FIRST LOOK: 2017 Yamaha FZ-10

Here at Motorcyclist there are only two things we love more than spicy Southwestern food and ice-cold beer: superbike power and the kind of relaxed versatility you get from an elemental naked motorcycle. Yamaha must have read our menu, because the FZ-10 is finally here. Never heard of it? Sure you have, Europe's been enjoying this sharp tool for most of the year, calling it the MT-10.

Yamaha’s tech presentation wasn’t awash in minute details, though we expect to get a lot more when we ride this baby later in the summer. For now, revel in the idea that the FZ-10’s engine borrows a lot from the R1, including cross plane design, ride-by-wire throttle control (now enabling standard cruise control), aluminum frame and swingarm, and titanium exhaust. There are shared styling elements, as well, though the FZ definitely shows more of its dirty bits than does the R1.

Although Yamaha deftly evaded the question, it’s a fair guess that the FZ-10’s CP4 engine is based on the lower-cost R1S, whose lower rev ceiling lops off a bit of max-rev horsepower. But not a lot; the last R1S we had on the dyno made 160 hp at the rear wheel. We note that the FZ-10’s compression ratio is, at 12.0:1, a full point lower than the R1S’s, but assuming Yamaha hasn’t committed a lot of other changes to limit fun-thrust, the FZ’s power output shouldn’t be far off the R1S’s. If the FZ-10 can put down horsepower figures in the low 150s, it’ll be competitive with such barn burners as BMW screaming S1000R and KTM’s mighty 1290 Super Duke R. That with the unique crossplane-four snarl should do it.

For the rest of the machine, Yamaha’s kept the R1 mostly intact, using slightly modified versions of the frame and swingarm. The specs we have show the FZ’s wheelbase to be fractionally shorter (by 0.2 in, now 55.1 inches) even as the rake and trail are the same—24 degrees of rake, 4 inches of trail. Claimed wet weight for the FZ-10 is 463 pounds; compared that to 448 pounds for the R1S and 439 pounds for the regular R1.

Hungry for amenities? The FZ has ‘em. Suspension is by KYB but not an adjuster-less cheap-o affair. Nope, you get full adjustability front and rear, plus radial-mount brakes with standard ABS (and they’re not linked…yay!), and lightweight alloy wheels, the rear carrying a meaty 190/55ZR-17 Bridgestone Hypersport S20. Aside from the expected RBW system, you also get cruise control and three-level-adjustable (plus off) traction control. It doesn’t appear as though the TC is as sophisticated as the nearly MotoGP-quality stuff on the R1, but it’s probably just fine for a roadster.

Best news for last: $12,999. That’s $2,500 above Suzuki’s naked GSX-S1000 but below the European competition—BMW’s S1000R starts at $13,495 and KTM’s 1290 Super Duke R runs $16,999. Thirteen grand for the whole enchilada of tech, power, and aggressive styling? Let’s get enough for the table.