Kiwi Rider July Vol.2 2023 | Page 49

settings in place . While we ’ re on that , the Yamaha YDX Moro-07 and future models will be available via Yamaha motorcycle dealers across the country , as opposed to traditional cycle shops , so you get to check out e-power and petrol-power options at the same visit . Being a regular at Woodhill on my own assist and analog bikes , I had the Moro-07 long enough to take it out on three occasions and got to put it through most of the tracks out there . The Moro-07 ergo ’ s feel good with a comfortable rider triangle between bars , seat and pedals and the Yamaha seat offered good grip . The steering is very responsive and there ’ s great grip from the Maxxis 2.6in tyres whether climbing steep tracks or on fast downhill berms . Yamaha has spec ’ d them well for the bike , with a burly Minion DHF at the front for great cornering and descending grip , while the Maxxis Rekon at the back is faster rolling . The Rockshox suspension also works well for typical trail riding and easily soaked up the hard and fast rooty downhills I threw it at . The four-piston Magura brakes are also very good and the levers are shaped for easy single-finger
control .
BATTERY RANGE Hill climbing is a breeze with that 85Nm motor and it ’ s easy to pop wheelies over obstacles . The standard plastic pedals are grippier than I ’ d expected and I found my shoes holding firm , even over jumps . As expected , battery range came down to how much assist was dialled in or how much steep climbing was in the ride . For a pretty hard ride with plenty of climbs in Auto Support , I found I ’ d use over 50 % charge on a 20km ride . Ride more XC style tracks in Standard assist and I think there ’ s far more range to be had per charge .
WEIGHTY MATTER While there are lighter e-bikes out there these days , I have no problem with the weight of the YDX Moro-07 ( as with my own bike ). It provides a very planted and smooth feel over undulating and quite harsh ground vs a more twitchy experience on a lightweight analog bike . And how did the Moro-07 compare to my own e-bike ? It ’ s not really fair to compare suspension as , being more enduro focused , my own ride
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