Yamaha R7

Kevin

2020
CBR650R ABS
Sep 21, 2020
Ontario, Canada
Riding Since
2004
Looks like Yamaha is getting in on the action now too! Between the CBR, RS660 and now the R7, road friendly faired sport bikes could make a comeback as the supersport segment is quickly dying. It would be great to see Kari up the power in the Ninja 650, Suzuki to make a fully faired version of the GSXS-750 that isn’t a full blown Gixxer and KTM to make an RC890 from the Duke.

 

miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
Looks like Yamaha is getting in on the action now too! Between the CBR, RS660 and now the R7, road friendly faired sport bikes could make a comeback as the supersport segment is quickly dying. It would be great to see Kari up the power in the Ninja 650, Suzuki to make a fully faired version of the GSXS-750 that isn’t a full blown Gixxer and KTM to make an RC890 from the Duke.

Yup, lots of discussion around this bike has been floating around. As cool as it is, the YZF-R9 would be my hope.......
 

Kevin

2020
CBR650R ABS
Sep 21, 2020
Ontario, Canada
Riding Since
2004
Yup, lots of discussion around this bike has been floating around. As cool as it is, the YZF-R9 would be my hope.......

Absolutely, an R9 would have me thinking about trading in the CBR, I love the CP3 engine.

An R7 would be a great way to get more people into the genre though, low cost of entry and low insurance premiums. It looks like Kawi is dropping the Ninja 650 and coming out with a ZX7R with approx 95hp. Looks like Honda found a desired market but Aprillia is getting all the credit.

I’m holding out hope for a CBR1000R based off the new CB1000. I’ve seen rumours but nothing hinting to it actually happening.
 

Dankotaru

2019
CBR650R ABS
Jul 5, 2019
7000' ASL, USA
Well, Yamaha finally put a fairing on the FZ/MT-07. About time. I always figured it would be called a FZ7R, since the FZ6R was their idea of an everyday middleweight sports bike back in the day and the old R7 was a full race replica bike like the R6, but whatever. I think it looks pretty good, except for the odd center light. I bet that comes out easy for twins cup racing, though. Engine is likely the same spec, but the front end has upside down forks and radial mounted calipers. It should be good competition for the CBR650R.

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Edit: Just saw there's already a thread for the new R7. Maybe a mod can merge them?
 
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miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
Nice!!!! Patiently waiting for an R9 now…..

This thing will clean up in club racing for sure. lots of guys I know have spent lots of money turning their FZ into something raceable, this cuts out half the work.
 

Dankotaru

2019
CBR650R ABS
Jul 5, 2019
7000' ASL, USA
Nice!!!! Patiently waiting for an R9 now…..

This thing will clean up in club racing for sure. lots of guys I know have spent lots of money turning their FZ into something raceable, this cuts out half the work.
I heard the R9 tag has been copyrighted and rumors are it will happen. And personally, the Yammie triple in a sport bike with 'street-able' ergos is a bike I would be very interested in.

And yep, this thing looks like Yamaha finally listened to the cries of many, many people over the years and developed something targeted to twins cup and cheap track bike lovers. With the new forks and brakes, this will be much cheaper and easier to upgrade for track/race duty. No more swapping a R6 front end and all the other work for fairings, guage mounts, etc... Just a cartridge kit, rear shock, brake line/fluid/pad upgrade, some bolt-on Hot Bodies fiberglass, and all the engine upgrades you could want have already been thoroughly experimented with and documented at this point.

Full specs come out on Tuesday. I don't expect any change in power from the current MT-07. I am curious about the price and how low they kept the weight.

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Jerry

2016
CBR650F ABS
May 18, 2017
The Netherlands


689cc CP2 engine
73.4 PS @ 8750 rpm
67.0 Nm (6.8 kg-m) @ 6.500 rpm
Fully-adjustable inverted 41 mm front forks
835mm seat height
188kg wet weight
Optional Quick Shift System

European site | US site

US site cites $8999 starting price, which is a bit steep compared to the MT-07's $7699. In fact, it's only $700 below the CBR650R and $1000 more than a Kawasaki Ninja 650.

