VOLUME 57 ISSUE 12 MARCH 24, 2020 P43
DARK SIDE
GOES
LITTLE
THE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY GAUGER
B
y coincidence, Yamaha chose the day the
U.S. MotoGP was canceled–I mean, re-
scheduled–to release its latest Dark Side
of Japan street bike in the very city the GP race
was due to take place—Austin, Texas.
Yet, the new bike isn't all that new, because
the rest of the world got this MT-03 way back
in 2016. For one reason or another, we always
seem to be the last country to get bikes when
they are launched (Yamaha's own diabolically late
Tenere 700 is a case in point). We were only just
getting used to the presence of the Yamaha YZF-
R3 sportbike on our shores when the MT-03 was
released around much of the rest of the world,
but it's here now, so enough whining.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING A LOT
LONGER THAN EVERYONE
ELSE, BUT THE YAMAHA MT-03
IS FINALLY ON U.S. SHORES
