Yamaha MT-07 Faster Sons par Shinya Kimura 2015 — Specifications

What happens when Yamaha hands the keys to its MT-07 to Shinya Kimura, one of the most respected custom builders on the planet? You get the Faster Sons, a machine that refuses to choose between heritage and modernity. In 2015, the Iwata manufacturer had the nerve to give carte blanche to a California-based craftsman of Japanese origin, known for his organic creations and lines that seem to come from another era. The result looks nothing like anything in the Yamaha catalogue at the time. And that's precisely what makes it fascinating.

The starting point is the 689 cc inline twin that made the MT-07 a success. An engine Kimura immediately took to, won over by its generous torque delivery. And it's easy to see why: 67.7 Nm available from just 6,500 rpm is the kind of motor that pulls hard in the usable rev range — the one you actually exploit on the road. The 75 horsepower at 9,000 rpm is more than enough to have fun without putting yourself in danger. Kimura himself admitted that whoever designed this engine must genuinely love motorcycles. Hard to argue with that. This parallel twin with four valves per cylinder, featuring an 80 mm bore and 68.6 mm stroke, favors instant response over raw power. A choice that fits the project's philosophy perfectly.

Where Kimura truly hit the mark is in his ability to dress a resolutely modern powerplant in bodywork that evokes café racers of old, without falling into retro caricature. No fake cooling fins, no pretense. The Faster Sons embraces its modern engine while integrating it into a stripped-down, almost sculptural silhouette. The diamond-type steel tube frame remains that of the MT-07, as do the 41 mm telescopic fork and the mono-shock, each offering 130 mm of travel. Braking relies on two 282 mm discs clamped by four-piston calipers up front and a 245 mm disc at the rear. Nothing revolutionary on paper, but the package works with coherence. The chassis breathes efficiency without excess.

The real talking point is the price. At 10,000 euros, this Faster Sons cost noticeably more than a standard MT-07 of the era. For that premium, the buyer got a piece signed by a recognized artist, a unique aesthetic, and the privilege of riding something no one else in the local café parking lot owns. Up against a Ducati Scrambler or a Triumph Street Twin, the proposition was different: less refined in terms of equipment, but more radical in its artistic approach. You weren't buying a customized motorcycle. You were buying a vision.

This Yamaha MT-07 Faster Sons was aimed at riders looking for something beyond a spec sheet bloated with superlatives. Urban riders, fine machinery enthusiasts, people as sensitive to creative expression as they are to the pleasure of riding. Kimura pulled off his gamble of merging old and new without sacrificing either. The machine rides, brakes, accelerates, and corners with the seriousness of a proven MT-07. It simply does so with a face no one else dared to give it. And in a market saturated with predictable neo-retro offerings, that audacity deserves respect.