…play with a new toy
As my bike is in for a service, I have been given a brand new, yes brand new with 000002 miles on the clock, courtesy Yamaha MT-03 to play with. First impressions are good, but while it should really being run in properly, it was born to be a demo bike for the dealer, so all i need to care today and tomorrow is that the tyres are scrubbed in before leaning it massive, also considering that the weather is a bit “spitty” and the tarmac a mix of wet & dry…
The bike has the exact same engine as the Yamaha’s XT660X & R this engine but it featured a rather unusual exhaust system: 2 headers coming out of the engine joined again into one and ending up into a sqare box under the pillion seat and back out in 2 massive pipes at the back just under the grab rails.
It has a rather nice swingarm with a shock fitted to the left hand between swingarm and mainframe.
The engine is well tuned and there are none of the surging issues which many of us have experienced with our stock XTX’s before changing cans, fitting k&n filters and power commanders, there is a huge rear sprocket at the back and the bike has some serious torque, a massive midrange pull is felt in all the gear changes, top speed should be just under 100mph, but probably with some trickery more can be achieved, one thing is for sure the bike pulls away at the lights very quickly you would think you are riding a much bigger bike. it is well balanced and quite light, though there are 2 nags i found so far, the neutral light, dipped light, fuel light and indicator lights are way to dim, and it are just difficult to notice in day light. The other nag (and I don’t believe I would hear myself saying this), but even for me that i am quite short this bike feels a tad too low!!!.
However it is a great fun bike, as a streetfighter it looks proper and it handles very well the front suspension is still very stiff, but that could be due to the fact that the bike is brand spannking, and the brakes are very progressive and you can really bet your money on their stopping power.
I am sure this week I shall have some real fun on it especially on Sunday for the St. George’s ride, as soon as the tyres are scrabbed I am looking forward to put it through some punishment, Capt-style 
here are some shots, by the way I don’t like the colour but i had no choice in the matter.
