Yamaha DT-07 Flat Track Concept - FIRST LOOK REVIEW

Yamaha started off AIMExpo 2015 with a very pleasant surprise: the slick-looking DT-07 Flat Track Concept, which is based on a custom chrome-moly frame and is powered by a 90-horsepower version of the FZ-07 parallel-twin, fitted with a Graves exhaust. Yamaha's US Racing Division, along with Jeff Palhegyi Design (JPD), built this head-turning concept.

Keith McCarty, Yamaha's US racing boss, explains the idea behind the DT-07 Concept: "Yamaha's history started in dirt track with Kenny Roberts, and we were quite successful in all those years. Since that time, we haven't really had an engine configuration than could compete in that class against the present models. Then the FZ-07 came out with its offset twin and crossplane crankshaft, and we all know that dirt track is all about traction and control. You have a specified tire, so you need to put all that power to the ground. That firing order, as in roadracing, definitely lends itself to good traction. It lets the tire recover a bit."

Adds McCarty: "I want to support the dirt-track community. From the inception of talking to frame builders, I asked them, “please don’t make it like everything else. We’re not interested in putting this engine in an existing frame. But they were, for obvious reasons. We went down that road. When we got the frame back, unfortunately, we weren't able to take care of the velocity stacks."

Next step for the DT-07 Flat Track Concept? Actual track testing, says McCarty.