I have previously owned and loved two Yamaha MT10s and (I do not remember why) I sold them on, one of the two was the SP version which was super well equipped (but mechanically identical). So recently Martin found me a lovely standard 2016 MT10 in the Yamaha launch colours of grey with yellow wheels which is a bit loud for my tastes but works well on this bike.
The bike owner had kept this bike in fantastic condition and covered about 50k kms in his 7 years of ownership with regular servicing at Alf England so the bike was in great condition. The full service before I took delivery included a new pair of Michelin tyres so the bike arrived ready to ride (fast!) but apart from a 700km round trip to Viterbo I had never really stretched her legs (wheels) until last week. In the meantime I have fitted a Puig front screen which keeps some wind off the rider.
Amalfi to Bandol and return last week was two days each way and about 2300km. I was super lucky with the weather because that week Europe was hit by terrible storms over several days, mainly East Europe but Italy also suffered. The first day I rode gently from Tramonti (my garage) and headed north, I stopped for the night at a scruffy hotel in Massa that I have used several times Hotel Annunziata https://www.hotelannunziata.com/ as it is more or less halfway (630km). The hotel is fairly ok BUT the restaurant is fantastic so well worth a stop. Then the next day was a gentle Massa to Bandol (480km), I had just about an hour of rain near Genova, then in Bandol I then met with Barnes my race companion.
The ride back 3 days later saw me ride Bandol to Orte (790km) and then next morning Orte down to Pollica which was a gentle 400km and I luckily avoiding most of the bad weather.
The MT10 never missed a beat. She is not a touring bike as she is a naked and really a sports bike so the suspension is very harsh, but my goodness she is a fun bike and never stops pulling with that R1 derived engine and I saw more than 230kph (sorry officer) more than once, although I cruised at about 150 in Italy and then 130 or 110 in France cos they issue MANY speeding fines. And she returned about 15.5 km per litre too so MANY smiles per kilometer for sure!! I think that I will keep this bike.
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