Yamaha R7 Review: The Perfect Middleweight Sportsbike? 

A huge thanks to DeAgostini for sponsoring this video - you can find out more about the kit here: bit.ly/3TPZvJ4 and use the discount code "MOTO_BOB"!

day 3398 of waiting for the R9...

Compare this to the CBR650R please

Aprilia quality scares me. I did sit on an RS660 and I thought it was a very aggressive riding position for my taste. Amazing what good value you get from Yamaha on this bike. It definitely looks the part.

Yamaha have got it right, create the perfect mid weight engine and share it across various platforms. I’m a big fan of the new XSR700, but younger riders may prefer the MT07 or R7, adventure riders the Tenere. Nice work by them.

Looking forward to a comparison between the R7 and Rs660

Im tired of hearing people saying that the r7 is a slow bike but they cant even push it to half of its potential. I guess people just like riding in a straight line…. Kinda stupid because a bike is more thrilling around corners and the r7 is definitely a fun ass bike.

I have a Tracer 7 and i must agree with people complaining about the engine. It's great on the mid revs, but when you take it to high revs it feels... disapointing. It has nothing more to give you on the high revs. The problem it's not the lack of power. I have an old CBF 500 with 56hp and it feels great on the high revs. Since it doesn't have much on the mid revs, when you take it to high revs it gives you a nice surprise. You can make her scream. She asks for it! 😁 In my opinion that's how a sportsbike should work. Up there, on the high revs, screaming on the red line! You dont need much power for the road, true (I have ridden a Diavel and that's too much power). But you need the top revs for a screaming adrenaline sportsbike experience.

Has a r7 owner this is the best description so far!!!

Nice one Bob 👍

I think a R7 set up like a tuono would be cool so your more comfortable but also have the wind protection.

unless you are talking about a touring bike, i could care less about the tech. rpm and speed. i would like a fuel gauge as my bike only tells me when i am close to empty.

Can you please correct a popular misconception - USD forks are heavier than right way up forks and the unsprung mass is much higher Compare a pair of aluminium sliders, wheel spindle and wheel complete with discs and calipers (right way up) vs USD weight being as with right way up forks but with the addition of the two steel stanchions. Early Fireblades had right way up forks because the engineering team were completely focused on weight reduction rather than fashion statements.

as someone who started on an R15, is currently on an R3, and is looking to move up to a supersport next (but mostly still for commuting), this bike *should* be perfect- but its just impossible for me to justify the price compared to 2ndhand 600 supersports, even ones that are nearly new. I guess that's more to do with new bike prices at the moment anyway though.

Looks good😊

Waiting....because, despite riding a Fireblade for 4 years, I still miss my RD350. And British Engineering is a bad deal for buyers, even though influencers who try them for free, might rave about British brands - cars or bikes.

I don't know why everyone Is saying they want an R9. I went from an R3 to and R7 and it was a noticeable difference. I owned the R3 for 15,000kms. The R7 is so fun as you can ring it out and heaps of torque. Its perfect for country roads and city riding. I took it to track and it was a blast coming out of corners. The R9 will need to be tamed and it will be a bit too much as you'll need a bit of room to open it up. People need to get some sense into their head. The R7 is a bike made from common sense. The R9 doesnt make sense tbh. Horsepower and top speed is nothing. Unless you are going for land speed records, go and get an R1 lmao

My dream bike

Great vid, let's see what Honda bring out now they have the cb750 Hornet engine to play with, a new baby blade, let's hope so

I want one so much, but the potential for an R9 keeps me indecisive

Need need to make an R9 and put the MT-09 engine in it. Sounds sooo good and its torque.

Informative

Any time a headline ends with a question mark, the answer is "No" -- otherwise, they wouldn't have included the question mark!

I think for my next bike I really want the new triumph street triple RS. If Yamaha comes out with an R9, that might persuade me towards the super-sportier fairings and more aggressive riding position. I just don’t like the styling of the MT series. And the street triple blows the doors off the cp2 engines while still being very useable on the street.

Why do you ride with the mirrors tucked in ? I've noticed that on a few of your videos.

i would love for my first bike to be a sport bike like the r7 but im absolutely torn between a few of them. Every time i lean twards one of them i find something in it that turns me off. ninja 650 vs r7 vs honda cbr650r the eternal battle between these 3 is real.

What’s with folding the mirrors in?

Do a R7 vs RS660 vid

I love this 🚲

I want to ask r7 got fast high temperature at the traffic same as r6?I know both arent bikes for the city.

Appreciate your review MotoBob, what I think about the R7 is absolute win² for my pocket money. Everything is just checked out on the specs, definitely appealing to be sporty but yet gives a friendly approach for newer riders while still maintaining to be aggressive on track. Love the video, now I'm gonna show my dad how this bike is really that good

My contention has always been that very, very, very few people can handle more than130hp ! I've yet to be proved wrong .....

