Unusual Bikes

The Yamaha MT 10: Naked Lunacy…

We wandered into Bikeshop Boksburg the other day looking for what we considered to be the most unusual bike on the showroom floor…

They have a load of new and pre-loved motorcycles – and yes some of them are worth attention.

A whole row of hayabusa’s, Diavels, Triumph Rockets, bikes like the Harley Davidson Trike, a well used Ducati Hypermotard, an immaculate Honda Fireblade and another Harley – the 100 year anniversary edition V-Rod.

There was even a little Vespa lurking in the corner, but we wanted something unusual and we happened upon this Yamaha MT10.

Now here’s something interesting that we had actually forgotten about.

Yamaha held the global launch of the MT10 models in Sunny Cape Town.

At the time, we remember being a bit miffed that none of the South African press was invited, but there was a reason for that. For various reasons – Yamaha South Africa decided not to import the bike as part of their model lineup.

So you see how we are getting to the unusual part?

The only MT10’s that came into SA were the ones brought in for the launch, in three guises, this one, the SP and the touring edition – and nobody seems to remember how many there were.

Yamaha SA never actually imported them, but they did a deal with Yamaha global to purchase and so a few lucky owners can lay claim to owning one of these bikes.

About the MT 10:

This bike replaced the fourteen-year old FZ1 as the flagship bike in Yamaha’s sport naked range.

The first Generation (2016–2021) was unveiled at EICMA 2015 to join Yamaha’s Masters of Torque lineup and hit roads in 2016.

It packed a detuned, torque-focused 998cc CP4 inline-four engine derived from the YZF-R1 superbike.

The MT-10 SP introduced in 2017 boasted the world’s first semi-active electronic Öhlins suspension on a production Yamaha, alongside a full-colour TFT dash.

The MT10’s 1,000cc engine is taken directly from the R1 MotoGP replica, 200hp is found inside the R1 whilst the MT-10 was cropped to a ‘mere’ 160hp.

The R of the time was riddled with electronics but not so much with the MT-10, which in our opinion for a bike like this is a good thing.

You get three levels of traction control and it can be turned off totally. Three power modes. These are Standard, A and B. Oddly B is the most powerful or aggressive throttle response.

This one on Bikeshops floor is the base model MT-10 and features KYB suspension front and rear.

The previous owner has very kindly fitted an Akarapovic exhaust system.

The seat has been replaced with a little nick nak storage compartment under the pillion seat and aftermarket mirrors are fitted. Adjustable Gilles Tooling brake and clutch levers are fitted.