QUICKSPIN I 2022 Yamaha MT-10
P108
it's their collective arch nem-
esis, Yamaha, that has trumped
them all with the YZF-R1-derived
MT-10.
The MT-10 has, for many years
(at least in my opinion), been
the most underrated naked bike
on the market. At $13,999, this
is a motorcycle that represents
astonishing value when you con-
sider the cheapest of the Euro
contingent costs $3000 more–
the base-model Aprilia Tuono, a
motorcycle which has now been
angled more at the sport touring
crowd with its ugly but effective
high screen than the straight-up
naked bike lovers of the world.
The MT-10 (dubbed as it was
back then as the FZ-10) first
reared its, err, unique head back
in 2016. This was Yamaha's king
hit in its Dark Side of Japan ad-
vertising campaign that started
with the FZ/MT-09 in 2013 and
then the 2014 FZ/MT-07 (in
America, Yamaha changed the
FZ model name to MT in 2017 to
bring the bikes into line with the
rest of the world).
The FZ utilized much of the
same tech Yamaha would later
employ on the YZF-R1S, an Amer-
ica-only model that ran from 2016
to 2019 and featured steel instead
of titanium for the conrods and
valves, a lower rev ceiling, less
compression, and less cost.
For 2022, the same archi-
tecture developed in the now-
defunct R1S has been retained,
but that's where the similarities
end. This year represents the
most significant overhaul of the
model since its inception, with
everything from how it goes to
how it looks coming under the
microscope back in Japan.
Flashy yet civilized. The MT pulls off that near-impossible trick rather well.
