The Yamaha MT-10 shares its chassis, suspension and litre-class engine with the new generation R1 and is the flagship MT model that will be officially launched in May 2016.
Pulling in quite a surprise at the ongoing 2015 EICMA Motorcycle Show, newly crowned MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo stepped on the pavilion with the 2016 Yamaha MT-10, the newest street-fighter motorcycle to come from the Japanese automaker. The new MT-10 is a litre-class naked monster and also the new flagship model in Yamaha’s MT Series, based on the new generation R1 that had made its global debut at the same event last year.
Sharing its underpinnings with the very focused R1, the 2016 Yamaha MT-10 looks aggressive sporting the twin-projector LED headlights up front that look extremely quirky and reminds us of a certain Indian quarter-litre that recently went on sale. The exposed engine adds a masculine stance with the exhaust downtubes visible. Interestingly, Yamaha has gone all futuristic on the MT-10 with sharp lines and creases instead of curved surfaces that convey this street-fighter means business. The single seat and minimal tail section are other good looking bits on the package.
In terms of mechanicals, the new Yamaha MT-10 uses the same 998cc in-line four-cylinder Crossplane engine from the R1 and the automaker says the motor is tuned to offer strong and medium range torque. The official figures aren’t out yet and will be available only closer to launch. Further, the chassis and suspensions bits come from the full faired R1 but the riding position is more upright on the MT-10 as compared to the dedicated stance seen on the former. Lastly, the MT-10 comes with the shortest wheelbase in its class at 1400 mm, making it extremely flick-able.
The 2016 Yamaha MT-10 will come loaded with a host of goodies from the new generation R1 including the three-level traction control, three riding modes, slipper clutch and ABS offered as standard along with cruise control (available on 4th, 5th and 6th gears). Yamaha will be officially launching the MT-10 by the end of May 2016 with prices to be announced sooner to the launch date. The automaker is targeting around 3500 units during the first year of sales in Europe alone as the MT-10 fends off competition coming from the BMW S1000R, Suzuki GSX-S1000, Kawasaki Z1000, KTM 1290 Super Duke and the likes in the segment. Given the fact that the new R1 is already on sale in India, the MT-10 could also be offered locally by the end of next year.
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