[Editor’s Column] Dynamic Test Ride Report YAMAHA “YZF-R7”

Photo: Minami Takayuki
YAMAHA recently held a test ride of the YZF-R7 for domestic media in Japan. The following is the report of the media test ride by editor-in-chief Sagawa.

Get the most out of your performance and ride awesome on the road!

The YZF-R7 is a new generation of super sports motorcycles. According to a survey conducted by Yamaha prior to the development of the YZF-R7, the basic mindset of riders who like super sports bikes is "to be able to ride a motorcycle awesomely on the road". Including the styling, these riders want to have a supersport bike that they can ride awesomely.

On the other hand, super sports cars with inline 4-cylinder engines at the 1000cc level are usually too powerful in performance, and there are even 600cc uncontrollable sounds on the market. A brand new super sports car model that an ordinary rider can give full play to the performance of the motorcycle and fully enjoy the fun of riding. The car model that realizes this condition is the YZF-R7.

The bike has just the right amount of power to allow riders to open up the throttle without fear, and to improve their riding skills while enjoying the corners. The goal of the YZF-R7 is to allow riders to enjoy not only the race track, but also the mountains.

In addition, it has the YZF shape that is inherited from the YZF-R1 and YZF-R6, and completely presents the "R" series genes in terms of design, so that people can immediately find that it is a super sports car just by looking at it. . The preferential price that even novice riders can easily get started with is another major feature of it.

Utilize the qualifications of MT-07 to become a super sports car

The development concept of YZF-R7 is Fun Master of Supersports, which means that it will be a super sports car that thoroughly pursues riding pleasure. There is no absolute advantage in performance and electronic control system, but it can make the rider feel the satisfaction of simply pursuing riding pleasure and technical improvement. In other words, it is to show the imitation racing car enthusiastically pursued by young people in the 1980s. that kind of atmosphere.

In order to meet the above conditions, MT-07 was selected. This light-hearted NK sports street bike uses a water-cooled parallel twin-cylinder engine (called the CP2 engine by YAMAHA) with a cross crankshaft as the concept, plenty of torque and easy manipulation, and a flexible steel tube frame. The qualification has won praise from domestic and foreign motorcycle-related media. A super sports car with a twin-cylinder engine that can easily enjoy riding pleasure. This type of competition is actually quite popular abroad, and the full fairing modified car based on the MT-07 has become the basic car model.

Because of the above factors, although YZF-R7 is a brand new model, its main parts such as engine and frame are shared with MT-07, so the chief mate reduces its manufacturing cost. However, in order to obtain the riding performance comparable to the super sports car, YAMAHA also specially adjusted and optimized all the chassis devices of the YZF-R7, including the front and rear shock absorbers.

Specifically, the front fork frame is strengthened, the central crossbar is added to make up for the strength of the rocker arm axis, and the front fork offset and the lever ratio of the rear shock absorber are changed to make it easier to ride. When riding a straight line more stable. In addition, YAMAHA also adjusted the front and rear load of this bike to be biased towards the front wheels, making it easier for the rider to control when riding sports. The YZF-R7 even uses the same full fairing as the "R" series, separate grips and pedal rear shift kits, etc., which make the riding position more like a super sports car.

That is to say, the YZF-R7 is not only a motorcycle that uses the excellent qualifications of MT-07, it is also a motorcycle that has been rebuilt by adding the basic essence of a super sports car.

Easily let your body get used to control

The representative M-shaped air vents on the front of the car, the design of a uniform and level tone, etc., the YZF-R7 adopts these to make people mistakenly think that it is the standard shape of the super sports car of the YZF-R1 or YZF-R6. The riding position is not so much like the YZF-R25, but it is closer to the YZF-R6 with a lower handle position and a forward-leaning riding position. The height of the seat cushion is 835mm, which is a little too high in terms of numbers, but because it has the most slender body of the R series, its feet are actually quite good on the ground.