I love the way it looks and sounds, and it might be a blast to ride, considering how most of that torque will be available from the bottom and all of it is already available at a tad over 6000rpm. The CBR650R only gets going at 6k.

So yeah, I guess it'll be a pretty sweet bike to ride but 9 grand? Whew, that's a lot for an MT-07 with fairings.

Edit: it has Brembo brakes and supposedly much better suspension than the MT-07 which goes some ways towards explaining the price difference.
 
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mrtnbrks

2021
CB650R
Jan 21, 2021
Riding Since
2008
She looks lovely but that centre light looks like a cheap after market add on. Especially compared to the sleek LED’s either side.
 

miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
Edit: it has Brembo brakes and supposedly much better suspension than the MT-07 which goes some ways towards explaining the price difference.
To be precise, its a Brembo master cylinder with Yamaha calipers. Not a bad thing, Yamaha has long had incredible stock brakes, but not a full Brembo system and it seems they’ve already done one upgrade for you.

What I see when I look at the specs, the aggressive riding position, the Brembo master cylinder, the add on center light, it’s a limited run model and has to be preordered, is a bike aimed squarely at club racing which surprises the hell out of me that a major manufacturer made such an effort to address that. The fact that they made the forks fully adjustable and the shock is not means they expect you to replace it and just revalve the forks for your weight and style, which is allowed in a superstock class and yet another sign this is set to be a racers dream.

The MT07 has been a popular choice, replacing the tried and true SV650 as the club racers go-to a few years ago, but this is quite the effort from Yamaha. Approved!!!
 

Hagen

2019
CBR650R ABS
Apr 11, 2021
Riding Since
2019
I honestly don't get the r7 at all. Torque is just about respectable for something high revving (but isn't), power is disappointing and weight is nothing attractive either.
If I want a lightweight track missile, id go for a rc 390, if i want something more, id go for a classic 120hp 600 at the same weight. The price is nothing special either.
As for street use, they could have at least given her 95hp for A2 qualification. That seems to be the current sweet spot.
I know nobody that is obsessed with the arressive position and willing to settle for such a "weak" bike.

However a mt09 based r9? That sounds interesting
 
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Atucker

2019
CBR650R
Aug 18, 2020
Riding Since
2001
It's all about the club racing. This thing is going to dominate its class that has largely been stagnant up until now.
 

miweber929

2014
CBR650F
650 Alumnus
Staff
Feb 13, 2015
Woodbury, MN
Riding Since
1975
It's all about the club racing. This thing is going to dominate its class that has largely been stagnant up until now.
This.

If you’re unsure where the R7 is designed to fit in, Google search for MT-07 and FZ-07 racebikes. People have $20k into them to get them to the point these will be straight out of the box. Swap on some sticky tires, shock and fork setup and you’re racing.
 

Dankotaru

2019
CBR650R ABS
Jul 5, 2019
7000' ASL, USA
Looks like a fairly aggressive seating position
View attachment 10388

I think Yamaha missed an opportunity with the ergos. Keeping them above the top triple with risers, like the 650R or even the R3, would make this more appealing to a larger market of people looking for a more comfortable 'everyday sportbike'. The weight, size, and CP2 engine are all good things for commuting and urban traffic, but this riding triangle is not. I know Yamaha is appealing to the track guys and trying to fill the void left by the R6, but track guys can (and all the twins cup racers certainly will) just replace the clip-ons anyways.
 

Dankotaru

2019
CBR650R ABS
Jul 5, 2019
7000' ASL, USA
As luck would have it, there was a guy with a brand new R7 at the track today, and he actually let me ride it:
IMG_20211023_111055137.jpg

It was stock except for the Q4s.

First thing I noticed is how high the foot pegs are. This is not a comfortable bike for commuting, at all. The pegs are back and high. They feel higher than an R6 for some reason, maybe because I just wasn't expecting it, but they seem higher than necessary for the bike's lean clearance. I bet you could lower them with an aftermarket set and still not have any clearance issues.

The second thing I noticed is how svelte the bike feels when you sit on it. It just feels narrow and small, almost like a Ninja 400. That being said, the back of the seat is very wide and easy to scoot around on.

