The imminent introduction of an MT-07 based XT is nothing to do with marketing, what people want/desire, or for that matter what Yamaha want to do. Their hand has been forced by the bureaucrats in Brussels. In its current state, the XT660 motor will not pass the new Euro 4 emissions regulations which come into force on 1st January 2017. Europe is by far its biggest market and it would be simply too expensive for Yamaha to make the engine compliant. That's not to say the 660 in some form or other won't continue to be built/sold in developing markets with lower (or no) emissions regs. I fancy India as a possible home for future production. The coffin lid hasn't been nailed down just yet!

Any new XT700/XT-07 will undoubtedly be a nice bike and worthy of the name, but won't really be a true/direct replacement for the 660 as it fits into sector of the market, the same niche as the Tiger 800 and GS 800. Hopefully the trump card it will have on those two is that, although giving away 100cc, it will be considerably cheaper - just like the MT-07 is.

Looking on the bright side, with current XT range very likely being the last ever Yamaha big singles, they'll soon become classics, demand will increase and the value of our bikes will start to climb...

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