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400km initial review


Lookiel

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Greetings all!

I just picked up my T7 a few days ago and put 400kms on the bike so figured I’d post a little review as I’ve benefited from all the posters on this forum.

 

The engine is very smooth and pulls nicely. I’m coming off a Kawa Z900RS 4 cylinder with 112hp so the feel is very different. For the first few kms I thought it felt a little underpowered but that changed after getting a feel for the throttle and power delivery. Now I have to say I really like it! Sure, a few more horses and pounds of torque would be nice, but for my kind of riding the CP2 is enough and a good bit of fun!

The handling surprised me! Feels very neutral and quite agile, very stable at reasonable speeds (up to 160km per hour), just a tad less nimble above 90-100 kph than my Z900RS but that’s to be expected. 

I’m not an off road rider, never had a dirt bike, but I do a lot of mountain biking for what it’s worth, and when I took the T7 on gravel roads I was impressed by it’s confidence inspiring planted feel. Way better than my purely street oriented Kawasaki! Hoping to get a lot more kms off the pavement and improve my skills.

Stock tires are surprising on pavement, not missing any grip, very nice!

The ergos are great for me, I’m a tad over 6ft tall and sitting feels extremely natural, standing is good but the bars are a tad low, better in attack mode with a bit of flex in the arms and legs, maybe I’ll put some risers but that’s to be seen down the road.

Maybe I’m in the minority but I find the stock seat very comfy, drove for about 3 hours out of the dealer and never had any discomfort, could have done another 2-3 hours no prob! 

Lighting is very nice, the headlight is bright and the high beam is incredible, it does wiggle a bit on bumps, but no biggie.

 

Niggles:

-wish the bike had an adjustable clutch lever, feel that the friction point is too far away from the bar

-the toggle switch for the display on the throttle side is stupid, should be on the other side!

-in Canada the bike comes with huge orange 80’s style blinkers, those have to go! C’mon Yamaha!

-needs grips pads on the sides because gripping the tank with the knees while standing is slippery.

-throttle had a ton of freeplay, had to adjust that but was easy, much better now.

-clutch lever cover is slightly intrusive, not really noticeable with shoes but present with boots.

-the windscreen is just the right height to throw turbulence at my head, I’m used to it so no big deal but a shorter or taller screen would be better.

-For me I would much prefer a tubeless setup, I dread a puncture and the tube deflating. My mountain bikes have been tubeless for the last 10 years, can’t really understand why a motorcycle would have tubes in 2020 (except pure off road bikes).

 

Plans:

Led blinkers and tail tidy. Maybe a 14 tooth front sprocket. Better hand guards. Crash bars. A stronger shock spring as I’m near the preload max at 220 pounds suited up. Hopefully an Akra slip on down the road. That’s pretty much it for now.

 

So all in all I’m very happy, the bike feels very planted in all conditions so far, it’s much better than the Z900RS on bad pavement (we have a ton of that in Quebec! Like grass growing in cracks bad!). And when I’m ripping twisty undulating roads it’s a hoot and the closest I’ve felt to riding a Star Wars land speeder!!! It floats above the terrain while still feeling very connected to the road. 

 

Hope this helps someone!

 

Edited by Lookiel
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Great review @Lookiel

 

The clutch lever is adjustable at the bars for sure and you can get different levers if that helps (MT-07 fits).

 

If you get engine case protectors (R&G or others), you end up taking off the clutch lever protection thing and that helps a lot with it hitting your righ-hand calf in boots.

 

I've got a 90nm spring in mine from Rally Raid (I'm 90kg). Makes a massive positive difference and easy to then get the right static/race sag with only a few clicks of preload rather than 22 out of 24 clicks.

 

Agree stock tyres are ace on the pavement, despite what others say. Been to the edge no problem and they feel as good as road tyres. 

 

Cheers

Rich

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Cool, thanks for the info!

How many clicks of preload are you running now?  Just yourself with no gear.

I’m hesitating between the 85 and the 90 Nm springs

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13 hours ago, Lookiel said:

the closest I’ve felt to riding a Star Wars land speeder!!! It floats above the terrain while still feeling very connected to the road. 

 

 

Love it!

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56 minutes ago, Lookiel said:

Cool, thanks for the info!

How many clicks of preload are you running now?  Just yourself with no gear.

I’m hesitating between the 85 and the 90 Nm springs

@Rich TT could answer that but he needs a tag so he gets notified... I'm on 90nm spring and weigh a bit more 104kg, 3 or 4 clicks to get the sag right.

Aleks 

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1 hour ago, Lookiel said:

Cool, thanks for the info!

How many clicks of preload are you running now?  Just yourself with no gear.

I’m hesitating between the 85 and the 90 Nm springs

Only around 4 or 5 from fully wound out (minimal preload). Completely different from the original spring. Now both race and static sag are spot on with just those few clicks. 

 

I'd go for the 90 knowing your weight.

 

Cheers

Rich

Edited by Rich TT
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4 minutes ago, Aleksandar13 said:

@Rich TT could answer that but he needs a tag so he gets notified... I'm on 90nm spring and weigh a bit more 104kg, 3 or 4 clicks to get the sag right.

Aleks 

Answered @Aleksandar13

 

Cheers

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