Yamaha MT-07 (2025) Review: Both Manual and MT-07 Y-AMT Tested

If you’re a new rider post-2017 and looking for a new bike, chances are a Yamaha MT-07 was one of the bikes on your list to buy.

Helped by its funky and youthful looks, cost-effective pricing, and engaging ride, the MT-07 became a mainstay in the midel weight sector and a bike that couldn’t be ignored by more experienced riders alike.

It has only seen a flutter of updates in the last eight years, meaning the old format had begun to look a little tired, both technically and visually. That changes in 2025, as a wholly new MT-07 is launched into the market, with fresh new looks and a host of changes to keep the model at the top of every new rider’s wishlist.

For this press launch we headed to the British holiday favourite of Benidorm for a day of riding the new MT-07 on the endless switchback hairpins that line the mountains. We tested the bike for around 120 miles and were blessed with faultless sunshine and perfect roads.

What’s new with the 2025 Yamaha MT-07

The frame, while it looks very much like before, is all new, with thicker frame tubes adding up to make a more rigid item than the previous bike. The swingarm, too, is a new design, and the suspension is upgraded thanks to proper USD forks at the front which work alongside radial brakes.

Away from the chassis, the engine has also seen updates, and while the 690cc (72 bhp and 49lb ft) CP2 platform utilises the same internal architecture as before, a ride-by-wire throttle has been utilised, unlocking a host of new features. The first of those are riding modes, with Sport and Street modes on offer, as well as a user configurable option. It also brings traction control to the MT-07, adding a level of safety which can be switched off should the rider need to. 

To make the most of the new technology, Yamaha has also added a neat looking TFT dash to the model, which is joined by the latest spec switchcube and, if you opt for the Y-AMT option, cruise control, which is another first.

The wheels of the MT-07 have also seen an update, with Yamaha bringing its latest Spin Forged rims to the bike, adding a proper 180-section tyre and helping to reduce the unsprung weight over and above the old bike. All told the new bike weighs in at 183kg, a kilo less than the outgoing model.

Price, colours and availability

The new Yamaha MT-07 will be in UK dealers in 2025 with a list price of £7,700 OTR, and will be available in either Tech Black, Icon Blue, or Ice Storm. Should you want to look at the Y-AMT version of the MT-07, which gets added to the range at the same time as the base model, you’ll be looking at a list price of £8,050 OTR.

What’s it like to ride

Yamaha picked the perfect roads for the launch of the new MT-07. It’s constant, seasick-inducing direction changes from the word go, with a few fast sweepers thrown in to break up the assault on my senses. A perfect playground for Yamaha’s latest plaything.

The last MT-07 I rode was the restyled cyclops model; basically, the one that everyone hated but Yamaha could get away with because they knew a big technical update was on the way, meaning they could fix the looks if people didn’t like it. Well, people didn’t, and Yamaha answered, and as I stand here at the side of the road, the new MT’ is looking every inch the baby sibling of its CP3-powered counterpart. It’s sleek at the front, with an aggressively scalloped fuel tank, and the angular styling of the tail unit keeps the urban theme running from nose to tail. It’s still unmistakable as an MT-07 from every angle, just much easier on the eye than the last generation.

Hopping on the bike I’m greeted by a thoroughly modern cockpit, crowned by a handsome TFT that has multiple themes, all with a cyberpunk undertone. Another new feature of the bike is the riding position, with the handlebars on the new bike sitting lower to the top clamp and making for a more engaging riding position. What hasn’t changed, all that much anyway, is the engine, and with minor adjustments for Euro5+ (and some acoustic vents to help bring the noise to the rider), thumbing the starter awakens that familiar CP2 engine, which quickly settles into its characteristic V-Twin-a-like idle.

Setting off from the hotel means we have a few miles of town riding ahead, and the new ride-by-wire throttle and light clutch are making life easier than before. I know cables trump wires when it comes to motorcycle throttles, but Yamaha’s engineers have dialled the new MT-07 in nicely on that respect. What’s also helping is that hugely versatile CP2 motor, which has always felt like a few engines in one thanks to its ease of use and tractability around town and exciting, rev-happy performance on the open road.

It’s such a gutsy little motor at the bottom of the rev range, I almost forget that it’ll keep on delivering right up to the rev-limiter. What's more, the new ride-by-wire system has allowed Yamaha to dig into the mapping much more than before, and the new bike boasts much smoother power and torque curves, meaning progress through the mid-range is smooth and more linear.