Great looking bike but that's where it ends. I guess the R7 stands for 70 HP?

Yamaha have been nailing it in the last decade.

It took bike manufacturers long enough to came to their senses and start making 750's again the perfect weight size power Suzuki tried to keep the 750 alive. I know some big D in WSB was cheating but ever since racing started it was cc against cc not increasing your cc because you had less Cylinders.

RS660 would be my choice

I have a Yamaha FZ6R do you think this is a good upgrade or not much of a change?

Well , Sv650 parallel twin is coming . I think it's going kill it in terms of feel, reliability and all the mods that are already available.

ZX6R is the killer comparo. Here in the states it's only a few hundred more.

Where I live, walking out of a dealership with an rs660 is only about $800 more than the r7, so the Yamaha is a bit of a tough sell.

Nice 😊

maybe a middleweight street fighter disguised as a sportbike

It's unfortunate the ergos are set up for track, but this thing isn't really that great there because it's just got no top end...

Would you say that this is the spiritual successor to say an SV650S? I've been trying to find a suitable hoon machine that will tickle my danglies better than my 4C8R1. I've also got a Fazer thou in the garage for winter duties and both are mind numbingly capable for the road. I'd say the R1 is still too much for me for the track too, but I've had her the best part of 8 years. My best two bikes I've had for B roads were probably my ZXR250C and CBR500R. What would you say this would relate to if we're talking late 90's, early 00's bikes; the 400cc grey imports of our youth but with more of everything for useability?

I love the look of this bike, but I think the RS660 is probably worth the extra £2k Hopefully the R9 comes out before I’m looking to buy a middleweight sportsbike next year.

2:00 Unfortunately India not listed

Great vid… at 24.5 BHP I can access 100% of my Himalayan’s power and still be legal. 😂

Yamaha did not need to make the ergonomics set up the same as a bike that is only for track use, not for daily use. Any honest review where the rider gets on a highway for 30 minutes or more comes back to say they have pain in wrists, back and legs. While Yamaha made the bike look the part of a faux race superbike, it skimped on the minimum power to emulate a sporty motorbike (~90 hp-120hp). Its not "a pretty entertaining ride" unless this is your 2nd bike after Honda Grom or a moped. The Aprilia RS660 was a much better design for a sporty bike also comfortable for everyday use . Unfortunately it also has Italian reliability

How can they rip off the R7 !? Such an iconic bike in WSB back in the day. A twin in a "sportsbike" !? I'll pass

I get the lower power levels, but I don't get the point of a sport bike with a twin. For me, a sport bike has got to have that 4 cyl howl.

Hi Bob, I think they really should have either put an inline four in, or called it something different. Mainly due to the iconic and rare original R7, but also it the name suggests full on sport bike, but it obviously is not. Maybe MT-07r, or MT7r or something would have been a better name for it. Great bike regardless!

it is only 70hp it don't need no tech, abs is fine

For a R7 to be a decent bike you need fork cartridges plus shock. If not, they are crap.

Beautiful machine. One day

cbr 650r would be its main competitor

No the Aprilia 660 is thr perfect middleweight imo.

Always Remember : Electrification is not the future

R15V4 INDIAN

Get an rs660..

Just need 1 Motor cycle that can do everything.. Not this one.

Yamaha ha ha ha. I'm waiting on the Hornet.

okay.. yea i agree on everything you said about this bike .. but im sorry i dont like it .. it just feels so slow i was expecting more horsepower than the previews YAMAHa R6 but .. anyways . no thanks i dont like it

i cannot imagine a sports bike with a clunky gearbox like my Tenere 700. its terrible. upshifs hurt my foot if i dont wear boots 🙄

less tech the better

Buy a used r6

Shame about the budget suspension, shame Yamaha. They say on their website R1 DNA what a load on BS. Never believe anything Yamaha says, total blight on the brand. I mean they use damper rod in the forks, my bicycle have better tech in the forks than that.

Calling the R7 a sport bike is like calling a trans woman a woman.... It's not, but we should not hurt it's feelings.... The las R7 had titanium parts inside the engine and was a legendary bike, this is a cheap "we need more profit", fuck the consumer..... R6 is where yamaha should have stuck with, we do not need any more 2 cylinder tractors.... But hey.... It's where the economy is going....

Uninspiring engine.

The R7 does nothing for me. I'd go for an RS or Tuono 660.

Nah my ZX-6R will eat this alive and it’s still pretty good for the street torque wise.

the worst middleweight. it's just so unessasaraly slow. like throw atleast something in the 95ish+ hp range. why sacrifice all the discomfort of a sport bike but then not have the actual benefits of a sport bike that make you forget the negatives. jack of many trades master att none.