Most of the best electric mountain bikes are designed around a second party motor, but not the Yamaha Moro 07. Instead, Yamaha built its first e-mountain bike around its own PW-X3 motor, a unit that boasts 85Nm torque and a very smooth power delivery. And because Yamaha has no reason to hide that it’s a Yamaha, the motor isn’t disguised under excessive housings or plastic casings.

Loud and proud. The PW-X3 motor is the centrepiece of the Yamaha Moro 07

One look at the motor and it’s clear that it is incredibly streamlined and slender. In fact, Yamaha boasts that the PW-X3 motor, with Praxis crankarms, has a very narrow Q-factor (the distance between the outer edges of the crankarms). So we measured it. And Yamaha is right; it’s 10mm narrower than the Shimano EP801 motor on the Polygon Siskiu T7E and 20mm narrower than SRAM’s new Powertrain motor. And, depending on the crankarms used, the Q-factor of the Yamaha system can be as much as 26mm less than the Bosch CX motor used on the Whyte E-160 that was in our 2023 E-bike of the Year test and the Orbea Wild and Canyon Strive:ON tested in our Enduro E-Bike head-to-head.

The Yamaha Moro 07 is a unique prospect among e-bikes.

But why does this matter? Well, the narrower Q-Factor makes for a more natural and efficient pedalling action, which is an instant win, even on a bike with a motor. And with our pedals as much as 20mm further inboard, we had improved pedal clearance when cranking through deep ruts or when the bike was lent over in a corner. In fact, having a narrow Q-factor on an e-bike is probably just as important as having really short crank arms.

Moto inspired: Yamaha’s Moro 07 doesn’t look like other e-bikes.

Yamaha Moro 07 Need to know

• Yamaha’s entry-level e-bike with Yamaha PW-X3 motor
• Dual Twin frame design with 150mm travel (claimed)
• Removable 500Wh battery
• Interface X display with five power modes
• Narrow Q-Factor motor design
• 160mm RockShox Lyrik fork and Super Deluxe shock
• Magura MT5 brakes and Shimano 12-speed XT transmission
• 27.5in wheels with 2.6in Maxxis tyres
• Weight: 23.62kg size L
• Three frame sizes: S, M and L

There‘s currently only two models to choose from in Yamaha’s e-mtb range, the Moro 07 that we are testing here, and the slightly more expensive 30th Anniversary Factory Silver edition at £4,350. That’s right, Yamaha has been making e-bikes for 30 years, even if this is the Japanese giant’s first e-mtb. Both models share the same frame and specification, it’s just that the 30th Anniversary edition gets a brushed alloy frame finish for that factory racing look.

The shape of things to come? Yamaha Y-00Z concept e-bike

Also if the futuristic concept bikes that Yamaha presented at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show are anything to go by, then the Moro is just the beginning of Yamaha’s e-mtb journey.

So what exactly is the Moro 07? In a nutshell it’s an entry-level 150mm travel e-bike, with a surprisingly high-end specification, 27.5in wheels and 2.6in tyres. It comes in three sizes, S, M and L, and you can order the bike online then have it delivered straight to your door, or collect it from a Yamaha dealer. Either way, shipping is free.

Frame and geometry

The Moro 07 doesn’t have a throttle, but the alloy frame is still inspired by Yamaha’s motorcycle knowhow. Now, we’re not sure if this is just a marketing ploy, but the Dual Twin frame design of the Moro 07, that features twin top and down tubes, boasts an “idealised balance of flex and rigidity for confident handling together with accurate surface feedback”.

Yamaha’s moto-inspired Dual Twin frame design.

It sure looks unique, the Dual Twin design providing ideal mounting locations for the integrated 500Wh battery and RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ shock. The frame boasts 150mm travel, but when we measured it in the mbr workshop, the most we could get out of the four-bar rear suspension was 139mm.

The twin down tubes house the 500Wh removable battery.

The steeper-than-normal angle of the twin down tube that houses the battery helps centralise the extra mass, even if it does nothing to flatter the looks, or leave enough space for a water bottle. And because the battery is semi-integrated, you need to unbolt the protective cover before removing it, so it’s not really a turnkey approach if you want to run a two battery setup to extend your ride time.

Longer chainstays and 27.5in wheels? What was Yamaha thinking?

