MILAN SHOW: Yamaha T7 concept is world's maddest MT-07

Published: 07 November 2016

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If this doesn’t make you feel like putting some motocross boots on and heading off into the great unknown, then you’re missing a key strand of your biking DNA.

While Yamaha are fast to point out that this is just a concept bike, there’s absolutely no doubt that the firm will put this XT660 Ténéré replacement into production, continuing a 33-year line of Dakar-inspired middleweight desert assault bikes.

The facts

74bhp (est)
180kg (est)
Seat height 895mm (est)

Highlights

CP2 700cc parallel-twin engine
Full-on WR450F Dakar styling
Expected to arrive in 2018

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The game moves on dramatically though with this concept. Packing the MT-07’s CP2 engine into an all-new chassis, the T7 should dig into the soft stuff with superb tractability from the parallel-twin 700.

Equipped with an aluminium fuel tank, quad-projector LED headlight, a carbon fairing and skid plate, and a custom made Akrapovic exhaust – as well as high specification KYB front suspension, 21in front and 18in rear – the T7 concept is a serious statement of intent.

It’s a WR450F Dakar for the masses, and while much of the bling Dakar-aping spec sheet might be sacrificed for production, the overall effect will remain – and we love it.

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By Richard Newland

Group Editor - With over 40 years of riding experience and 21 years as a bike journalist, Rich has ridden nearly every new bike of the past two decades and many historical models dating back to the 1930s. He is particularly passionate about sportsbikes from the 1990s and early 2000s, and he loves big bikes that handle well and are suited for long-distance travel. Rich enjoys challenging rides, such as a non-stop 1703.5-mile trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back. In his personal collection, Rich owns a 2007 Honda VTR1000 SP-2, a 1998 Ducati 996, a 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750 ‘Slabby’, a 1998 VFR800FiW, and a 1975 Honda CB750 SOHC Dunstall.