MT-03

[Jodie]

Been looking at these a fair bit and wondered if anyone has had one and would recommend one of these?

They don't seem to get mentioned much on here. I know they aren't the fastest and seem quite pricey compared to other 600's+, but I think they are lovely to look at.

I don't want a really fast bike, I don't trust myself. I just want one that is capable of passing cars without much effort etc.

Wanting to tour a bit when I get more experience, will it be ok for that ?

Other options are Gladius and ER-6.

[Parp]

The MT-03 is top of my wish list as well. I think that it looks superb.

[Imonster]

They're a lot of fun round town, and on the twisties (proper nasty B road stuff). I don't really like the vibey single for extended dual carriage way work, or motorways though so depending on what kind of touring you're doing they might not be ideal.

ER6's are fun too, and may be more suited to your requirements.
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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

[Jodie]

Thanks for the replies,

We ride mainly around countryside which it should be great for, but would also like to be able to do Oxford to Yorkshire comfortably too.

It's a pain really as being restricted, I can't take any for test rides

[Alex A]

"We ride"?

I wouldn't buy one as a two up bike. Otherwise, I'm sure it'll do everything you want.

Craig had one recently - worth a pm?
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Current: Ducati Panigale R / Ducati Streetfighter S / Suzuki GSX-R1000 L5

[Jodie]

[G]

If you specifically want a slow heavy bike, might as well, seem good enough.

Otherwise, the Suzuki (consider the SV too, can get them for a fair bit less for the older ones) or ER6 generally seems a better bet.

Of course it depends what speed you want to be passing cars at. The big singles do tend to be running out puff at motorway/a road speeds.

[DOGFACED]

Got one. Great fun on the twisties. Ridden it two up.
Mine currently restricted. Got to be sold unfortunately.
IF you want a bargain then mine is what your looking for...
Didn't test ride mine before I bought it. Haven't regretted it.
Went from R6 to this was initially ready to throw the bike in any nearby hedge but once I took the bike for what it offers...Radically different to what I am used to was mint.
Thats it in a nutshell.
PM for more information
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A2 License...................Order of Wheels:
Piaggio Ape50 . '04 Derbi GPR50 . '01 TW125 . '97 GSXR400 . Sexy 2001 R6 . '58 MT-03
Current: . Husqvarna TE410 . RGV250. Ducati 600ss.

[Alex A]

[Peterthepillo...]

Had one as a first bike, bought it for it's looks but it seemed very torquey and I never had any trouble passing. Seemed to pull very well, better than the Bandit I replaced it with.
Sadly wrote it off into a tree when two up so perhaps unless your pillion is a size zero best to be careful.
We are both fat bastards and I suppose the poor little thing was a bit overloaded.
But it did look lovely.
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A passage broad, smooth, easy, inoffensive down to hell.

[SirEdward]

MT-01 is the way to go.

It's like an R1 with a diesel engine.

Yamaha MT-01 Night ride...

MT-01 Burnout

https://www.raptorsandrockets.com/images/Yamaha/Yamaha_MT_01_r.JPG
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"Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

Pardot Kynes in "Appendix I: The Ecology of Dune""

[Jodie]

Very nice Sir Edward, 1670 cc Kinell man, only ride a 125, fastest I've had is almsost 70 and that was downhill

Thanks Peter for the positive, fortunately I'm no porker so it should be ok. Will keep that in mind though no fatties on t'back & don't go near trees, cheers

Cheers Dogface, might go sit on a few at the weekend, see which feels right. So might be interested, but stick a link up to an advert if you've got one, love a nosey at peoples bikes.

G, didn't realise it's quite heavy, not good as I'm a weed. The Gladius feels really comfy but does look a tad gay, although saw one with a different exhaust recently and it looked a lot better.

[Parp]

I had a seat on one today at Ride On in Glasgow. They say they do not sell many, which £1500 off list price is surprising.

The seat was lovely and wide and I liked the squat stance of the bike and sit up position. It would need a screen added to keep the wind blast off the chest. Aftermarket would be the way to go as the fly screen is tiny.

Definitely No 1 on my list of bikes to get.

[Capt Castle]

I put a Puig screen on mine. Made a massive difference. Cumbria to Oxford on the motorway was fine and the twisties around the lakes are top fun on it.

