Yamaha DT-07 "Dirt Tracker Concept" by Palhegyi Design

Yamaha today unveiled the DT-07 one-off concept at the AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida. Designed and built by Jeff Palhegyi Design in collaboration with Yamaha’s US race shop, the DT-07 flat track concept features race-tuned FZ-07 twin-cylinder engine with a Graves Motorsports exhaust system. "When the FZ-07 was first introduced, we knew that the bike’s ‘Crossplane Concept’ parallel-twin engine had outstanding low- to mid-range torque, which is ideal for flat track racing," says Keith McCarty, Motorsports Racing Division Manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation in the US. "Here in Cypress, we’ve been doing some exploration of our own, and the DT-07 Concept is the result. The FZ-07 is a great bike and also a great platform for customization. We wanted to see what we could do with the bike as a flat tracker, and we’re very pleased with the results," he adds.

With its one-piece bodywork painted in Yamaha's 60th-Anniversary race livery, the DT-07 features a purpose-built chassis, swingarm with an adjustable pivot and link system, modified forks from a Yamaha R6, an Ohlins rear shock and Propulsion Labs wheels. "One of our specific goals with the DT-07 flat track concept was to retain some of the FZ-07’s styling cues. I worked with Jeff on the design of the bike, and we literally used the FZ-07’s fuel tank cover as the basis for the body mold on the DT-07 Concept. The entire bike was essentially built from scratch, and it is Yamaha’s interpretation of what a dirt tracker designed from the ground up in 2015 should look like," says Derek Brooks, Motorcycle Product Planning Manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation, US.