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MT-07 first impressions


faffi

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The bike I bought was sitting 200 km away, which meant it had to be ridden home. On a rather chilly day. Facing a stiff wind from the north with temperatures ranging between 7 and 12 C along the course. Adding to the fun were clouds shutting out the sun and also letting the odd sprinkles of rain fall on me. Despite good gear, I still got cold hands and feet during the almost three hour ride.
 
But it was worth getting cold! I liked the bike better and better as I rode it. The engine runs like a rap%¤ ape! It feels more like a litre-bike than a midsize machine in that respect. Passing slower traffic is nothing but a hoot. Going up a 6 % incline, the bike will still accelerate from 55 to 75 mph / 85-120 kph in the time it takes to round a car. In sixth gear!
 
The engine trembles quite a bit, especially under load below 3000 rpm. It is better probably to keep it over 4000 when giving it the beans in higher gears, but it will pull from as low as 2000 rpm in 6th if using a gentle throttle hand. Well, it will pull with good power from below that, but it really shakes when doing so. Not once did my hands give even a hint of going numb, though - I think the last time I rode a bike that didn't bother my hands at all must have been the CB350F I had back in 1986!
 
Fuel consumption was, according to the on-board computer, 4.1 litre per 100 km, or 57 mpgUS. After filling the tank to the brim and calculating the consumption, I got 3.77 l / 100 km, or 62.3 mpg. With me in a big riding suit on a winding road with constant elevation changes, facing the said gale. Amazing.
 
Handling is super-light and ultra-quick. The MT-07 snaps on its side instantly. Well, it doesn't, of course, but it feels like that. The bike feels almost delicate and on the verge of nervous. I like it, which I didn't entirely expect since I have become used to bikes steering lightly, but a bit lazy. The quickness of which the MT-07 can go from upright to leaned over to the edge of the tyres is stunning, almost intoxicating.
 
Staying relaxed when cornering a little briskly seems important. Something that is quite easy due to the roomy and comfortable riding position, but still will take some concentration. The seat is hard as a plank, though, and not exactly a comfy place to sit, but it was also no worse after 2.5 hours in the seat. No numb-butt recorded.
 
Suspension - well, tests reports and owners complain about it being soft, but to me it feels firm. Too firm. It does manage to filter out most minor road undulations, feeling smooth enough on well maintained roads. However, riding over broken tarmac and frost heaves, the fork seems to react too slowly and the rear is kicking due to a severe lack of rebound damping. Overall, I find the suspension to be harsh, primarily due to damping and springing appearing to be poor matches.
 
Brakes are strong, but not sensitive. I like that. Not that I use brakes much when I ride, preferring to ride the throttle as much as possible instead. And since the bike, as it is set up with an Arrows can and EJK tuner set rich with a closed throttle, has a massive amount of engine braking, it suits me perfectly. Yet it is good to know the binders are there when I might need them to slow down in a hurry.
 
Dislikes? A more inviting seat wouldn’t hurt, but the stock item works acceptably. Instruments.... I absolutely hate the instruments. I cannot think of a single thing that a digital speedo/tacho can do better than manual items. I find the digital, often flickering readouts annoying and they are very hard to read over analogue instruments. Plus the instrument pod is placed too near me, forcing me to take my eyes off the road a bit too long. Also, a smoother running engine under load at low rpm could also only improve the package. The headlight isn't very bright and the indicator button is too close to the horn button.
 
But these are nitpicks. Overall, the bike is great, primarily due to its engine followed by the handling and comfort. Economy is splendid.
 
After I got home and had some heat back into my body, I went for a quick ride with my son, riding his CB400SF while he took the MT-07 for a spin. It was again the power that also caught my son's attention. After the kid had tried a handful of throttle for the first time, I think he giggled hysterically over the radio for a couple of minutes before he could talk normally again. The difference between the CB and MT is massive. When you open the throttle on the Honda, it gently and utterly smoothly starts to accelerate. Judged by sensation, very slowly under 8000 rpm, a bit quicker from there on and up to 12500 rpm, but still feels very soft. It also feels slower than it is because on outright performance it will kill my Virago Scrambler 1100 in both acceleration and top speed.
 