There are currently only three frame sizes, S, M and L, but thankfully the size L Moro has a generous 478mm reach, so it offers plenty of room to manoeuvre. It also has a very generous 463mm chainstay length, which is kind of weird on a bike with 27.5in rear wheel, as most brands use the smaller 27.5in rear wheels on e-bikes to keep the chainstay length in check.

Top-end RockShox suspension components adorn the Moro 07.

Again, we’re not exactly sure what Yamaha was trying to achieve here, but when you look at the slack 69.9º seat tube angle, maybe it was trying to position the rider further back on the bike when seated and stretch the sizing a bit, as this approach also gives the size L bike a massive 660mm top tube. Cable routing is internal, and they too have plenty of wiggle room, which means they can be heard rattling inside the frame on bumpy trails.

Suspension

We’ve already mentioned that the four-bar suspension design on the Yamaha doesn’t deliver on its 150mm promise. But that’s not to say that the rear suspension on the Moro 07 is not effective. Combined with the RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ RC shock, the rear end traces the terrain remarkably well.

The Moro 07 rides better with less than 30% sag.

Initially we ran 30% sag on the shock, but noticed that there wasn’t enough mid-stroke support for cornering, which meant that we were having to shift our body weight around too much to keep an even weight distribution between the contact patches of the tyres. But even with the softer rear suspension, we never had to worry about bottoming the shock harshly, as that little pyramid of lines on the body of the Super Deluxe shock indicates that it has hydraulic bottom out built in.

Hydraulic bottom out offers a soft landing, every time.

Upping the shock pressure to 260psi reduced the sag to 27% and instantly made the bike feel more stable, especially in berms. But even at that pressure we had the rebound damping on the shock fully open, so riders lighter than 83kg and running lower spring pressures are going to struggle to get the rebound fast enough for the rear suspension to recover on repeated hits. At the other end of the rider-weight-spectrum, anyone around the 100kg mark will be fast approaching the maximum shock pressure, so there’s definitely room for Yamaha to find a better middle ground for the suspension set-up. Yamaha also needs to add thread lock to the lower shock bolt, as it worked loose on every single ride.

Best in test. The 160mm RockShox Lyrik fork can take the hits.

Up front you get a 160mm RockShox Lyrik RC fork, easily outclassing the more basic RockShox 35 fork on the Giant Stance E+ 1. There’s still some harshness from the front end of the bike though, and we’re not 100% sure whether it is due to the fork, the Dual Twin frame design, or even the over damped shock.

Components

Magura MT5 brakes on a £4,150 e-bike are a major plus point. The lever feel is standout, and combined with the 203mm rotors front and rear, you have all the modulation and braking power you need right at your fingertips.

Best in class Magura MT5 brakes, offer power and control.

That doesn’t mean that all that stopping power gets translated to the trail though. And that’s because the Maxxis Rekon rear tyre has too shallow a tread to convert that into deceleration effectively, especially in the wet. Point the Moro 07 uphill and the rear tyre also limits traction, even with the wider 2.6in casing and soft 3C MaxxTerra rubber compound. Simply switching to a 2.6in Minion DHR II rear tyre would instantly transform the handling of this bike in low stick or high slip conditions. That said, with tougher EXO+ casings and the softer MaxxTerra compound, the Yamaha still has the best tyres in this group test.

Great compound and casing, but we want a Minion DHR II on the rear.

Yamaha has gone with 27.5in wheels front and rear, and while an MX set-up with a 29in front wheel would have been more beneficial, and more inline with current trends, the smaller front wheel doesn’t really detract from the overall ride quality. Yes, the 40mm wide rims are overkill for 2.6in width tyres, when switching to a standard 30mm rim would give all the sidewall support needed while saving some additional rotational weight. In fact, the rear wheel on the Moro 07 was 350g heavier than a comparable 27.5in wheel with a 30mm rim and 2.4in EXO+ casing tyre. So, in theory, with narrower rims and tyres the Yamaha could easily be a sub 23kg alloy full power e-bike. Which is seriously impressive at this price-point.

The four-piston calliper and 203mm rotor boost stopping power.