The new acoustic vents, mounted low on the rear of the fuel tank, work well around town, and as I’m winding on the throttle, I can hear a bit of a bellow from the intake ducts. That is diminished slightly as the road speed approaches the national speed limit, but there is enough bark from the exhaust to make the whole riding experience not feel too Euro5+.

With the town work done, it's time to hit the twisties - and there are a lot of twisties to contend with. When I say the words “relentless direction changes”, you get the idea. It’s about as frantic as my little brain can handle, but it’s showing off one of the MT-07’s biggest new features nicely. The previous generation bike was fun to ride - always had been. But part of that fun came down to the fact that when you pushed hard the bike would buck and weave as the chassis would tie itself in knots. That’s not the case now, and I’m having to try very hard to get any kind of naughty behaviour from the 2025 bike.

One of the biggest improvements is the front forks, which now bless the MT-07 with the kind of front-end composure it never had before. It’s much more stable on the brakes, and in faster corners, it’s much less prone to getting upset by mid-corner bumps and lumps. Likewise, fast direction changes, which could top-out the forks of the old bike, are much more sure-footed, with the improved rebound damping easily getting on top of the extension of the suspension.

Another front-end improvement comes in the form of more consistent braking performance. The new bike seems to have around the same power as before; only a couple of fingers are ever required, but the lever feel is much more reassuring, even after seemingly endless heavy braking events.

A fly in the ointment to the heavy braking while down-shifting is the slipper clutch. The bike has one, or so I’m told, but for me, it doesn’t have enough slip dialled in, and on many occasions a clutchless downshift will invoke a squeal from the rear tyre as the bike slews sideways a little. I’m also finding that the harder we push on, the more I’m hitting false neutrals as I come down the gearbox. There is no quickshifter on the bike as standard, which makes the MT-07 a bit of a rarity in the sector. If I was looking to add an MT-07 to my garage in 2025, I’d be eying up the accessory quickshifter kit, which should reduce the number of false cogs encountered.

What is the Yamaha MT-07 Y-AMT like?

The MT-07 is the second Y-AMT bike I’ve ridden, and while I wasn’t the biggest fan of the MT-09 equipped bike, I’m looking at this test with an open mind. Firstly, this system works in the same way as the MT-09 Y-AMT bike. Two actuators do the work of a hand and a foot, and with that in mind, the Y-AMT has no clutch or gear lever. You get automatic mode, where the bike shifts for you and manual mode, where you flick up and down with paddles on the left handlebar. In Automatic mode, you have D (very leisurely) and D+ (slightly less leisurely), and whether in automatic or manual mode, the bike will find its own way to first gear when you come to a stop.

After spending a morning on the Y-AMT bike, I learned that the system feels more at home on the CP2 than it did on the CP3. I’m not sure if it's the MT-07’s more chunky delivery or the fact that this is the second generation of the system, but it just feels more ‘right’ on the MT-07. It still does all the same things I didn’t like on the MT-09, like upshifting mid-corner when in automatic mode, but it still changed up and down with complete accuracy and urgency when used in manual mode. For me, the Y-AMT is a bit like Marmite. You’ll either ride it and think, “Why is this a thing?” or understand that when in town and just mooching along, you use the automatic gearshifts, and then when you hit the B-roads you make the most of choosing precisely when the bike should change a ratio.

Summing the system up, I can’t tell you which system to buy, but what I can say is that Yamaha will have both Y-AMT and manual bikes on its dealer test fleets, so please try them both and make up your own mind as to which best suits you.

2025 Yamaha MT-07 verdict

It’s unsurprising to hear that the MT-07’s biggest update has brought with it huge changes to the riding experience of Yamaha’s best-seller. What is surprising is just how much of a difference has been achieved. It’s still a bike that screams at the young and will no doubt entice a hoard of youngblood to the market, as well as curious more experienced riders.

What has also changed is the riding experience, massively. The MT-07 now seems to have a chassis which is up to the challenge of being ridden hard, and instead of bucking and weaving and throwing some shapes in the turns, it’s now much more precise, clinical and rewarding to ride fast.

It’s important to note that it's still just as easy to ride around town, if not easier, thanks to the improved torque and power delivery. But none of that detracts from the fabulously enjoyable bike the MT-07 always has been. It’s still a fun bike in every sense of the phrase, just with more composure, ability and refinement than ever before.

Pics: Ant Productions

More information can be found on the official Yamaha website.

2025 Yamaha MT-07 specs