Yamaha MT-10 SP
Is the new range-topping SP model special enough to justify its high price?
NAKED BIKES HAVE never been more popular and it seems Yamaha’s brilliant MT range can take a lot of the credit for that. It started with the basic-but-brilliant MT-09 back in 2013, but Yamaha have evolved and diversified the family to bring us A2 licence-friendly MTS, middleweights and learner bikes, before unleashing the daddy of them all, the R1-derived MT-10 super-naked last year.
Yet Yamaha felt they could do more to pander to the performance junkies – those riders who might have their heads turned by Aprilia’s Tuono V4 1100 Factory or Ducati’s Monster 1200S. So for 2017 the MT-10 is joined by this range-topping, £13,399 SP version. The major difference over the £10,799 stock model is the inclusion of Öhlins semi-active suspension, a tasteful R1m-apeing blue-and-silver colour scheme, and a full-colour TFT dash. Now there really is an MT for everyone.
But when a big part of the original MT family’s success was down to delivering value for money, does the £2600 premium for the SP version (over the already five-figure MT-10) dilute this super-naked’s appeal? Or are the hi-tech Öhlins bouncy bits worth their weight in gold? We took to the road to find out.