anime , colourful cos-players , and freaky fetishistic outfits . This dark-side focus does seem to offer a more ‘ bad-boy-biker ’ vibe , and Yamaha has not shied away from taking some of that creative element to shape the new MT offerings . The excitement was contagious , and a wander amongst the new offerings prompted questions to arise . The first , how were they able to sell these new bikes at the price they were offered at , and still make a buck ? Fortunately , that is not my problem ; mine was to clamber aboard and test ride them . A situation that my fellow journos and I revelled in , at Beachlands Marina bright and early next morning . More food and coffee of course , and then a route was mapped out that would allow us to trial some straights , some coastal wiggles , some tight stuff and enough distance to get the feel for each weapon . A 45km loop through Maraetai , Clevedon , Twilight Rd to Brookby , Whitford , and back to the marina , with a stop for notes , water , etc , on five different bikes .
MT-07 LA I started on the smallest and ( to me ) least exciting , but a bestseller nonetheless , it had less than a km on the clock . Brand new tyres , wet , cold roads , and fire-breathing journos ready to rip ; caution was called for . I ’ ll start by saying that all the bikes tested were uniformly well finished and presented , and the level of professionalism by Dinesh and other Yamaha staff was exceptional all day . The MT07 LA , is a lams twin of 655cc
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