All of the touch points on the Yamaha are sorted. The combination of the oversized 780mm handlebar and stubby 40mm stem complement the short offset fork and generous 478mm reach on the size L perfectly. Even Yamaha’s Off-Road saddle deserves a special mention. It has a deep rear section that doubles as a handle which makes it easier to move the bike around. Also there’s a small textured stripe towards the rear of the saddle to ensure that you don’t slide off the back on the steepest climbs.

The dropper remote is neat, but the action is heavy.

With the super short 420mm seat tube length, the 150mm dropper post on the size L test bike looked and felt a little inadequate. Also the lever action of the dropper post was very heavy, possibly due to convoluted cable routing. So more drop and a lighter lever action would be welcomed with open arms.

Performance

With 30mm of steerer spacers under the stem, and a lighter 500Wh battery sandwiched between the twin down tube, we had no issues popping the front end up on the Yamaha Moro 07, even though it has chainstays that are almost as long as the Giant Trance X Advanced E+1 that we struggled with in our E-bike of the Year test. Now, that’s not to say that we wouldn’t prefer to see a slightly shorter back end on the Yamaha, especially on the two smaller sizes, but at least it’s not a deal breaker, especially on rolling terrain where it allows you to load the front tyre, even with a high handlebar position. The handlebar-mounted Interface X display is a basic LED affair, with four lights for battery charge, so 25% chunks rather than 100% accuracy. There’s also a traffic light system for the five power modes, which looks really dated next to the display on the Decathlon Rockrider E-EXPL 520S that’s also in this test.

Climbing

Simply rest a foot on the pedal and the Yamaha motor is eager to go, just like on the Giant. And, just like on the Giant, the level of the initial support is tuneable in the app. And while this jitteriness can be a little unnerving at first, it makes getting started on a steep climb that much easier than on the Shimano EP801-equipped Polygon.

Yamaha Moro 07 has the most powerful motor in test

With long 463mm chainstays, the Yamaha feels composed on the climbs, even with the relatively slack 73.1º effective seat tube angle. The power delivery from the PW-X3 motor is super smooth, and it doesn’t back off when the gradient increases sharply. It also feels more powerful than the Yamaha motor on the Giant, probably due to the additional torque. So once again the limiter here is the Maxxis Rekon rear tyre.

The Moro 07 needs a better rear tyre to deliver its power on the climbs.

Also when we ran the battery down to the flashing warning light that indicated that we were going to run out of juice, the 36t chainring meant that the gearing felt quite tall, even with that wide range 10-51t Shimano XT cassette. In limp mode, we found it difficult to keep the pedals spinning at a good cadence when climbing back to where we’d parked the van. So a 34t chainring would be a better option than the 36t currently fitted to the bike.  We’d also forgotten how little range you get from a 500Wh battery, even when you’re not riding in the higher power modes.

Descending

Drop into a trail and the Moro 07 instantly starts to accelerate. And even if you need to keep pedalling above the 15.5mph (25km/h) limit, the motor doesn’t have so much inherent drag that you instantly want to give up when the assistance cuts out. It’s probably the only situation where the faster rolling rear tyre on the Moro is actually an advantage.

The 2.6in tyre and lightweight build make the Yamaha remarkably agile.

Preload the suspension and the bigger volume tyres make it relatively easy to get the wheels off the ground, which makes swapping lines or popping off lips both easy and fun.  It helps too that the bike is relatively light, and if we had the ability to run the rebound damping on the shock a little faster, this would improve the dynamic nature of the bike further still. Traction is also good when cornering, largely due to the bigger footprint of the wide 2.6in tyres.

Heels down, weight back, on anything steep to offset the longer stays on the Yamaha Moro 07.

Point the Moro 07 down anything really steep or scary, and we instantly noticed two traits. The first is that the longer chainstays pushed our weight on to the fork more, so we needed to run the fork pressure a little firmer to stay centred on the bike. Which could also be the reason the fork felt a bit harsh on flatter trails. The second trait is how solid the bike feels compared to the other bikes in this Affordable e-bike test (the Giant Stance E+1, Decathlon Rockrider E-Expl 520S, and Polygon Siskiu T7E).

We’d love to see a lighter damping tune on the RockShox shock.

Pedalling across rougher, choppy trails, we also noticed that our feet bounced around more on the pedals than on the Polygon or Giant, but again, this could be due to Yamaha being too heavy handed with the shock tune.

It’s an unusual proposition, but there’s the basis of a sound e-bike with Yamaha’s Moro 07.