They say good things come in small packages, but this bike certainly negates this statement. Take the 1670 cc, air-cooled, torque-monster engine from Yamaha’s Warrior power cruiser, surround it with a sporty and light aluminum frame, massive male-slider forks, radial front brake calipers, underseat exhausts and a sporting riding position, and you’ve got the MT-01. MT stands for Mega Torque. This needs little explanation, but Yamaha does not leave it at that. It describes this 1,670cc V-twin brontosaurus according to a Japanese concept called ‘kodo’. This translates as ‘pulse,’ ’sound that resonates within the mind and body’. And it sure does.

It does not look quite as radical on the road as it did at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1999.The MT-01 is completely dominated by the engine. Both visually and structurally. And the riding experience is the same. The 1670cc vee twin is simply astonishing to look at and ride. You will end up ogling at it for hours at end, marveling at the beauty of those cooling fins and the massive V. The serpentine writhings of the exhaust emerge in a faintly sinister way before disappearing again to exit in the two massive silencers either side of the seat.

The tank is conventional enough. Instrumentation is unlikely to tax even the most dedicated technophobe, consisting as it does of a large and clear analogue tacho sweeping around a circular dial with a digital speedo in the bottom quarter.

The digital section also houses a clock and trip meters. The whole thing is very pleasingly backlit with an unusual soft white light. Perhaps the most distinctive feature is the headlight unit that consists of two lights of different diameters, one above the other. Head on, there is nothing that compares with this.

Enough on the static things, time to ride the beast.  It’ll be no surprise to know that the engine makes its presence felt very clearly. Even at idle, massive pulses of raw power shuddering the frame and rider. The clutch is light and sensitive and the gearbox, though clunky, is slick enough. Pulling away is not an issue with zillion amount of torque at hand and most of it comes in pretty early, given that MT 01 redlines at 5500 rpm, and the bike immdiately becomes light. Once at proper speeds, the bike changes direction easily and responds positively to pressure through the pegs. As you pick up the pace, the bike feels a lot more stable, the brakes are brilliant, and you feel out of the five gears, the last two gears are not required. Overtaking is a matter of twisting your right wrist ever so slightly and this is enough to demolish your target and leave it with rubbing eyes due to the dust kicked up by the 190 rear! 

                       
In city driving, it’s narrow enough to filter through traffic without too much trouble, quick enough to demolish anything else off the lights and big/brash enough to get noticed. Though I must mention, taking a u-turn on our streets and narrow roads will take some amount of practice. Indeed, getting noticed is something that anyone riding this bike, needs to get used to and fast. People ogle at it moving or standing still and the look in their eyes says it all, “What the Hell is this”?? The commuter bikes and the general two wheeled traffic surrounds you at every redlight, asking all sorts of questions, including the ubiquitous “Bhai Sahab, Average Kya hai!”

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the MT-01, mega torque experience. The bike is exceptionally comfortable, handles decently (its not meant to be a corner carver), and looks a million dollars and sounds, even with the standard pipes, like nothing on this earth. It is a maverick, massively engined, fast, has tremendous acceleration with dollops of attitude and charisma all at the same time, just like a Hollywood star. It’s also one of the most expensive bike Yamaha makes at nearly $16000 and comes in India for 10.5L ex-showroom. But even at that price, its combination of looks, handling, feel and that massive engine, makes it hard to resist.

It’s certainly worth every penny, with an enormous grin factor.