Yamaha MT-10 (2022) - Review

Launch price: £13,300 | Power: 163.6bhp | Torque: 82.6 lb-ft | Weight: 212kg | Rating: 4/5

First launched in 2016, the Yamaha MT-10 has been a hugely popular machine, nowhere more so than in the UK, which accounts for 29% of global sales. Now promising ‘more power, more control and more adrenaline’, the 2022 bike gets a full suite of electronic rider aids, it’s been restyled, it’s got a Euro 5-compliant motor making more power, and it’s even more economical.

I spoke to owners of the previous MT-10 to find out what they wanted to see improved; while they loved it, many mentioned that the older bike had choppy fuelling, weak-feeling brakes, a firm seat, poor economy and a wide turning circle. These really were minor gripes though, because they all appreciated the sound, the relatively light weight, the performance and the handling, so in this review of the 2022 Yamaha MT-10, we’re going to find out if it’s kept everything that made it so popular, while improving on those grumbles…

The 2022 MT-10 is available in three colours

2022 Yamaha MT-10 Price

A lot has happened in the past couple of years, and it’s put prices up across the board. The 2022 Yamaha MT-10 costs £13,300, which is an increase from the £12,502 of the previous model in the middle of 2021, but it is a significantly higher spec.

If you’re interested in a PCP deal, you’ll need a deposit of £3,443.20, then £129/month for 36 months, after which the optional final payment is £6,952.50 if you want to keep it. That means you’ll be paying a total of £15,039.70, assuming you don’t go over 12,000 across the three years; excess mileage is charged at 14.9p/mile (£149/1000 miles).

Power and torque

The new MT-10 makes 163.6bhp @ 11,500rpm and 82.6 lb-ft @ 9,000rpm – that’s an increase of 5.4bhp and 0.7lb-ft over the old model, at the same revs.

Throughout the press launch, Yamaha’s message was constantly that it didn’t believe you needed any more power on the road. Clearly rattled by the lighter, but much more expensive 205bhp Ducati Streetfighter V4 and MV Brutale, and the 173bhp Aprilia Tuono V4, I have to say that the it comes down to bragging rights more than anything – there really is more than enough power in this motor, with an excellent midrange.

Yamaha could have left the 197bhp R1 motor in the MT-10, but it’s instead used heavier parts inside (like steel instead of titanium conrods) to increase inertia, which arguably makes for a better road bike. Look at the graph below and you’ll see the increase in power and torque through the midrange of the MT-10 motor compared to the R1; this isn’t a bike you need to rev hard to get the most out of it, which is why it feels to intoxicating on the road.

Engine, gearbox and exhaust

The MT-10 has always lived up to its Master of Torque acronym, and for 2022 it’s no different. Despite Euro 5 emissions regs meaning there are now four catalytic converters restricting the exhaust gasses instead of the previous two, it’s pushing out even more performance. Honestly, I doubt you’d notice the increase though; as someone who’s owned the previous model, I couldn’t say I could feel any more punch, but in a world where updates can sometimes come with a softening of a bike’s attitude, it’s great to see the MT-10 has all the aggressive heart it was born with.

The bike’s 2kg heavier than it was last year, but with the extra cats it could have been more. The titanium exhaust (right from the headers to the end-can) saves weight but also looks stunning as it blues at the front, with the welds turning gold. It’s also been tuned to be even more efficient, and you’ll be pleased to hear that it sounds every bit as good as it used to, that cross-plane crank, which fires at 270°-180°-90°-180°, has one of the most distinctive notes since the classic 916s and the like.

But it’s also not offensive, the bike being homologated at 94dB.

The side scoops are finally more than just cosmetic – they actually feed the airbox, with mesh panels set into the top that also port some of that raucous howl straight up to the rider. There’s nothing quite like this engine’s howl, and adding in the new up and down quickshifter just adds to the aural delight.

