Like a raging bull

The new top dog in Yamaha's MT range is a beast that also scrubs up well for more civilised duties...

- Mikko Nieminen

Yamaha MT-10

It's difficult to overstate the importance of the MT range to Yamaha. It breathed life into Yamaha's line-up when it was most needed, and it turned the business around. Since it was launched in 2013, 420,000 bikes have been produced, and 70% of those have been sold in Europe. That's a lot of MT faithful in Europe, and a lot of Euros for Yamaha.

The king of the MT clan is the biggest bike in the family, the MT-10. It may not be the best seller (that honour goes to the MT-07, which is one of the best value bikes out there at £7k), but it's the biggest, most powerful, and most bonkers bike in the range - and while we may buy other models because of their price, licence requirements or our own riding experience, it's the MT-10 that most of us really want if we are being honest with ourselves.

So, the MT-10 has a special place in the range, but trends, legislation and tastes change, so Yamaha needs to keep working on its money-maker. Hence the updated 2022 MT-10.

With the new model, Yamaha hasn't reinvented the wheel. The MT-10 is still an undressed Ri, with enough modifications to make it suitable for road use. It can't compete with many bikes for economy, practicality, comfort or most things that big-mile riders might want, but when it comes to the raw, unapologetic thrill of the ride, it's difficult to beat it at its own game.

Taking it all in