However, as my son discovered, the MT just explodes forward, in any gear, at any rpm. I have never ridden a bike that reacts to throttle this immediately. The throttle doesn't feel like a rheostat, but like a trigger. Absolutely perfect, the way things should be! For the record, the MT-07 accelerates much harder in sixth gear than the CB400SF does in fourth.
 
After the ride the kid finally understood why I have this fondness for twins and singles over fours - they are simply more fun, more visceral. Yes, fours are "better" in that they make more power and run smoother for any capacity, but more often than not they also feels and sound rather bland. At least as long as we are talking midrange bikes made for a wide audience.
 
Overall, though, this MT-07 has rekindled my love for riding! Primarily because of its fantastic engine, but also the handling and comfort are well up there. It’s the nicest package I’ve had the pleasure of owning in 37 years of riding motorcycles and I have a constant urge to go riding!
 

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Welcome to the club!
I agree, the bike is so fun that it's addicting :)
Great review!

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Nice @faffi. Hope it was a good ride. :)

DewMan
 
Just shut up and ride.

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Very nice - I enjoy the bike more for each ride :) And the thing have such power! Today, I experienced one utterly unanticipated 3rd gear wheelie and a 2nd gear wheelie that went for maybe 30 yards, a new personal record. I'm not really a wheelie person, but this thing comes up on power alone. With the 2nd gear wheelie, I was already leaned over the handlebars and accelerating out of a bend when I gave the MT full throttle at around 60 mph and the front wheel just came up, smooth as silk, and sat a foot above the ground before returning smoothly to Terra Firma. I've never owned a bike that would do that, even those that were much faster. But I like it :D

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The motor is a gem once smoothed out.
The switchy engine is primarily because of the ECU and a number of little niggles ( things like fuel shutoff and poor transition to reopened throttle etc). Reflashed units tend to give more and smoother power and get rid to the unintended wheelie, which is also a function of the soft suspension and rear weight bias. Your fitted fuel controller seems to get good reviews on this forum , but the reflash has a couple of extras that help.
A suspension upgrade IS the mod to do though. Plenty available now. If you like riding it now, try a well suspended one. Wahoo!
The seat is not good . It's not as bad as a BMW f800R, but it isn't good. I did a Seat Concepts pad/cover swap. Absolutely worth it.
Considering you live in Norway the choice of tyres cannot be bettered. The PR4's handle all temperatures and wet conditions better than almost everything and give the 07 a more planted feel.
Have fun.
 

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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There is no fuel-cut-off on mine. In fact, it runs too rich on the overrun - computer indicates 2.5 litre per 100 km with the throttle shut off - and I think I will lean it a little just to reduce engine braking a touch - this is the first vehicle I have owned with too much engine braking. Well, engine braking is fine, but revs drops so fast I cannot keep up with my foot/clutch quickly enough when I blip the throttle on downshifts. Yes, I am poorly coordinated :(
 
I have ordered Cogent DDC valves for the fork, keeping the stock springs, and a Nitron R2 fully adjustable shock for the rear. SInce I ride a lot on really broken surfaces with big bumps and holes I do not want a firm suspension. It is easier for me to accept having to ride very smoothly and retain lots of comfort over bad roads, than to have excellent handling and a rattling ride. A decade ago I had a Triumph Sprint 900 with a sluggish, stock fork and a Hagon shock I presume was set up as soft as it would go (I totaled the bike before I got around to checking) because it would compress with very little provication. But it simply erased every little - and big - bump on the road for a very comfy ride. If I changed directions rapidly, the bike would protest and bounce and compress the suspension, robbing precious cornering clearance. But as long as I remained smooooth, handling was fine and so was the ride.
 
The MT-07 will likely be a compromise between that Cadillac ride and a sportbike ride - at least that's what I have asked Nitron and Cogent to supply.
 
