EU), got a learner permit, and the same day I went and picked up the MT07 (back when it was the FZ07 here).  Rode it for 3 months straight, no problems, retook the road exam in Dec in freezing conditions, and this time the instructor gave me a perfect score (which apparently doesn't mean much either direction).

6 months later, my wife took the course, she passed handily, and we picked up her R3.  Well, I picked up her R3.  And I was shocked.  I almost sort of dropped the bike going out of the parking lot onto the main street when I slowly turned (but I just throttled up and that took care of that).  Clip-ons suck so badly for slow speed maneuvers because of the huge lack of leverage (which makes them great for high speed obviously).

We've been both riding since then, I have coming up on 7 years riding, and her, 6.  But she still is not a great rider.  I can jump on any motorcycle and be at ease.  The moment she sets foot on an unfamiliar motorcycle, all her fundamentals seem to be nearly out the window.  She even immediately forgets to cancel her turn signal riding a strange new motorcycle.  Despite her 6 years of riding, I'd rate her roughly around the 1 month mark of my riding.  I am not exaggerating.

Where I am going with this is everyone is different.  Everyone learns there own way or pace and I do not know you so I cannot outright say whether you'll be fine on an MT07 as your first bike BUT since you've been riding a scooter all these years, and you live in Europe where everyone uses manual transmission in cars, I can't help but to say you will probably be just fine on the MT07 as your first bike.

On the subject of the R6, the R6 itself isn't so dangerous if your throttle hand is steady, in fact one would say the MT07 is much more dangerous for a beginner in that respect.  But the issue with the R6 is the clip-ons once again, this will be harder for a new rider to do all the slow speed maneuvering which seems to be greatly overlooked (how much slow speed maneuvering one does on motorcycles) which if I were to guess, a whole bunch of new supersport riders drop their bike riding slowly on a turn because of clip-ons and not enough throttle.  I test rode a 2018 R6, and the same exact thing happened when I got out onto the main street, while turning at single digit speed, it felt like I was going to drop it (the riding position made things much worse) just like that first time riding an R3, but once again, a twist of the throttle corrected that problem and away I went.  The R6 is pretty tame at the low end revs, the aggressive seat posture makes it very uncomfortable to ride, plus the high seat (only an issue if you are short).   To be honest, I would've probably hated having an R6 as my first bike.  And the MT07 as my first bike was a great blessing.

Anyway, close to 7 years later and 5 different motorcycles I've owned, I still own my very first bike, the MT07 and I have rode it 2 days ago and still enjoy it to this day.  One of my favorite bikes ever due to how easy it is to ride, how light it is, how reliable, and, well, it is just a near perfect bike save the suspension.

Edited August 11, 2021 by SkH

[shinyribs]

@YamahaOverDiploma , welcome to the forum. Blackout nailed it. MT07 will be way more fun than a four cylinder, especially while learning, but also down the road. I have zero intentions of going back to four cylinders. The CP2 is way too fun! 

Wanted to say I love the username BTW

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@Triple Jim @SkH Thank you guys both for awsome input, I wanted and MT 07 but main reason I would consider R6 were:

Did not want to get in husle of selling it, some people were saying the MT has problems with a lot of rust,

The size of a bike, I'm a "big" individual myself so I was consirned if I would fit on it or even 2 up,

Roads here are pretty bad so would that make it better for R6 with better suspension or not,

Price was almost the same with MT and R,

It was a naked I was not sure if it would make me a skilled enough rider, when transitioning to dream bike R6

And lastly, Could I go with myself of 2 up with my gf for 300miles and back.

Could You guys also tell me about the maintanence cost diffrence rought numbers, I would like to learn to work on the bikes on my own, as I worked on my E36 engine rebuild, but was unsure about the R6 4 cil. 

Than you guys for the input, it really helped me.

Edited August 11, 2021 by YamahaOverDiploma
Forgotten part

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@shinyribs 

Thanks for the input, 

Name was made up on the spot to rhyme

[stickshift]

Although the super sports bikes look great and are very good on the track, there are good reasons that road riders (all around the world) are buying more naked bikes over sports bikes.

For a road bike, the MT07 is better at virtually everything on the road than an R6. It has more low down torque (more maximum torque also) which makes every day riding enjoyable. The suspension (although budget) is better suited to rough roads, and it has a more comfortable seating position that gives better visibility. The MT07 will be faster on some types of roads than the R6.

Super sports are great bikes (& especially great on track), but the 07 is a better all-round road bike by far. Try & get a test ride on each to make up your mind.

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@stickshift  Thank You very much, could You tell me will there be a problem if i upgrade the rear shock frist then the forks or should I upgrade both at the same time? Also if You could send me the links I can not find any forks in Europe. If not thanks for the reply. 

[Triple Jim]

There is no reason that you need to make changes to the MT's suspension right away.  Whatever you buy, ride it for six months or a year to learn about it before you modify it.

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@Triple Jim Thanks. 

[glacierblue]

I just bought an fz07 last month as my first bike and I love it! My friend has one and he taught me how to ride his and soon after I bought my own haha. Rode around town with him for awhile and then took the MSF class. It was his first street bike as well. I'm inexperienced and it differs from person to person but imo it's a good beginner bike if you take it slow and easy. It's a blast to ride, sounds good (with an exhaust), and has quite a bit of power. 

[mjh937]

6 hours ago, YamahaOverDiploma said:

@stickshift  Thank You very much, could You tell me will there be a problem if i upgrade the rear shock frist then the forks or should I upgrade both at the same time? Also if You could send me the links I can not find any forks in Europe. If not thanks for the reply. 

