Now, off to the time machine to think about the special things about the MT-01.

The rear shock is laid flat under the back of the gearbox instead of above the rear cylinder for the sake of heat dispersal primarily, and also it makes sense considering the sheer height which would mean a really long monoshock, which obviously isn't what you really need.


Some of you might remember that the Yamaha Mt 01 unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show had the rear shock at the engine's side.



The MT-01 redlines at 5500 RPM compares to the R1's approx. 18000 RPM. With an engine thats 1,670 cc huge, it produces a peak power of 90 PS @ 4,750 rpm whereas the R1 doles out 182 PS @ 12,500 rpm.

What does all the really mean? Simply put, just proves the MT-01 is a true blue cruiser. The meat of torque is available between 2000 and 5000 RPM which means, you can chop your left leg off and you wouldn't miss it really. The MT-01 simply would pull away in any gear!

Torque specs:

Yamaha MT-01 : 150.3 Nm (15.3 kg-m) @ 3,750 rpm
Yamaha R1 : 115.5 Nm (11.8 kg-m) @ 10,000 rpm

Hehe... 3750 RPM and you've hit the torque peak already! In case you didn't notice, your front wheel is in the air Sir, please bring it down before you hit your crankcase on a 4 feet tall geek you never liked since school.

If you're the techy kind who keeps pitting the R1 against the MT-01 marvelling at how purposeful and focussed motorcycle engineering is all about, how beautifully the 998cc crossplane crankshaft was designed for one purpose and how the 1670cc behemoth was crafted with push rods and the works to plonk into something as monstrous as the MT-01, well here's the link!

Motorcycle Comparison Details

I'm still wondering why the R1 has 'Fuel Injection' whereas the MT-01 has the 'Electronic Fuel Injection', wet sump in the R1 and dry sump in the MT-01. Do shed some light!




Oh by the way, unlike the all metal Harley, most of the beefy bits on the Yamaha MT-01 are said to be plastic. I wouldn't know now would I?

Finally, is anybody up for bragging to biker brothers abroad that Yamaha put their crayons on our Indian streetfighter ( the FZ 16 ) before doing something similar on their naked streetfighter the MT-01?