Words: Matthew Shields

Wheelies are nothing without control – and you’ve either got it, or you don’t. Watching stuntrider Dave McKenna working his magic in a disused carpark made me realise it’s fast and furious work riding like a hero, but it also requires more bravado than I have. Watching the stunt show the night before the launch had me thinking Yamaha was setting the theme for the machine we were about to ride.

It couldn’t have been further from the truth – with the MT-10 control is everything, but power is a very close second. The control comes in the form of torque – a common theme in Yamaha’s entire MT series that is renowned for it’s manageable, useable, potent real-world performance in whatever capacity or style of bike it comes in. Riding each of them when an MT-10 was pryed from me at the launch only reinforced that fact.

Put simply, the MT-10 is too much machine but just enough – just right. Look at the specifications and you will see a 118kW engine with 111Nm of torque. On paper, yes there are bikes with more than both but the Yamaha – or more so riders – won’t use everything the MT-10 can deliver legally on the road, so why would you want more? Before we go down that road, let’s keep in mind the MT-10 – like all other MTs – is exceptional value at $17,999 plus on roads.

Image: Greg Smith (iKapture).

To put that into perspective, the MT-10 is the second least-expensive machine in the 1000cc plus – or supernaked – class. Yep, there’s one bike cheaper, and a lot of bikes more expensive. Money isn’t everything, of course, but it speaks, though not as loudly and proudly as the MT-10 does of its heritage. Born of the YZF-R1 superbike, the MotoGP-inspired superbike is a success story of its own and owes a lot to the big-bang engine Yamaha shoved in that for 2009.

I rode the Yamaha big-bang R1 at the world launch in early 2009. I’m not fast enough to race, but the big-bang R1 was plenty of machine for me on the track being strong on power, controllable and most of all exciting to ride. The power characteristics were hyped for how closely they were based on Valentino Rossi’s M1, but the R1 was heavy, slow and didn’t cut it with racers unless it was World or British Superbikes.

Those sort of characteristics of the original big-bang R1 – though not fancied by racers – are what I like most in a roadbike. I’m a fast-ish roadbike rider, but all the time I want power, control and excitement and that typically comes inversely proportional to torque. If you’ve got torque, you’ve got excitement and what the MT-10’s engine delivers is just that. To do that, the engine has been tuned for low to mid-speed torque.

Image: Greg Smith (iKapture).

To get there it has required a new combustion tract and a change in the crank balance. Detuned from the 153kW peak in the R1, just like the superbike it feels less racey than its competitors but that’s a characteristic that works in its favour. It is more user-friendly and better-suited to road riding where peaky powerbands and aggressive power delivery can make riding fast more of a challenge than the MT-10 proves it needs to be.

To get this style of engine characteristic, Yamaha has changed forty percent of the components of the engine. These changes are focused in the top-end, crank and exhaust. Below 4000rpm, the MT-10 is timid, manageable, and controllable. Soon after this, how soon depending on which of the three modes you are in, the MT-10 goes off like the proverbial frog in sock.

The gearbox ratios are shorter than the superbike, so you are changing with more frequency, but you are making better progress too. The rev limiter is lower, and in first gear you’ll clock over 100km/h before it kicks in. On the R1 it is at least 30km/h higher than that which is way too much speed on the road and a big sacrifice made at the same time at lower speeds.

Image: Greg Smith (iKapture).

Electronics are a generation behind the superbike, but it is exceptional value for the level of kit it has on offer. The ride-by-wire throttle allows for engine mode selection by simply moderating what your right hand does to the throttle butterfly. A-mode is the most direct hand-to-throttle relationship, B-mode gives a little less initial punch, and Standard makes it a freak on a leash.

For those that can, at the flick of the right hand you can put the MT-10 on its back wheel and accelerate through the ’box to freeway speeds and beyond easily. I know, because I’ve seen it. At the same time, it made me feel like a champion as I managed to wheelstand like I have never done before. This time it wasn’t down to talent, just control that the engine, as wild as it may be, delivers and doesn’t make intimidating.

The geometry of the MT-10 is made for the road with a bit more flex, extra feel and comfort. With a 1400mm wheelbase, it’s still the shortest in its class and has more of a front-focused emphasiss on the overall dynamic. Weighing in at 210kg wet, it’s not too porky but it does feel bigger and a tad heavier than the V-twins in the class. Mathematics won’t let an inline four be any other way.

Image: Greg Smith (iKapture).

At speed, the MT-10 is as good as it gets from any roadbike. The suspension has a load of adjustment, and on standards settings it is well-controlled at speed. In our day riding the Sunshine Coast hinterland with its ever-changing surfaces, it wasn’t lacking. When it came time to grab the picks, there was ample power and feel to get the bike stopped easily without the ABS kicking in.

There’s nowhere I can find to say the MT is lacking except for that it lacks a quickshifter. Saying that, it would throw you into each gear faster, urging you to screw the throttle harder, grab another cog and feel the rush of it all over again – it is truly an addictive machine to ride hard and fast. It is so good and so bad that it could easily be banned – and we couldn’t have that, believe me.

Specifications

Engine type: Liquid cooled, four-stroke, DOHC, four-valve, forward-inclined parallel, four-cylinder
Capacity: 998cc
Bore and stroke: 79 x 50.9mm
Power: 118kW @ 11,500rpm
Torque: 111Nm @ 9000rpm
Wet weight: 210kg
Seat height: 825mm
Wheelbase: 1400mm
Fuel capacity: 17L
Colours: Race Blu, Tech Black and Night Fluo
Price: $17,999+orc
Detailed specs: www.yamaha-motor.com.au