Yamaha MT-07 vs Honda CB650R: Which Should You Buy?

These two affordable middleweight nakeds are a great choice for your first big bike - but which one is the best? I spent a day riding them at Superbike Factory at Donington to find out.

(Full disclosure - they sponsor our YouTube channel. But they don’t tell me what to say about the bikes).

 

1. ENGINE

In a market with A LOT of twins, the Honda stands out with its inline-4 that delivers a fair bit more top end power than the competition (94hp vs the 74hp of the MT-07). It’s nice and smooth and can certainly deliver some fun if you properly wind it up.

But at road legal speeds, owing to a stronger midrange and snappy throttle response, the MT-07 delivers more all-round thrills and so for me it’s the pick of the two. It's much more entertaining than the spec sheet would suggest and loves to pop the front end up, even if you merely glance at the throttle.

Yamaha 1 - 0 Honda

 

2. SOUND

A great sounding bike goes a long way towards a happy union between rider and machine, and both bikes have their merits when it comes to tickling the eardrums.

The MT-07 has its crossplane crank (or 270-degree crank) that gives it a mean growl, but the stock exhaust system brings the volume waaaaayyyyy down to sub-fun levels. The Honda delivers more bass and some lively rasps upon application of the throttle, and so it earns a point in this section.

Yamaha 1 - 1 Honda

You can hear both bikes for yourself in the YouTube video that accompanies this piece at around the 2:22 mark:

 

3. HANDLING

The MT-07 is much lighter (-23kg) than the CB650R at 179kg wet, but it feels more like it's built-to-a-budget with fairly basic suspension and brakes that just do the job.

The Honda on the other hand gets a 41mm Showa Separate Function fork, and radially mounted Nissin front brake calipers, both of which make up for the extra heft. The ride is better, it stops better, and so again it takes the point.

Yamaha 1 - 2 Honda

 

4. COMFORT

On paper these bikes are pretty similar ergonomically, with a seat height that's only 5mm apart. But the MT-07 felt notably more cramped when riding, with less room between the saddle and pegs, and narrower bars that felt just a little too narrow. The CB650R felt completely natural to me and as a middleweight naked should - everything just falls into the right place.

Neither is set up for long distance slogs, but if I had to I'd choose the CB all day.

Yamaha 1 - 3 Honda

 

5. TECH

The MT-07 I was riding on the day was a 2015 model which was available in both ABS and non-ABS versions, and mine was a non which brings the tally of tech features right down to zero. There's an LCD dash but they're probably cheaper to make than an analogue one now anyway.

The CB on the other hand gets switchable "torque control" (Honda's unnecessary proprietary name for everyone else's traction control), LED lighting, ABS, an emergency brake light feature, and on the bike I was riding a quickshifter on the upshift. So this one's easy - it's the Honda that takes the point again.

I will add a caveat though, which is that the simplicity of the MT-07 and lack of rider aids contribute to it being such a hoot to ride.

Yamaha 1 - 4 Honda

 

6. STYLING

The CB650R is a much better looking bike both in terms of the shapes and lines, and the level of finish and detail. The MT-07, especially this iteration, is a bit generic and seems less well put together. No contest! Another point to the Honda!

Yamaha 1 - 5 Honda

 

7. PRICE

It's difficult to directly compare the two bikes I was riding, because the MT-07 (~£5.5k) was a 2015 model, and the CB650R (~£6.5k) was a 2019. They were on a similar mileage of about 2,000 but the Honda was in better condition.

I've had a look through the stock on the Superbike Factory website and generally I'd say you can pick up an MT for a little less in equivalent condition, so I'll hand it the point here.

Yamaha 2 - 5 Honda

 

8. VERDICT

It might seem like a walkover for the Honda (5 points to the Yamaha’s 2), but the problem with my ill-conceived format is that it assigns equal weighting to each category. In the real world, I don't really care about tech or long range comfort on a budget friendly little ripper, but I do care about it being loads of fun. And so for that reason, despite the Honda being more refined and better equipped and better looking and better finished and better at basically everything, I'd still choose the Yamaha.

 
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