As to the PRs - yes, I like them :) Even with cold tyres on a cold day I could lean over to the very edge of the rear tyre without issues. Try that with your Pilot Power RS and you would be sliding on your arse instantly :D
 
 

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I have the same shock. It is pretty good. For some reason the Nitrons come with quite harsh comp damping and the spring a bit to preloaded. Mine did and a few others have commented on this forum. So you might have to dial it back on these a bit.
Softer springs don't necessarily give a softer ride. The trick is matching the right spring with the right comp and rebound damping. Going too soft will end up as harsh as too hard. If you want softer you have to increase the travel as well as soften the rate. Otherwise you end up just bottoming, which feels harsher than too hard a spring. That used to be Jap bikes problem years ago . Too soft springs and too much rebound ( often made worse by riders putting much heavier fluid in them. The suspension would "pack down" then bottom out.
The forks are pretty much as much travel as they will go, but I didn't some modelling and you could get 150-160mm travel with the right shock and careful placement of the travel arc with a longer stroke slightly longer stroke eye to eye. You don't want a sports bike suspension unless you are going to ride on a track. Most people on sports bike don't need a sport bike suspension on the road either. They just do it. As you point out, in most places, the road is NOT a track. Wide range of speeds and wide range of surfaces on a road. You need properly balanced wide range suspension , not a set of boingers that work exactlt perfectly over a very narrow range.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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I totally agree that damping and spring must work together for comfort! You can easily feel that in the rear shock of the MT-07, which lacks rebound damping. So over big bumps, the spring overpower the damping and the return is rapid and violent. The front fork has too much compression damping - and probably also rebound - to cope with sharp bumps, and not enough for rolling bumps and to slow brake dive, although it is better at the latter than the former in my experience.
 
Another thing I have found to work fairly well for me is fairly firm springs combined with next to no compression damping and sufficient rebound to control the spring. I am no fan of the soft spring/high compression/low rebound stuff often considered as a comfortable setup. However, the Hagon I mentioned was soft in every direction, but had enough rebound damping as not to bounce repeatedly. As a curiosity, I once had an XL500S with completely shot suspension at both ends; no oil left. I rode it down a set of stairs and it felt like riding down a smooth hill - it was impossible to feel the steps. But hit a dip in the road at speed and be prepared to be sea-sick :D
 
As to Nitron - I have emailed extensively with them in order to A) make them understand that I do need comfort before everything else and B) that it must match my stock front springs together with the DDC upgrade. Time will show if they listened.

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Faffi, Honestly I found the Ohlins base model gives a more even ride than the nitron. Wish I had waited for the Ohlins to come into stock. I think the Nitron guys err on the side of track rather than road. A few people than ended up with Nitrons said the first thing they had to do was screw back the preload and soften the damping a bit.

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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I hope they have understood that my prime goal is comfort.
 
ME:
I love to ride the little used backroads, often littered with badly broken tarmac, as well as the odd gravel road my primary concern is comfort. If I had it my way I would want a constant sensation of riding on a living room floor regardless of the condition of the road. In other words I want my suspension as soft as possible and only as hard as necessary.
 
I have a smooth riding style, barely using the brakes when entering a corner, lean over just enough to get rid of the chicken strips on the tyres on a good day, followed by progressive throttle application from the apex. I never yank at the handlebars or try and play racer, nor do I climb all over the bike.
 
My MT-07 has what I consider harsh suspension at both ends whenever the bumps goes beyond typical motorway asphalt. The bike has been lightened about 10 kg / 20 lb. I weigh 90 kg / 200 lb net in the morning.
 
I plan to retain the 0.87 kg/mm front springs together with fitting DDC valves from Cogent in order to hopefully improve the front end compliance. It is therefore important that the shock is set up to match the front springs.
 
Let me just pester you with two examples: My brother's stock Trophy 900 rides softly, compliant, and a bit bouncy. My friends BMW S1000XR, in comfort mode, is as harsh as anything I've ridden and totally unacceptable for me. Both are far from ideal, but I find the Triumph far more acceptable because it brings comfort. In other words, I'd rather err on the soft than the firm side of ideal if there is doubt about what the ideal is.
 
 
NITRON:
We too found the MT07 to be harsh, a mix of being over sprung and poor valving, however the issue is easily fixed with a Nitron shock! The NTR R1 would be a significant improvement over the standard shock offering more compliance and more importantly more confidence over what the rear wheel is doing, that being said if the budget allows for it the NTR R2 would be an even bigger step up in performance allowing you to focus more on compliance with the independent adjustment of compression.
 
I would agree with upgrading to the R2 shock. We can build this to match your front internals.
 
The easiest way to complete the purchase is through our website, then I would happily pass this information onto the technicians.

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