The throttle’s now controlled by Yamaha’s new Acceleration Position Sensor Grip (APSG), which is basically a Hall-effect sensor attached to the throttle tube. Yamaha has had ride-by-wire for years, but it previously used a traditional cable from the throttle to a potentiometer under the tank. Both systems are translated by the same YCC-T (Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle), and Yamaha flags APSG as a feature, but it seems more like Yamaha finally doing throttles in pretty much the same way most other manufacturers have been for years. It feels just like you’d expect a throttle to though, and there are now no cables to worry about lubricating.

Overall I’d say the MT-10 performs pretty much like it used to, though Yamaha has taken one tooth off the rear sprocket to drop it down to 42. That makes for a slightly less aggressive initial acceleration, and is also why the wheelbase is 5mm longer; the smaller sprocket means there’s more slack in the chain, so the wheel’s moved back.

The fact that this is such a powerful motor, with an almost twin-like character thanks to the firing order, means there’ll always be a bit of snatch in the throttle, but I also found it a little woolly at times at very low speed and low revs; you need to rev this a little more than you might think for clutch-dragging slow manoeuvres. It’s okay in tight city traffic and filtering through jams, but it’s not quite as easy to use as some more traditional four-cylinders. Still, it’s not really sold as an all-round commuter, and I’d rather add some revs when I need to than lose this incredible character.

2022 Yamaha MT-10 Economy

Yamaha says that the new MT-10 can achieve 41.4mpg, which is 6.1mpg more than before. That’s a roughly 17% improvement, and it means you should get up to 155 miles if you run the 17 litre tank dry (that’s 23 miles more than before).

Owners on Fuelly averaged 36mpg from the previous model, and given that the economy figures use a standardised method so can be directly compared, it’s likely that anyone upgrading to the 2022 MT-10 should expect an improvement.
Unfortunately, my heavy-hand and the fast, stop-start nature of a launch returned just 33mpg, while the best I heard of on the day was 37mpg. It was a very spirited ride though, so 40mpg seems very achievable, perhaps even more.

Handling, suspension, chassis and weight

The 2022 Yamaha MT-10’s weight of 212kg is pretty easy to cope with for my 5’10” frame, my feet easily reaching the ground. Some shorter riders might find it a little more cumbersome in U-turns (the steering lock is unchanged), and the wide format of an inline four-cylinder motor makes it hard to narrow things down for a better stand-over height. Because the rear shock now has 3mm more travel, the bike – despite having the same frame and swingarm of the old model (and the R1) – sits 5mm higher, which means 5mm more ground clearance, but also a 10mm higher seat at 835mm.

You’re pitched slightly more forwards than on the previous model, which should make for a little better feedback from the front-end, but I wouldn’t say I noticed any difference.

Now shod in Bridgestone S22s, Yamaha hasn’t used its new spin-forged wheels on the MT-10, as seen on bikes like the Tracer 9 GT and the 2022 TMAX, but this compact machine doesn’t feel like it needs to turn in any more quickly. The steering damper does a good job of keeping everything under control, even when hitting some pretty nasty bumps in corners at speed.

The suspension has revised internals for what Yamaha says is a higher-quality feel, and while we didn’t tweak the settings – which are fully adjustable front and rear, with compression and rebound damping in both legs, rather than one each – it felt well settled and optimised for a fast street bike. Only when hitting some nasty bumps and pot-holes in a village did things get harsh, but overall it’s a good set-up that doesn’t compromise comfort for the majority of roads.

2022 Yamaha MT-10 Brakes

The MT-10 has gained a Brembo master cylinder on the front brakes, giving them a more immediate feel, without being snatchy. Paired with the semi-monobloc four-piston radially-mounted calipers (fed by rubber brake lines), they’re, well, fine.

If you’ve just jumped off some of the sportiest BMWs out there, you might find the Yamaha’s brakes feeling a little remote, but most riders will be more than happy with them. Basically, the MT-10’s brakes are better than they used to be, but still not class-leading.

Yamaha’s calipers are ‘semi’ monoblocks as they’re not machined from the inside to accommodate the pistons. They’re a single casting so don’t have a join in the middle, which is where the flex can occur in traditional calipers, but they’re bored from the outside, then plugged with those distinctive aluminium plates.

