Yamaha Updates Its FZ Lineup with the New, More Sophisticated FZ-10 SP

I might not have been a big fan of the FZ-10 when it was initially debuted, but the bike is growing on me in a big way. The platform looks like it's only getting better too, Yamaha having just announced that for 2017 it will offer an SP version of the bike, complete with R1M-/R1-culled technologies like Öhlins Electronic Racing Suspension (ERS), super slick Thin Film Transistor (TFT) display, and quickshifter (which will also come standard on the base model FZ-10).

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I've always said that, in certain applications (at the track), I’d rather have manually adjustable suspension, but for a bike like the FZ-10 I think it’s a great option. Having the suspension adapt to the many different types of riding you’ll experience in a single ride—city street riding, canyon carving, and freeway droning—is a huge part of enjoying the bike’s widely ranging capabilities. The latest electronic suspension systems are really good too, with a better balance between firm/soft settings than was the case before.

It’ll be interesting to see how this specific system varies between that of the R1M, as I'd like to think Yamaha will tailor the performance of the system with street rides in mind, versus track riding. The mean streets of LA aren't very forgiving, after all.

The bigger hope, of course, is that Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A actually brings the FZ-10 SP stateside, as right now the bike was only introduced as the MT-10 SP in Europe.