Yamaha's YDX-Moro 07 has been a great partner for the past three months, and we've spent many hours together out on the road and trails. Sadly, it is time to hand the Moro back to Yamaha...
BikeReview attended the YDX-Moro 07 E-MTB Aussie launch, then shortly afterwards we took delivery of our own long termer. Yamaha launched the YDX-07 Moro through Yamaha Dealerships earlier in the year, and here is why it is such a cool pushy. We love it…Â
Available in Icon Blue colour, YDX-Moro 07 is priced at $8999 inc GST and is available at selected Yamaha dealerships.
Last month I let you know how much fun I have been having riding the YDX around the place, and how good the E-MTB has been for my health, both mentally and physically, and another month later, things are no different. I am really enjoying this bike, as much as, dare I admit, I enjoy road riding on a motorcycle. Sure, the speed isn’t there, but the freedom is even more than a motorcycle can offer.
With the YDX-Moro 07, I don’t have to worry about noise, rego, speed limits or the HP, can ride in all the back laneways where I live, on cycleways, the road, ovals, and fire trails. It really opens up a huge amount of riding area that a dirt bike is restricted from. Yes, everything happens slowly, but that is part of the appeal in many ways. I’m seeing things I’ve never noticed before. Life’s great on the YDX…
A great ride along Brisbane Waters from Woy Woy to Gosford. Plenty of places to stop and take in the view…
I’ve definitely done more road hours than off-road hours, as I have been using the YDX for general day-to-day use as well as for recreational riding, so I can’t say I’ve taken full advantage of the bike in its element but I’m really not experienced enough to anyway yet, and I can’t afford to injure my right hand before I have the second round of hand surgery I need (I broke my hands in March last year in a jump gone wrong). But I have done plenty of dirt roads and fire trails, just not much hardcore single trail and no high speed downhill riding, or big jumps. I plan on progressing my skills after the surgery and rehab.
My sons and I had an awesome day recently at Pacific Park. We had the YDX-Moro 07, Stacyc e20 electric balance bike and the Torrot MX2 electric motocross bike! We used the YDX to have fun cruising around the place…
We recently went to Pacific Park for kids to get some practice in and we decided to throw the YDX in the van and use it to cruise around the place between ride sessions. Obviously not on the moto tracks, just to ride on the transfer areas and some of the trails up the back of the place. In the end, my 13-year-old would not hop off, he had more fun on the YDX than he did on his motocrosser!
I enjoyed riding around on it too, following the boys on the Stacyc e20 and Torrot. We had a blast. We thought we’d test the torque of the Moro up the steepest hill we could find. This grass hill was just about too steep to walk up and near the top, it stepped up to a 15m even steeper section. I had a few attempts and could not get up the second step-up without flipping it, but my son rode straight to the top!
This climb is way steeper than it looks and the YDX hauled my 94kg dad bod straight up no worries. Unreal!
I mentioned last month that I’d delve into the tech side more this time and talk about range, charging and living with the Moro a little more. Three months on and I have to say, I still get a little bit confused with the display of the Interface X. The charge remaining is easy of course, as are the aux light switch and power switch, but remembering what Mode you are in at a glance can be a bit confusing until you fully learn the display. The toggle switch for navigating the Interface X is at your left thumb.
You can see here how complex the Interface X system is. If it just had a small LCD display and words, life would be a lot easier for the rider. It’s my one and only complaint about the bike after three months living with it daily.
Automatic support Mode is the best thing I found, it let the control system choose which Mode to apply based on speed, gear, pedal input and angle. It works really well. To activate it, the toggle button needs to be help in the up position for 1 second, and to switch it off, held down. A Turquoise light comes on on the Interface X. This Mode is not listed as a Mode, oddly, and I found it in the Owner’s manual. Some may find it easier to remember everything, I’m a bit of a dummy when it comes to stuff like that!
The Yamah Interface X is almost so simple, it has ended up too complex to read. I’d prefer a small LCD display.
The Interface X has a USB port for power supply and diagnosis. It also has Bluetooth connectivity and supports LE Bluetooth and ANT+ so you can connect the YDX to your Smartphone or to compatible bike computers. I did not take advantage of these, as I did find the Interface X a bit confusing in terms of display sequences for using ANT+ as you can see below…
As far as range and charging goes, well charging time has been consistently 4 to 5 hours from flat. I did not remove the battery from the frame at any time, the plug is easy to access and the charger has long cords, so I would only remove the battery if I had a spare to swap over. In terms of range, this is one extremely grey area I have found pretty hard to nail down. It is so, so varied. In fact, Yamaha claim a range of up to 136km maximum, and a minimum of just 16km.
I got an average of 60 to 70km on hard sealed surfaces and 2 hours or 30 to 40km trail riding on hilly fire trails. But there are way too many variables. One thing I can say is the remaining charge indicator lights are very accurate, so when you get halfway through a battery, if you turn back you will make it. It’s pretty simple maths… Eco Mode makes a big difference, so if you are happy to work a bit harder, I’d predict a range of 80 to 100km on the flat roads. If you sit a shade under top speed of 25km/h, you will burn battery quite fast…
In the end, it is with sadness that I hand back the Yamaha YDX-Moro 07. Owning one is definitely high on my priority list and I might have to sell of a bike or two to fund my own YDX. I would highly recommend one to any rider who wants to have a go at mountain bike riding but wants to have a helping hand from an electric motor.
The PW-X3 is a brilliant unit, and the long travel high-quality RockShox suspension and proven Shimano 12-speed drivetrain, along with the powerful Magura brakes and 27.5+ wheels, which give agility and still offer great off-road ability, really all come together to complete a fantastic E-MTB that is set apart from the rest thanks to the Dual Twin Alloy frame.
2023 Yamaha YDX-Moro 07 Specifications
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