NAKED EDGE
Sitting in the media briefing before riding the new MT-10, two points become apparent. One, the MT range, from MT-125 to MT-10, has been a huge success for Yamaha, with nearly 50 percent of all sales coming from MTs. In fact, with 420,000 MTs produced since 2013, it’s easy to wonder what they sold before the MT brand was formulated?
Second, I’m getting old, because I remember riding the first ever MT, the 2005 MT-01, when it was launched in Cape Town as the original ‘Master of Torque’. And it only seems like yesterday…
In 2016 Yamaha introduced the pinnacle of the MT empire, the MT-10, and later the premium MT-10 SP. Essentially transforming a crossplane YZF-R1 into a torque-rich nakedbike was an obvious move, and you must question why it took Yamaha so long. It was an instant success: fun, muscular, easy to ride and full of the character other Japanese supernakeds seemed to lack. It was reasonably priced, too.
But in recent years it has started to show its age, especially in terms of technology. The MT-10 was always on the thirsty side, too, and by modern standards the brakes were lacking. That’s where the 2022 version comes in…
It’s not a wholesale update, but it’s an important one. Yamaha has essentially listened to criticism from customers and the press, looked at
