What does the automatic bike offer? Well the basic stuff is that it has no clutch or gear lever. It’s a bike that simply uses the power or lack of in the throttle to determine the gear you are in.
But of course there is so much more – a switch so that with the flick of a finger forwards or backwards you can manually change your gears if you wish, even whilst in automatic mode. Two automatic modes, D and D+ which I’ll go into. Also the ability to stay in manual transmission and only use the bike as a geared bike – using that switch of course. And a little bit of luxury – with cruise control.
Flitwick Motorcycles very thoughtfully arranged a circuitous route to the Oakley Motorcycle Club night, for myself and the other five riders trying out the range, led by one of their team, Paul. It took in some lovely countryside with sweeping bends which tightened up nicely with a few sharp turns, dual carriageway, town work and a fair few roundabouts. This gave me the opportunity to put the MT07 through its paces.
So what did I think?
To start the bike the sidestand must be up and the bike in neutral and then just hit the start button. To make the bike go you simply flick the bike into 1st gear (the finger switch is on the left of the handlebars and conveniently situated so your forefinger doesn’t have to travel far. Once I was ready to go I tested the throttle with a little twist and this little bike pulled away, eager to go. A very quick and responsive throttle.
As I pulled away and up to the roundabout I was amused to see the gear indicator going up as I moved along the road and then down as I approached the roundabout. Personally you’d have to be pretty deaf not to hear the gears thumping through either. It’s a tad clunky sounding especially when pulling away in first gear – but this is the budget version bike so am sure it will be smoothed out as more bells and whistles are added to models.
I won’t lie – it was initially very disconcerting not to have a clutch as I automatically wanted to pull it in for my slow work but by the time I’d been riding about 20 mins I was finding it very useful indeed not to have to think about it. You just concentrate on approaching roundabouts and turns and it’s quite liberating not having to divert your attention to anything else.
In the D-mode the bike pootles along – if this was your first big bike I can see why you’d enjoy it, but working as Marketing Manager for White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors I always ride my MT09 Tracer, so the 07 did feel a bit tame which is understandable with that smaller engine. With smaller engines you do need to wring their necks to get going up hills – and I’m not too old to recall the fun of that
When I hit the twisties I found the down side to the D mode. As an engine braker I roll off for corners and don’t need back brake unless I’ve really misjudged it! The bike felt really odd and when I looked at my dash I discovered it was trying to take my corners in 5th gear. Rolling off just wasn’t making those gears drop quickly enough. Initially I was forced to brake mid-corner to force the bike to get down to a reasonable 3rd gear but then of course the power wasn’t there. Thankfully it was at this point I remembered that gear switch and how to use it, which worked well as I could force it to go up and down prior to the bend without having to use the brakes.
Fortunately when we stopped for a break and I relayed this to David Linsdell, who owns Flitwick Motorcycles and was Tail End Charlie on the ride, he concurred and told me he prefers to ride in D+ mode which is more receptive. So I gave that a whirl on the way home. And it’s like riding another bike!
Sooooo much more fun. The D+ range keeps the bike in lower revs and is far less sedate for country roads giving you the power and smoothness you need to flow through those bends far more safely. In town I found that mode was too racy – the bike wants to stay in low gear and those revs are very vibey at 4k in 2nd when it should have flowed quickly up to 3rd gear like it does in D mode.
However as soon as you flick the gear switch to what you need, the bike settles down nice and quiet. I will say that means there’s a lot more finger flicking to compensate in this mode. But, since I like gears I’m not complaining. If this was my bike I’d not hesitate to stay in D when in town then switch to D+ as soon as I hit country roads and bends. Incidentally you don’t have to be stopped to move between the modes – just roll off the revs completely.
On the dual carriageways I tried that lovely invention of cruise control – and wondered what on earth I should do with my right hand!
It’s very relaxing and allows you to stretch or alternate hands and give yourself a rest. It’s a left handed control for this and gives you the option to set it and either return to the same speed if you’ve braked and it cuts off, or to reset it completely. I found it made the dual carriageway less work which makes it an ideal feature if you’re doing long journeys or on roads were there’s not much action. Definitely worth it.
Build wise this little bike seems pretty solid. The colour scheme I rode was called Ice storm and is light grey with bright blue wheels. It’s a fun combination. It’s also available in a deeper blue and of course a beautiful and very stylish black. The front, like a lot of modern bikes, has that Transformer look to it and with the central light has an added touch of the Cyclops. I wasn’t riding at night so not sure what the levels of lighting are like.
There’s no screen at all but on the dual carriageway I didn’t feel any excessive buffeting of my body or helmet. The brakes work well and will have you stopping when and where you want – can’t ask for more than that.
You could spend all day playing with the dash. It’s clear and bright and comes with different templates for you to choose from on how you want things to be displayed which adds to a personalised feel for your bike. For the test I kept it on a simple one with a higher focus on revs.
The MT07 has a seat height of 805mm. I am 5ft 6 with a 30.5” inside leg measurement – so not a shorty by any means. But given the wide seats on most motorcycles I lose quite a few inches and usually end up on tip toes. I’m not one for bum shuffling every time I want to stop so I’ve had my Tracer, which was originally 845mm, lowered, also bought the low-seat, and use it on the lowest setting yet despite all that I can only get about 3/4s of each foot down.
On this ride out I was the only rider who couldn’t flat foot their bike. But the seat is fairly narrow (and actually quite comfortable), so as I could get 3/4s of each foot down I did feel happy. (If you’re a shorty and wear the Daytona M or LadyStar boots with the increased internal height, which I need when I use the higher seat, you won’t have to worry with this bike about getting your gear lever adjusted so your boot will fit! – IYKYK!).
Add in a weight of 186kg and I found the bike lightweight and manageable to manoeuvre too.
So what didn’t I like?
If you haven’t learnt how to use your pegs and get your bum off your seat you soon will as you’ll notice that when you hit the worst of the bumps the suspension really does feel like you rather than the bike are absorbing them.
But I actually found there’s very little to dislike with the MT07 – yes it has a clunky gearbox and its suspension is harsh, but neither of these are deal breakers especially bearing in mind that I feel this model is gen 1 and may be a lower entry level.
And a quick check on the specs shows that the rear shock has some adjustment if one knows (unlike me!) what one is doing.
I think this little bike has a big place in the market. If you’re suffering from arthritis in your hands and feet, or perhaps have other injuries such as partial paralysis, or just don’t like gears as they do make heavy work in traffic, then this bike may appeal with lots to offer like cruise control. Considering the AMT is just £350 more then the normal manual transmission version that’s quite a lot you get for that money. It’s a nippy little thing, and apart from those just beginning their big bike life I think it will also greatly appeal to riders who just don’t want or need a bigger bike.
Yes – I do like the automatic gears – (it takes the pressure off working the clutch and allows for a relaxed ride) – with the key point of added ability to switch to manually changing the gears if the automatic doesn’t quite give you what you want. The combination is a good one.
My thanks to the team at Flitwick Motorcycles for inviting me to test ride their MT07 Y-AMT. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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