2017 Yamaha FZ-10: FIRST LOOK

Rennie Scaysbrook | June 8, 2016

Good things come to those who wait, right? Well America, the wait is almost over with the announcement we will be getting the MT-10 as a 2017 year model, renamed the FZ-10 for our market.

The FZ-10 will become the flagship FZ nakedbike in Yamaha’s lineup and uses a retuned version of the awesome 998cc cross-plane crank four-cylinder YZF-R1 engine that was comprehensively revamped for the 2015 model year. Changes include new intake ports and valves, combustion chamber, camshafts, and compression ratio. The changes are aimed at providing more bottom-end and mid-range torque from an engine normally revving itself to the moon – something not essentially required on an FZ-10.

The chassis is Yamaha ubiquitous Deltabox frame, similar to the R1, with fully-adjustable inverted forks from KYB and a four-way adjustable, linkage-type shock. There’s no plans at this stage to grace the FZ with the electronic Öhlins that adorn the YZF-R1M, but you will get almost every other form of R1 electronic gizmo in the Yamaha Chip-Controlled Throttle (YCC-T), D-Modes (three different riding modes), Traction Control (three different settings), ABS, and, wait for it, cruise control, bringing the FZ into line with the BMW S 1000 R as the only hypernaked to offer such a feature.

The FZ-10 will appear in Armor Gray and Matte Raven Black, and will retail for $12,999, making it extremely competitive on price against the established heavy hitters of BMW, KTM and Aprilia, with bikes available in Yamaha dealerships beginning in late June.

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