Photo: Minami Takayuki

The CP2 engine, which starts operating with the clear, loud drumming sound of the 270-degree crankshaft, is very energetic. After gently pressing the clutch and opening the throttle, a sudden surge of torque pushed the car straight ahead. The acceleration is strong, the drumming is obvious, yet the engine runs very smoothly without the slightest vibration. The handling response is also very straightforward and easy to get used to, so there is no need to hesitate at all. Within half a lap, I was able to get used to the bike, and it felt like I was wearing a comfortable suit.

Light and fast with plenty of torque, comparable to the YZF-R6's riding performance

In the mid-rpm range of 6,000rpm to 9,000rpm, where the torque performance is most impressive, the inline four-cylinder engine is not as powerful, but you can feel that it continues to accelerate at a steady pace. This allows the rider to estimate how much throttle range is left, so there is no need to be fearful when riding the bike. In terms of specifications, although the maximum horsepower is 73ps/8750rpm like the MT-07, it feels like 10ps more than the actual figure.

In addition, the performance track shows that the car's power output is more high-speed than that of the MT-07, so it is easy to enjoy the thrill of acceleration at the peak of power. Incidentally, in the straight line of the main track at the Suzuka Circuit, where the test ride took place, the speed on the dashboard was over 170km/h at full 5-speed, an excellent performance. Even a mid-range super sports car with an inline 4-cylinder engine would not be able to achieve this figure if it did not work very hard.

Photo: Minami Takayuki

However, this also made me wonder which car is faster than the YZF-R6. The answer I got after asking the YZF-R7 developer was, "The YZF-R6 is faster from the brake to the first half of the corner, but the YZF-R7 is probably faster from the second half of the corner to the throttle." The advantage of the YZF-R7 is that it shows up perfectly when it comes to cornering. The rider can feel the steady acceleration of the bike as it kicks into the road, so he can quickly determine the timing of the throttle and open the throttle to full throttle acceleration early, which naturally leads to an increase in top speed.

Although it can't match the horsepower of the inline four-cylinder engine on the ultra-long straight track, it should be able to compete with the YZF-R6 on the winding short track. In addition, although the test ride site this time is only on the track, with the easy handling characteristics and brisk riding performance of this car, the rider can still fully enjoy the ride even on winding mountain roads.

Recommended for riders who want to explore the essence of riding and enjoy sporty riding

The car's performance in the corners was excellent. Although the road temperature was too cold on the day of the test session, the standard S22 tires allowed the car to dive to the ground with confidence, and it continued to turn steadily through the high-speed corners at the Suzuka circuit with the throttle pushed all the way.

Photo: Minami Takayuki

The integrated radial brake caliper & radial brake master cylinder are easy to operate and extremely powerful. Although the neutral time caused by the ABS system will make people a little concerned, but it also has enough braking power, even if it is pressed very suddenly. Under the brakes, the light body can still be stopped easily. Moreover, the rider can thoroughly experience the feeling of manipulating the motorcycle, which may be the greatest joy of sports riding!

Photo: Minami Takayuki

More than 95% of the riders who pursue sports riding will be satisfied with the riding performance of the YZF-R7, and the remaining 5% are those riders who are highly skilled and have already fully experienced the super sports car on the track. For example, it is impossible to ride a super sports car specially designed for the track, such as leaning the body while braking until the last part of the curve, or continuing to open the accelerator regardless of the ups and downs of the road. The operation, for the very few riders who have the above-related experience, they may feel that the YZF-R7 is not good enough.

However, if there is such an idea, as long as you upgrade to YZF-R6 or YZF-R1, you will not have the above troubles. The YZF-R7 is a "pure" car that is extremely rare in this era and is equipped with electronic control equipment but does not use a tracking control system. It is definitely a motorcycle that is suitable for the pursuit of improving your riding skills and simply enjoying the fun of sports riding.

Kenny Sagawa, Editor-in-Chief of "Webike Moto News"

"Webike Taiwan" editorial department compiled