Comfort over distance and touring

The Yamaha has a smoother tank cover, which is said to give better feel when gripping the tank with the knees, while providing greater movement when shifting about in corners. The seat’s also been redesigned for more comfort.

I still found my bum getting achy by the end of the day, despite plenty of stops, and others did comment on it. Still, it’ll be fine for a full tank of fuel, at which point you’ll be stopping anyway.

As for the tank, I’ve never fitted gripper pads, but given the huge acceleration this bike’s capable of, and the speed you can find yourself scrubbing off into corners, I think I might consider them here. Save 20% on Eazi-Grip products here.

Sadly there’s hardly any space under the seat – you might just get a small disc-lock in by the fuses, but watch those ECU cables

Rider aids and extra equipment / accessories

It’s the electronics package that really stands out on the 2022 Yamaha MT-10 thanks to the inclusion of the six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which looks at pitch, roll, yaw, and acceleration up, down, left and right. With this, cornering ABS has been included, as well as lean-sensitive traction control, slide control and lift control.

And yes, the lift control – or wheelie control – can be switched off separately to the traction control on the 2022 Yamaha MT-10.

In fact, the rider has a huge amount of control over the bike. There are four riding modes, each of which has standard settings, but they can be refined to whatever you want:

• 4 power settings

• 5 traction control settings

• 3 slide control settings, plus off

• Quick-shifter up on or off

• Quick shifter down on or off

• 3 wheelie control settings or off

• 2 engine brake management settings (high or low engine braking)

• 2 brake control settings (modulates front and rear brake pressures)

Each of the four Yamaha Rider Control (YRC) modes can be tweaked however you wish

All of the UK riders on the launch chose rider mode B, which by default has power at 2 (the smaller the number, the less the intervention), traction control at 3, slide control at 2, wheelie control at 2, brake management at 1 and brake control at 2. Most of us switched the wheelie control to 1, but some did turn it off.

Even the fastest riders (and we’re talking race instructors and TT competitors) preferred the second power setting thanks to its smoother delivery than the extremely sharp level 1. Level 3 is less sharp still than level 2, but it’s only level 4 that cuts the maximum power output down.

It’s worth noting that traction control is there to stop the wheel losing traction altogether, by comparing the front and rear wheel speeds, while slide control is controlling grip when cornering by predicting when a slide will begin. Basically, the IMU allows the system to take into account the lean angle of the bike, so it could be possible to have traction control set high, while still allowing the rear wheel to slide controllably due to small changes in wheel speed relative to the road.

The MT-10’s TFT dash is fairly well laid out, if not the most exotic. Having ridden the 2022 Yamaha TMAX the day before this test, we’d been somewhat spoiled, so the small screen looks rather lost in the larger plastic body of this dash. It’s more functional than fantastic.

It’s a little annoying that it’s not possible to switch between the four riding modes while you’re on the move; the bike has to be stationary. You can, however, adjust the power level, as well as traction control and slide control, but you can’t turn them off. I get why Yamaha did this as you could select a riding mode in which you had turned off a rider aid entirely, but it feels clunky to not be able to switch between the modes you’ve set up. Maybe only modes with options turned off entirely could be unselectable when riding?

While the previous bike had an easy-to-operate cruise control, tapping the button a second time takes you to the speed limiter. Don’t panic, this isn’t an Orwellian tip of the iceberg; it’s simply an extension of the cruise control that allows you to set a speed that you don’t want to exceed.

Set it with the controls on the left bar then nail the throttle and the bike will perform as normal, only slowing its acceleration just before it reaches the chosen speed. You can cancel it by rolling the throttle fully forward, then resume by pressing the button. Turn it off and the setting will be forgotten.

This is a useful feature, particularly on camera-heavy motorways, but while I can’t think of a better – or safer – way that Yamaha could have implemented it, in practice the fact that you can’t override it with a kickdown as you would in a car means you’ll need a split second’s extra thought if you find yourself with a rare need to accelerate out of trouble. It’s an interesting addition and one that I would use in some circumstances, but it’s not the highlight of the excellent new electronics package.