However, I am planning on changing mine for something with a little more horse and some panniers/luggage options. We're planning some long distance trips and the 03, while awesome fun, doesn't fit the bill. I do have a feeling that getting rid of it will turn out to be one of them things I end up regretting.
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Bikes: GZ125>CBR125>Yamaha MT03>Triumph Sprint ST 955i
CBT: 06/06/08 DAS:14/07/09

[craigs23]

I had one for a while, hoping for a 'more comfy DRZ'. It sort of ticked the boxes and was a bit of a laugh, but not as much fun long term as I'd hoped.

Reasonably practical and frugal to run - I even did a 200 miles motorway trip when running the thing in and seemed comfy enough (albeit at 70mph or so). A lot of fun racing through snarled up motorway traffic, with the exhaust popping and farting to let people know I was coming through, even remember racing against an Ambulance a couple of lanes over at one time... (they were cheating by using their sirens to carve a path through)...

Suspension and brakes are of reasonable quality and suitable for back road work/country lanes, where the bike felt best. Very good around town too, although not as easy to dart around traffic as my DRZ was and the seat was a little lower, so visibility over the top of cars wasn't at the same level either. The wide bars put you in a half pressup stance, which is fine most of the time, but limits filtering quite a bit, as the bars are pretty much the same height as car mirrors, and very wide too. There is also absolutely no weather protection what so ever as standard. Which is fine in the middle of summer - but was one of the reasons I sold the bike last November.

I didn't get much more than 95 out of mine when I had it, which was fine for keeping me out of trouble, but pretty much the same speed as the DRZ (96 ducked behind the screen, throttle on the stop). Don't buy one if you're after something that carries a constant speed - they're much more suitable to NSL twisty back roads where squirts of power and corner cutting are key to good progress, rather than faster, smoother A-road work.

Build quality was pretty good, although I've heard that this isn't consistent across all examples. The front downpipes and the oil sump are susceptible to the elements and required a bit of effort to keep tidy. The rest of the bike has some nice details on it, the finish on the saddle and handle bar areas being nicely put together. Then again, they are pretty expensive for what they are.

Although they sound awesome with aftermarket cans, I eventually sold my Arrows as they proved to be not-so-waterproof when riding in the rain - only bike in a long time that's given me a wet arse...

Overall, they're pretty cool - I do like some of the earlier two tone/pinstripe paint jobs some models had and there are quite a few deals out there for new models at the moment.

I'm not sure I'd buy another though - all in all, I preferred my DRZ. What it lacked in practicalities it easily made up for in overall fun factor and useability. Even though it was down by 10bhp or so in the power stakes, I ended up riding it at pretty much the same speed from A-B - not taking into account that 200 mile motorway trip that is...

[NewbRider15]

My dad has an mt-03 he loves it. If its from a 125 to this, thats not a bad plan.
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Now on - 1986 Kawasaki ZL400 Eliminator (33bhp restricted)
Own - 2009 Huatian HT50QT-25 Scooter

[Cheeseybeaner]

Yamaha's prices seem ridiculous, the list price for that bike is unbelievably 7.5k!
I can't believe there are people willing to pay 13k for their new 'super tenere' either. How can it possibly be worth that kind of money? Who would want to buy the japanese version of the bmw precursor anyway for 2 grand more?

[Parp]

£6.3 k if you shop around and Ride on is doing them for £5.2 k.

[Cheeseybeaner]

[craigs23]

I got mine for a little over £4.5k, which I thought was pretty pricey.

£7k+ is ridiculous.

If you're after one, get one second hand.

[Jodie]

A good, helpful write up cheers Craig, agree totally though, so so pricey, it's getting ridiculous.

Had a good read up on them all last night, the MT is 25kg less than the others too, which is a fair bit of difference for me.

Swings and roundabouts though, they all have their advantages and Kawasaki has 0% for 3 years and seen some er6's at just over 4 grand new (pre reg).

Love the look of the Versys too, they have a good write up but unfortunately my legs aren't long enough

[G]

ER6 is claimed to be only 9kg more than the MT03, both wet - or so Visor Down says.

[Jodie]

[G]

Probably a dry weight, the Yamaha website actually says 192.4, making it even closer:
https://www.yamaha-motor.co.uk/uk/products/motorcycles/mt-series/mt-03.aspx?view=techspecs

That's the thing with it, if it was like the KTM duke, which comes in with a no-fuel weight of 154kg or so I think and makes 63hp, it'd make a lot more sense to me.
As it is, it weighs almost as much as the twins that make a lot more power, seemingly offering few benefits. So one of those bikes that only really seem to make sense if they are massively cheaper than the opposition.

[Jodie]