FEATURE
2015 EICMA MOTORCYCLE SHOW
P48
YAMAHA
The MT revolution
continues
Yamaha's rejuvenation from some
very dark years has been nothing
short of remarkable since it intro-
duced the new MT range in 2013
(known as the FZ/FJ range in
the U.S., which, incidentally, has
sold 70,000 units so far world-
wide and occupy three places in
the world's top ten selling bikes!)
and now they have taken it to the
next level with the MT-10. This is
no watered down R1 like the FZ1
– this is the real deal. Yamaha
has kept back some details on
the bike, but Cycle News went
digging and discovered a few
secrets.
The engine uses the 2015
YZF-R1S as a base, which
means it has steel and not tita-
nium valves, but different cams,
pistons and an altered crank
has made it less aggressive and
given it a stronger midrange
that makes it feel more like
the older crossplane motor in
character. The chassis is mod-
eled on the R1's frame, but with
less aggressive geometry and
a longer swingarm to calm the
ride down. While the electron-
ics package includes traction
control, ABS and now cruise
control, there is no mention of
cornering ABS, which suggests
the MT-10 may not have an IMU
with its gyroscopic sensors –
which would be in keeping with
the MT's philosophy of being
competitively priced. And then
there is the look. The MT-10
is the first MT model to have
twin headlights, a look that will
almost certainly filter down to
the smaller bikes.
The Dark Side
has spawned a
very big beast
for 2016.
Yet more spin-offs
To go with the MT-10, Yamaha
released the FZ-03, which is
simply a naked YZF-R3, and
also the XSR900, which is
an FZ-09 with the same bolt-
on extras as the XSR700.
To celebrate Yamaha's 60
th
birthday, the famous "King
Kenny" yellow and black speed
block design will be available on
a range of Yamaha models.
Yamaha's getting its money's
worth out of the FZ range.
