The MPN team recently attended the 2023 AIMExpo in Las Vegas and we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the overwhelming number of e-bikes at the show this year. There were a few booths at last year’s show, but for 2023, the category encompassed a huge portion of the Las Vegas Convention Center show floor.
The debate on whether e-bikes should be considered “powersports” vehicles is still raging on, but the divide has gotten smaller and smaller every day. Electric-assisted pedal bikes are by and large still marketed primarily as commuter vehicles, but there are large numbers of sportier varieties aimed at road racing and mountain biking.
When we stopped at the Yamaha booth to see what was new, Drew Engelmann was excited to show us their line of popular e-bikes, like the YDX-Moro 07, and give us a short history of Yamaha’s e-bike production. What most may not know is Yamaha is credited with manufacturing the world’s first electrically power-assisted bicycle in 1989. The PAS (Power Assist System) bicycle began selling 1993 solely for the Japanese market, and they’ve been manufacturing e-bikes behind the scenes ever since.
Only recently has the trend really blown up though. Yamaha makes a few electrically assisted road bikes, but at the show, we were interested in taking a look at one of their mountain bikes: the YDX-Moro 07.
“This is the most sought after one because it has the accolades from Grand National Cross-Country racing (GNCC), the Enduro series here in Las Vegas, and several other events that are going on across the nation,” Engelmann says. “Racing is in Yamaha’s DNA and we brought that to the e-bike category via this model.”
The key aspect of the bike as it pertains to off-road racing is the patented “Dual-Twin” frame, which consists of a dual top tube and a dual down tube. In testing, Yamaha found that a low center of gravity isn’t the best-case scenario for when it comes to mountain biking, as the bike is often in open air or at an angle in turns. The dual-twin frame allows for the bike’s mass to be centralized directly between the rider’s knees and provides a more intuitive feel.
The YDX-Moro 07 is powered by a 500-watt PW-X3 Class 1 motor that gives about 70 miles of total range in eco mode and 18-24 miles when turned on to its highest power mode of 85 Nm of torque. The bike’s total range of support modes include eco, standard, high, MTB, extra-power, automatic, and walk assist. At full power, the motor can support a max speed of 20 mph. Charging to 80% power only takes an hour, while a full charge takes four hours.
Also featured on the YDX-Moro 07 are Shimano XT SL-M8100-R shifters, Magura MT5 4-piston F/R 203mm brakes, Maxxis 27 .5×2.6 tires, Rockshox Lyrik Select front fork suspension with 160mm of travel and Rockshox Super Deluxe Select rear suspension with 150mm of travel, and VELO single ring lick grips.
The e-bike weighs a touch over 51-lbs. and comes in a dual blue or raven silver color option, and retails for $6,399.
If you have a motorcycle, ATV, UTV, snowmobile or jet ski you’d like to feature in MPN’s Ride of the Week series, please email MPN Content Director Greg Jones at [email protected].
