Now might be the time to stop talking about it and just start doing
If you or someone you know has been thinking about getting off crowded public transport and onto a motorcycle, I don’t think there’s been a better time.
Think about it. Not only do you get to don a largely impenetrable face mask and gloves from inside your garage until you’re safely inside the confines of your workplace, but the roads in our major cities have never been quieter and the first buds of a warm and welcoming spring are spelling the end of chilly mornings and cold nights.
I was wandering around a Yamaha dealership waiting to speak to the dealer principal for a recent feature (Left of the Dealer, AMCN Vol 70 No 02) when I spotted a swing tag hanging off the handlebar of a brand-new MT-03.
Under the $7299 ride-away price, was $32.99 printed in big red font informing me of my indicative weekly repayments if I was to ride away on a 2020 MT-03. Away from the train platforms and bus stops, away from the coughing crowds and, frankly, away from the dreary old days we’ve had lumped on us in recent months.
Yamaha Australia’s smallest offering in its five-tiered MT range – there’s an MT-125 offered in other markets, but not here – has been popular since its 2016 release. Between January 2016 through to 30 June 2020, almost 2500 units have found homes in Aussie garages.
It’s received a handful of updates over the last five years, mostly to keep it visually similar to its ever evolving MT siblings and to keep it on-trend in what’s a pretty crowded market sector.
It’s still powered by the same 321cc parallel-twin engine, which is far more versatile than engines this size used to be, and it doesn’t take long before you really get a feel for how to get
the most out of the modest engine in all manner of situations.
Check the current issue for our full rundown on Yamaha’s MT-03
