Research a bit, and you’ll find that Yamaha’s corporate philosophy centers around Kando. This Japanese word roughly translates to a feeling that moves you. In the context of what Yamaha wants customers to experience, it is “a feeling of deep satisfaction and intense excitement,” which also ties in with the brand’s “Revs Your Heart” slogan. Rider engagement and value are naturally the two key characteristics that are baked into every model. Thus, all of its bikes try to follow that to the core, but a certain MT manages to do that at a global level.
Yamaha Has Shifted Its Attention Back To Street Bikes
Yamaha
Between the mid-80s and late 00s, sport bikes well and truly captured the imagination. Along with these track-ready bikes, Yamaha also invested heavily in the cruiser segment and boasted a wide selection of premium bikes designed to compete with Harley-Davidson. Value-based street bikes were relegated to an afterthought, with most of them making use of repurposed platforms.
2020 Yamaha V-Max being ridden on urban street, side profile accelerating viewYamaha Motorsports
Around a decade ago, sales for both of these more dedicated segments slowed, and Yamaha needed to step away from one of them. The Japanese brand made the difficult decision to completely step away from the cruiser space and rather refocus on building value-based street bikes. For this, we are eternally grateful. The naked bike platforms which were developed over this period have since gone from strength to strength, and in a time when everything seems to be getting expensive, a value-based offering like the bike in question just makes sense.
An MT Defines Yamaha’s Kando Philosophy Better Than Anything Else
A side-profile shot of the 2006 Yamaha MT-01Wikimedia Commons
At first glance, you might think MT doesn’t mean much; you might even think it’s just a corporate tag or technical jargon that stuck around. But Yamaha is smarter than that, which is why the MT moniker actually means something: Master of Torque. Ride any MT motorcycle, and you’d agree with this marque. Essentially, Yamaha’s MT motorcycles deliver exhilarating torque that equates to deep satisfaction and intense excitement. That’s exactly what Kando stands for!
Motorcycle standing on stage in neon lit room, facing left.Yamaha
And the MT model is nothing new. The history dates back over 15 years, to the launch of the MT-01 in 2005. But unlike any other motorcycle series, the MT doesn’t need to adhere to a specific template. Take the CBR, for instance: Honda sports bikes known for being light and nimble, prioritizing handling over horsepower. Meanwhile, the MT follows an open-ended development that relies on one thing: monozukuri, Japanese for doing things right.
Close-up detail shot of a 2025 MT-07 headlightYamaha
So, what does it mean to be an MT? Simple. The bike should focus on a torquey ride, handle like a sharp blade through butter, and have a characterful engine. An MT bike is what you get when a manufacturer focuses on pure riding experience, not speed or spec sheet. And no other Yamaha currently on sale does it better than the MT-07. The bike not only embodies the Kando philosophy better than anything else but has become so legendary that it’s often regarded as the iconic SV650’s spiritual successor.
The Yamaha MT-07 Is Kando Personified
MSRP: $8,599
Action shot of a Yamaha MT-07 cruising on an elevated road at nightYamaha Motorsports
The MT-07 has been around for quite some time now, but in its current form, it offers more value than ever before. It remains an engaging motorcycle that truly embodies Yamaha’s Kando philosophy. Over the years, this has actually become one of the most popular larger-displacement motorcycles in the world, and it is pretty easy to see why, because it offers a balance of performance and approachability that is hard to beat. It also features one of the most reliable engines currently on the market, and unlike most reliable motorcycles, it will never be accused of being the least bit boring.
An Efficient Parallel-Twin Promises Unrivaled Reliability
Power: 72 Horsepower
Static shot of a Yamaha MT-07 parked at nightYamaha Motorsports
One of the key competitive advantages the CP2 has over direct competition is simple reliability. It has been around for well over a decade now and is yet to miss a beat. Since it made its debut, it has also been put in a wide selection of motorcycles, all of which offer this most desirable of characteristics. It has also been tuned specifically for street use, and offers meaty midrange performance, with most of its torque already available from 2,000 RPM.
Balancing Fun And Pragmatism
Yamaha Motorsports
With a claimed fuel economy of 57 MPG, it makes for a rather practical commuter, but what sets it apart from most of the bikes competing in this space has nothing to do with pragmatism. It is just an unusually characterful twin, which works particularly well here in the naked bike. While it certainly is not the most powerful bike in the MT range, it certainly lives up to its “Master of Torque” moniker.
The MT-07 Offers A Lot Of Bang For The Buck
Yamaha
This middleweight space has become more competitive than ever, and while the Yamaha certainly is not the cheapest, it offers a lot of value. A recent update saw it get a few nice-to-have features, including switchable traction control and ride modes. You also get ABS, a TFT dash with smartphone connectivity, and turn-by-turn navigation.
In that same update (which happened a couple of years ago now), it also got a USD front fork for the first time, which has certainly helped improve the handling. One thing that keeps getting updated, and we are not entirely sure if it is a good thing, is the design. While the previous model was objectively ugly, the latest effort is not much better.
Yamaha Motorsports
It is arguably the one area where the MT bikes (not just this one) lose ground to the competition. Most of the Japanese naked bikes feature some sort of riff on this angular, semi-futuristic design motif, but it is fair to say Yamaha’s take on it remains polarizing. Which is a genuine shame, because it only serves to detract from a motorcycle that offers such great value at this budget-oriented end of the market.
The Perfect Street Bike
Yamaha Motorsports
In most respects, the MT-07 really is the perfect street bike. It has a short, nimble chassis which makes it a bundle of fun to ride through a congested city, or a tight and twisty mountain road. It is also incredibly light, with a wet weight of just 403 pounds; it is actually one of the lightest bikes in the middleweight class. But any motorcycle is a compromise, especially a motorcycle that has been built on a budget.
The biggest compromise Yamaha makes with the MT middle child is its chassis. When compared to most of the bikes competing in this space, its steel diamond arrangement looks a little rudimentary. For regular use, it is inarguably sufficient, especially for a motorcycle of this size and power output, but more experienced riders will run into its limits when pushing the bike on a track.
Obviously, it is not a track bike, but even so, the same characteristics hooligans will find appealing; others will find infuriating. Its front wheel is not all that fond of staying planted, and it will lift even when you have absolutely no intention of doing a wheelie. That is just the reality of a bike that is this light, has this much midrange power, and has a chassis this short.
For most riders, as underscored by the sheer amount of MT-07s Yamaha sells around the world, the positives most certainly outweigh these rather inconsequential drawbacks. While it is not the most powerful in the class, nor the prettiest, it splits the difference between rider engagement and practicality in such a way that it makes it quite impossible to ignore. It is an excellent example of what Yamaha brings to the table, and the physical embodiment of the Kando philosophy.
Source: Yamaha Motorsports
