Yamaha YDX-MORO 07 Review | Full-Sus eMTB For Only $2599!?

Yamaha uses what they call the Interfce X control unit for it’s display. It’s a larger unit that’s just offset to the stem, and it uses color-coded lightbars to help signal which of the five PAS levels you’re using, or the auto-assist mode.

I found the display to be unnecessarily chunky. I’ve seen a lot of eMTBs use some form of LED lights to similar effect, but most were integrated into the top tube, or on a controller nearly half the size of this one.

At the end of the day it’s not a huge deal, but Yamaha could definitely modernize its approach here.

The unit also includes bluetooth so you can connect it to various, compatible bicycle computers which will help you capture and track enhanced metrics.

Yamaha does not use a dedicated app. Giant, one of the brands that use PW-X3 motors, does have a companion app for motor tuning, so it would be nice to see Yamaha develop one themselves that you could use.

It’s rare that you’ll want to use an eMTB’s most powerful assist mode exclusively across singletrack, but we’ve found this is the fairest way to make comparisons with the other bikes we test. So we took the YDX-Moro 07 to our dedicated singletrack loop to see what sort of mileage you can get from the 500Wh battery.

It finished with a result of 19.24 miles, 2131 feet in elevation gained, over an hour and 46 minutes for nearly an 11 miles per hour average.

While that is one of the shortest-range test results we’ve had on an eMTB, it wasn’t unexpected. Many eMTBs these days are equipping somewhere between 625-800Wh batteries, so the Moro is smaller by comparison. It’s also one of the lighter aluminum frames we’ve tested on this track which gives it some handling wins too – life’s nothing if not full of tradeoffs.

The important question to ask will be if 2000+ feet in elevation and 20 or so miles sounds like enough for you. If so, there’s nothing about the range of this bike that should hold you back.

If you take a peek at the two tabs on the graph above, you’ll see that the YDX-MORO is an interesting hill climber.

To use a track & field analogy, it’s a bit more suited to the 400-meter dash than it is to the 1500-meter race. The low cadence advantage I described earlier is further illustrated in these results. It does better than most bikes at the start of a hill, where it can accelerate and pull ahead. Where our Hell Hole trail test hill is only ⅓ a mile long, the shorter distance means it can keep pace with most motors and even outpace several of them.

Once we stretch out the climb though, like the near-mile long Water Tower climb, we see it levels off in power sooner, which is why it finishes with a slower than others.

What does all this mean? Well, the data is only one side of the story. The PX-X3 motor performs great on hills, just not as fast as some others on longer climbs. With 85Nm of torque, and 500 peak watts it has plenty of power to make hills much easier to climb, and will make for a fun riding experience as you’re able to tackle steep hills that would otherwise be a serious chore.

The YDX-Moro 07 is certainly one of the most unique frames I’ve seen. I mean the actual design, not the divisive color options (one for it and four against it from my polling so far!).

Yamaha’s patented Dual Twin frame design includes a split top tube as well as a split down tube. The shock anchors within the top tube’s gap and the battery sits between the two halves of the down tube. It looks a little odd at first, but Yamaha engineers took this approach to better position the bikes center of mass.

Why does all of that matter? Well, if the battery is too low, the e-bike’s center of gravity will fight you in turns. Positioning the center of mass higher—roughly where a battery mounted on top of the down tube would be, and then the bike would be easier to lean over for hard turns. The end result is something pretty well-balanced that felt good when riding through a berm.

The suspension linkage is a bit unique, but the components in play felt very good. The 150/160 setup absorbed plenty of rough stuff in our testing, and we felt pretty comfortable throughout various trails, including greens, blues, and some of the milder blacks. Even the custom Yamaha saddle was supportive and plush, and the dropper had good travel to it – although the dropper post trigger wasn’t our favorite.

Our local trails are quite technical, so while we have zero qualms with the 27.5” tires as they generally performed well, we’d likely add on a 29” front tire to alter the headtube angle by a degree and calm down the front end a bit. We felt a bit forward over the handlebars for some of the rocky drops we ride on, but that’s our locale. This bike is more all-mountain or XC than the enduro styling we typically need, so if a jack-of-all-trades approach, this might be up your alley.

It’s very rare to find a brand that’s making the frame, battery, and motor. Since that trifecta is rarely hit, you don’t often see 5-year warranties being offered, but Yamaha has enough confidence in the product to guarantee the major elements of the bike for half a decade, so there is great peace of mind having that in your back pocket.

The Yamaha YDX-Moro 07 is a great jack of all trades all-mountain ride.

Its most notable feature is its lively touch on the trails. Its lighter weight than most aluminum frames and uniquely crafted frame help the bike move around nicely, either into berms or when climbing.

The PW-X3 motor has unique properties. It’ll be a big benefit to those starting into the eMTB world with a forgiving nature when starting on hills, and it will pleasantly blend into the background and allow you to focus on the fun of the ride on longer XC trails.

If you’re a fan of the Yamaha brand, need an eMTB that can do a bit of everything, or just like the peace of mind that a five-year warranty offers, the bike is worth a closer look.

Happy Riding! Make sure to let us know if you have any questions or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Yamaha YDX-MORO 07 down in our comments section.