I upgraded my rear shock first and it made the forks work better.  You do not need to do them both at the same time.  

The R6 suspension is more tuned for the track and will not be great on rough roads 

[Devilman]

I love my MT-07. I learned riding on a Rebel 500 for a year and the MT-07 has a lot more umph to it. Since you rode scooters prior you should not have too much trouble with the MT-07 as long as you don't get to confident too fast. MT-07 can be snatchy with the throttle so be careful.

I wish the MT-07 had a true cruise control, I've been eyeing the MT-09 SP for next year. The only thing that would stop me is all that extra power going to waste. The MT-07 hits triple speeds pretty fast and I'm not a speed demon so I can't imagine the power of the 09.

I would stay away from the R6, damn thing is too uncomfortable and all the power is in the top end. Great if you track it but would suck for in town riding. 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Devilman

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@mjh937 I saw a rear shock about 600$ is that a lot or not, our countrys average payment is diffrent so what is a lot to me could be nothing to you.

@Devilman Thank You, I saw some aftermarket cruize control options are they any good or just pass, how was the wind pressure on the rebel vs on the MT 07 could You cruize somewhat comfortable at higher speeds.

[Devilman]

7 hours ago, YamahaOverDiploma said:

@mjh937 I saw a rear shock about 600$ is that a lot or not, our countrys average payment is diffrent so what is a lot to me could be nothing to you.

@Devilman Thank You, I saw some aftermarket cruize control options are they any good or just pass, how was the wind pressure on the rebel vs on the MT 07 could You cruize somewhat comfortable at higher speeds.

There is no true cruise control for the MT-07 but I have the Kaoko throttle lock which works well and doesn't look out of place on the bike. You will want a wind screen for the MT-07 for the highway. I use the Puig Touring screen with a clip on. The windscreen itself did very well but I wanted to try the clip on with it and it helped a little more and doesn't make the bike look dorky. LOL 

Kaoko Throttle Lock Yamaha FZ-09 / MT-09 / FZ-07 / MT-07 / XSR900

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The Puig Clip-On Windscreen Visor provides additional and adjustable wind protection for riders struggling with...

 

[Triple Jim]

1 hour ago, Devilman said:

There is no true cruise control for the MT-07

Actually there is.

Cruise Control for Yamaha MT-07

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Save your wrist, fuel and licence with McCruise

 

[mjh937]

9 hours ago, YamahaOverDiploma said:

@mjh937 I saw a rear shock about 600$ is that a lot or not, our countrys average payment is diffrent so what is a lot to me could be nothing to you.

I paid about US$600 for a Nitron R1 rear shock, which I thought was a good deal.  It depends what make of shock you found for $600, if it is a good brand then that is a good price, if it is a stock shock or cheap knock-off then it is not.  If you post the brand and type I am sure someone here will be able to give you an opinion on if it is worth it. 

[Cjanssen83]

My first bike was a CBR600RR about 12yrs ago. I had it for a year and then totalled it. 

Didn't pick up riding again until this year, on a MT-07.

The SS bikes can get you into a lot of trouble easily, especially as your first bike. 

Now that I'm 38yrs old, the MT just fits my style better. The riding position is way more upright, and it's easier to navigate slow speed maneuvers with. It's got power when you need it. 

Plus, insurance will be cheaper... something I don't think anybody commented on yet. 

[Devilman]

9 hours ago, Triple Jim said:

Actually there is.

Cruise Control for Yamaha MT-07

---

Save your wrist, fuel and licence with McCruise

 

1,160 AUS, hell no. LOL. I want cruise control but not that bad. I wish someday they would release a MT-07 with a cruise that comes standard. MT-09 SP in a year or two, can't get them easily now and give the after market more time to make stuff for it.

[stickshift]

26 minutes ago, Devilman said:

1,160 AUS, hell no. LOL. I want cruise control but not that bad. I wish someday they would release a MT-07 with a cruise that comes standard. MT-09 SP in a year or two, can't get them easily now and give the after market more time to make stuff for it.

I don't ever see it being offered from the factory on the 07. The addition of a ride by wire thottle (and cruise) would increase the price too much from where the bike's marketed now.

I agree that cruise would be nice though. I have a throttle lock and it does help sometimes to stretch your right hand, but not ideal.

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@mjh937 Here is the shock I found

 

K-Tech Suspension Razor-R Lite Rear Shock Yamaha FZ07 2015-2018 MT07 2019-2020 3 Way Adjustable

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K-Tech Suspension Razor-R Rear Shock Yamaha FZ07 MT07 2013 2016 Fully Adjustable Remote Reservoir

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RevZilla ships to Bosnia, Europe. Could You tell me the diffrence in the little tank and does the price increase really matter, if it's bad would You mind to recommend me something else. Should I buy a kit with it or would the shocks be just fine.

Also does anyone think Me 6'2 210lbs would look bik on the bike, that was the main reason I wouldn't go with R3 as I read and saw it would not perform good and would need more upgrades to withstand my weight. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks everyone for the help, you really helped me.

Edited August 13, 2021 by YamahaOverDiploma

[stickshift]

Ride the standard bike for while first before upgrading.

The Razor-R Lite (cheaper one) is perfect for road use.

[YamahaOverDiploma]

@stickshift Appreciate it, what about 2 up riding, for longer distances, keep in mind the luggage. I know the recommended weight is 386lbs but I'm consirned of bikes handling with 2 ppl on it, how would the sus handle, accelerating, steering, etc.

Sorry If I'm boring to You guys, just want to know and learn as much as possible.