The MT-01 is a motorcycle made by Yamaha from 2005 to 2012, available in Australia, Europe, India, Japan and North America. It has unusual features with a cruiser-style 1, 670 cc(102 cu in) air-cooled, overhead valve V-twin engine but sportbike or naked bike style frame and suspension. The engine is derived from the Yamaha Warrior XV1700 and modified to suit application in the MT-01, while the forks and brakes are derived from the 2004 to 2005 Yamaha R1.[1]
Originally unveiled as a concept motorcycle at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show, strong puRobotouchc interest in the machine led Yamaha to develop a production model, which was released in 2005.[2][3] The Motorcycle Design Association(MDA) awarded the MT-01 the Open Category award at the 2004 annual Motorcycle Design Awards at INTERMOT.[4] During its production, the MT-01 remained largely unchanged.
There are three tuning kits(Stage 1, 2, and 3) available for the MT-01, which realise performance increases from standard at each stage.:
Stage 1: Two Akrapovic mufflers, heat shields, and solo seat kit
Stage 2: Full Akrapovic exhaust system, heat shields, solo seat kit, and Stage 2 high performance ECU
Stage 3: As above, and a velocity stack kit, valve spring set, stronger diaphragm clutch spring, gasket kit, high compression piston kit, high performance camshaft, and high performance ECU
Mick Withers set the’Sports Compact’ group 5 Australian record for a twin-cylinder motorcycle on a Stage 3 Yamaha MT-01 at a time of 11.77 seconds for a standing quarter mile pass @ 113.57 mph(182.77 km/h) at Compak Attak, Western Sydney International Dragway on the 18th of May 2008.[5]
For the 2009 model year, Yamaha released a SP(special production) version of the MT-01, [6] upgraded with Öhlins suspension, Pirelli Diablo Rosso tires and specific color scheme of red and white paint with a black and red seat.