Yamaha say the MT-10 is the undisputed king of their hyper naked range. But if you ask me, or anyone else that?s ever ridden one, they?ll tell you it?s the undisputed king of wheelies. It?s a bike that everyone can pull wheelies on. Even if you can?t really wheelie, you?ll be able to on one of these. Or you certainly could on the old MT-10. Because Yamaha have just announced that the current MT-10 is about to relinquish the throne and hand it down to a leaner, meaner, more powerful king.

But you needn?t worry. Because by the sounds of it, the R1 powered wheelie weapon won?t have lost any of it?s character. In fact if anything, it sounds like they might have given it a an extra dose of crazy sauce. And they?ve injected most of it into the engine.
The 998cc CP4 crossplane engine was already pretty bonkers. Now though, it?s got an extra 6bhp (164bhp), so it?s even bonkers-er. But really, it wasn?t the power that made the old MT-10 so incredible to ride, it was the torque. And the way it punched the thing forward and lifted the front wheel in the air, no matter how fast you were going, or how fast the engine was spinning. A truly marvellous bike to ride.

Crank

And now, for 2022, they?ve given the MT-10 an even bigger mid-range boost. It?s got a heavier crank and conrods (to give the motor a more meaty feel); as well as altering the fuel injection settings, intake and exhaust pipe.

Another benefit, according to Yamaha, of the new intake and exhaust, is the...