This middleweight naked street motorcycle was introduced for the 2010 model year as part of Yamaha’s effort to broaden its European roadbike range with a more accessible, everyday-oriented machine below the liter-class supersports. It arrived alongside a faired sibling and was positioned as a practical, sporty roadster with a broad spread of usable power rather than an extreme track focus. Yamaha’s own 2010 reporting identifies the model as a new launch for that year, and later service literature covers it across model years 2010 through 2015, indicating a single continuous production run that ended after that period.
Stylistically, it followed the familiar muscular Yamaha streetfighter formula of the era: compact proportions, exposed frame and engine, upright ergonomics, and clean, angular bodywork. The model was part of the company’s transition from the earlier FZ-era roadsters toward the later MT family, and it helped carry Yamaha’s “street” identity in the first half of the 2010s. In some markets it was sold under related Fazer naming, while the uncowled version used the same underlying platform and mechanical package.
Enthusiast interest in this motorcycle has remained tied to its reputation as a balanced all-rounder. It was not conceived as an exotic halo product, but as a durable, versatile inline-four road bike suited to commuting, weekend riding, and general use. Its significance lies in bridging Yamaha’s older sport-naked lineage and the newer generation of torque-focused roadsters that followed.