The motor feels the same as a FZ/MT 07. So if you've ever ridden one of those, you know it's grunty and sounds pretty decent. It doesn't like to rev, but there's lots of meat on the bone at most any rpm. The only other parallel twin engine I can compare it to is the Kawasaki, and it's not really a comparison. The Yammie CP2 engine is much nicer.

On track, the bike is noticeably lighter, and way more flickable than the CBR650R. The fairly aggressive front end geometry and short wheelbase means the slightest push on the inside clip-on and the bike falls all the way over into the turn. I've shortened the effective swingarm length and wheelbase of my bike by running a 116 link chain, and I think people would be surprised at how much of an impact that made for turn-in. Well, Yamaha did something similar for the R7 compared to the MT07 (even though they use the same swingarm casting the R7 has an effectively shorter swingarm length by like 10mm or so) and coupled with the aggressive rake and trail of the front end, the R7 is almost 'darty'. This is super fun and makes the bike just laughably easy to steer into lower-speed corners, but I thought it felt a bit unsteady in longer sweepers. Now this feeling might be a result of riding the CBR650R, which is incredibly stable on its side. You get the CBR leaned over and then you can take a coffee break, smoke a cigarette, call your mom, whatever... the bike just holds that line steady as a rock. The R7 never felt near as steady in those long sweepers. This might be something you just get used to, but the geometry that makes the R7 so easy to turn-in also means it's more jittery than the longer wheelbase, more relaxed geometry of the CBR, and it was slightly off-putting. But the turn-in and feel in most corners was just silly easy in comparison to the CBR.

I didn't like the gearbox very much, but again, this comes with caveats. First, unlike a lot of people on this forum, my bike's gearbox is an absolute joy. It's smooth, each gear goes in with a nice, tactile, 'snick', and I never get false neutrals. It's the best gearbox I've ever used on any motorcycle. So the R7 was not likely to impress me here. Second, the shift lever had been adjusted for the owner, and it was a bit awkward for my feet. I would have to adjust it higher relative to the peg for a fair evaluation. And finally, it was new, so it hadn't really been broken in yet. That all said, it wasn't very smooth and I just didn't care for it. Maybe a quick shifter would help.

The brakes were worse than the CBR650R. The R7 lever is a basic Brembo radial unit, which is kind of cool, but the R7 brakes were 'spongier' and not as confidence inspiring. Both our bikes still have rubber lines. I don't like the CBR650R's brakes that much on the track, and the R7's felt even worse.

I think the suspension is nicer on the R7. More adjustability, and the rear shock has a linkage. I didn't get it really leaned over in the bumpy sections (because I'd be so ashamed to wreck this guy's bike) but it felt as composed as mine everywhere else, and I can't help but think the rear linkage will handle the bumpy sections of turn 2 better than the butt-puckering skitter-fest that is the CBR650R when leaned over through that turn.

All in all, I think Yamaha built a bit of an enigma. The bike has the engine of a perfect urban commuter, with the aggressive ergonomics and suspension geometry of a hard-core suspersport. It's a fun track bike. I would look at one as a cheap track bike, except that it's slower on the track than my CBR650R. It gets into most corners quicker, and the engine has great grunt for coming out of corners, but the extra power and stability of the CBR650R had me pulling on him in every sweeper and taking him on the straights. If we were comparing lap times at HPR, I think the CBR would have close to 2 seconds on the R7, stock for stock. Now a used but well-sorted twins cup race bike, that would be something I might consider for a fun track bike in the future.

Edit:
TL/DR version: It's a really fun bike, it tips in and changes direction freakishly easy, looks awesome, has more suspension adjustability than the 650R, and has lots of grunt coming out of any corner. The brakes are pretty meh, it feels a little twitchy when really leaned over in long sweepers, it's not comfortable for anything but aggressive riding, and the power drop-off at 9k rpm leaves you wanting for more. While I think the CBR650R is likely faster at most tracks, the R7 is a better track tool. I wouldn't want to ride one every day or do double-duty with it like I do my CBR650R, but it makes me excited for what an R9 could be.
 
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