2022 MT-10 Update - Cycleworld.com

The 2022 Yamaha MT-10 and MT-10SP are to be launched imminently with a substantial set of revisions including new styling and a more powerful version of the R1-derived four-cylinder engine.

While we’ve yet to see any pictures of the new model, we have had sight of documents confirming its key specifications, which are altered enough to have earned the bike a new internal designation code. As far back as its original launch in late 2015, the MT-10—which went under the name FZ-10 in the USA until 2017—has gone under the internal code name “RN45″ inside Yamaha; the base version is the RN45 A, while the SP model with Öhlins electronic suspension is the RN45 B. For 2022 that changes with the new MT-10 and MT-10SP, which are designated “RN78 A” and “RN78 B” respectively.




According to the specs we’ve seen, the base and SP versions of the 2022 MT-10 will still be distinguished by their equipment rather than their performance, as both machines have the same engine spec. While the 998cc four is still the CP4 four-cylinder, derived from the YZF-R1′s engine and using the same, distinctive, V-4-style firing interval thanks to a crossplane crankshaft, it’s updated for the 2022 MT-10 to increase performance.

Peak power for the current model sits at 158.2 bhp, equivalent to 118kW, delivered at 11,500 rpm and backed up with 81.9 pound-feet of torque at 9,000 rpm. In 2022 those figures rise, with max power upped to 163.6 bhp (122kW) and torque increasing to 82.6 pound-feet, with both figures arriving at the same peak revs as before. A new exhaust with different mufflers is definitely among the changes and could well be a major contributor to the increased performance. The extra power contributes to an increased top speed, previously rated at 152 mph (245 kph) and now upped to 155 mph (250 kph) for the 2022 mode.


While pictures haven’t emerged yet, we know that the 2022 MT-10 will get new bodywork as well as different dimensions than its predecessor. There’s a fractional increase in wheelbase, from 55.1 inches (1,400mm) to 55.3 inches (1,405mm), and the overall length grows by the same amount, from 82.5 inches (2,095mm) to 82.7 inches (2,100mm). Since wheel and tire sizes are unchanged—120/70ZR-17 front, 190/55ZR-17 rear—the length change could imply revised steering or suspension geometry.

Width is unaltered at 31.5 inches (800mm), but the 2022 MT-10 is significantly taller than its predecessor. The old model is 43.7 inches (1,110mm) high but the new one is 45.9 inches (1,165mm) in its lowest form, optionally rising to 49.0 inches (1,245mm), suggesting that a screen or nose cowling will be optional.

Given the recent styling changes to the smaller MT-09, MT-07, and MT-03 models, which all now have a single, small headlight flanked by LED running light strips, it’s likely the 2022 MT-10 will follow suit. The other MT models have also adopted revised styling for the air intakes on either side of the fuel tank, integrating them with the tank and using body-color plastic rather than contrasting black, so we’d expect the same to apply to the restyled 2022 MT-10.

The weight change for the 2022 model is also fractional, with each version of the bike rated as 4.4 pounds (2kg) heavier than its direct predecessor. Curb mass including fuel rises to 467.4 pounds (212kg) for the base model, while the SP version, expected to retain the electronically adjustable Öhlins suspension of the current bike, is 471.8 pounds (214kg).

Although we’ve yet to hear any official word from Yamaha about the 2022 MT-10 and MT-10SP, the documents leave no doubt they will be launched in the near future. At the very latest, they are likely to be revealed at the EICMA show in Milan toward the end of November