There will be a new MT-10 SP later in the year with semi-active Öhlins linked to the IMU, braided brake lines, a belly pan, brushed aluminium swingarm and other paint and graphics unique to it.

2022 Yamaha MT-10 verdict

When the original MT-10 launched in 2016, I really didn’t like the look of it, but a few years later I ended up buying one. I traded it in for an S1000XR as I wanted more practicality, but I still remember that bike’s sound and attitude with fondness. The point is, the original’s styling was divisive, but ended up being somewhat iconic and loved by many (myself included).

Yamaha says it wanted the new MT-10 to be provocative in its looks, and the cyber-punk-inspired cyan colour scheme is certainly that, with comments on social media following much the same trend as initial reactions to the last one. Attitudes will most likely change again over time.

What’s certain is that the 2022 Yamaha MT-10 is every bit the aggressive yet accessible hyper street bike that it ever was, and the unobtrusive electronics package that it now comes with makes it even better.

Thanks to all the BikeSocial members who gave me their feedback on the previous MT-10 and sent some great photos

Why owners love the previous-generation MT-10

I spoke to BikeSocial members that own the previous Yamaha MT-10 to find out what they think of it…

Steve Morris owns an MT-10 and an S1000XR, and says that his girlfriend is happy on both as a pillion. He reckons the fuel-consumption helps it live up to its nickname of the ‘Empty 10’, and that the brakes are a bit of a let-down, but only when he’s just got off the BMW. However, he says he’s never owned a bike that he looks forward to riding as much due to the noise, the handling and the power.

Paul Chapman thinks the seat’s a bit firm so gets a numb bum, and also complains about the tank range. He thinks the throttle could be less on/off.

David Oram is 73 and has owned Bantams, Velocettes, Norton-Hondas and, more recently, a VFR800, Multistrada 1000, Blackbird, F800ST, KTM 990, BMW S1000R and BMW R1200RS prior to his Yamaha MT-10. He finds it all-day comfortable, loves the relatively light weight, the sound and the character. David’s fitted a ‘booster plug’, which he says eliminated the snatchiness of the throttle.

Michael Back loves his after selling his Panigale 899 for it, and thinks it’s well-priced with just the front brake being a weakness.

Wayne Brown mainly just dislikes the wide turning circle, while Scot Campbell finds the seat a little uncomfortable and the economy poor, but says he fixed the throttle response with a custom map.

More BikeSocial member owners who shared their passion for the original MT-10

Shaun Mckeown loves the looks, sound and performance, as well as the reliability, but wishes the headlights were a bit better and that the switchgear was illuminated.

Trev Harlock is 49 and came from sportsbikes; while he’s still tempted by them, he loves how versatile the MT-10 is, and is getting some good use out of it on track too. He particularly appreciates the servicing costs compared to the Tuono he had before.

Louis Knowlson loves the rider modes as he can chill out with it, or scare himself stupid (in a good way, he says). More importantly, he feels it gives riders growing room, making it more docile until you’re ready. He tours with it, but the economy doesn’t bother him as he reckons he could never have this much fun with an all-out tourer, and he’s managed 134 miles from one tank going home from the Lake District. He loves it on track as the riding position gives him confidence, though he finds it a bit of a lump in tighter corners.

On the road, Louis says it’s comfy and fun, and he reckons it’s one of the few naked bikes he really likes the look of.

Having owned an MT-10 myself, I pretty much agree, though I never really felt the need to get the fuelling remapped. Overal, I’m pretty confident that most of these owners will be more than happy with what the new bike brings, only the turning circle and seat comfort not really changing in the new model. We were unable to try the headlights at night, but Yamaha does say that the edges of the beam pattern have been softened in the new model, which should be an improvement.

2022 Yamaha MT-10 spec

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MCIA Secured gives motorcycles a rating out of five stars, based on the following being fitted to a new bike as standard:

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The higher the star rating, the better the security, so always ask your dealer what rating your bike has, and compare it to other machines on your shortlist.

Is the new MT-10 better than the old one?

John and Adam Child discuss the good and bad of the 2022 Yamaha MT-10