2019 Yamaha MT-10

Six years on my own bike, and a tune that rewrote it

This is not a press loan. This is my motorcycle. I've owned this 2019 MT-10 since 2019, ridden it through ChampSchool at Road Atlanta, dragged it to multiple track days, painted it gold with a rattle can, hung an SC Project on the back, and put about 8,000 miles on it across six riding seasons. I know this bike. Or at least I thought I did.

Then I sent the ECU off to Two Wheel DynoWorks, got it flashed, bolted it back in, and went for a ride. "I've never felt so comfortable instantly with this bike. It's absolutely insane how much better it is." The MT-10 I'd been riding for six years was hiding a better MT-10 underneath the stock map. Here's the thing. That's the framing for this whole review. It's a long-term ownership take on a bike that just got a second life.

Thesis: even six years in, even running against newer flagship nakeds with TFT dashes and IMUs and lean-sensitive everything, the MT-10 still earns a Great-tier Chase Score. The motor is that good.

Performance highlights

The 998cc crossplane inline four is still the headline, 160 hp stock, north of 180 at the wheel for buddies who've taken the tune farther than I have. Numbers aside, the sound is the thing. "That power plant's going to be good for about 160 horsepower and 82 foot-pounds of torque. Absolute gobs of power." Six years of ownership and I still get goosebumps when I crank it up in the garage.

The 40–80 pull in second gear came in at 3.09 seconds and that was with me actively rolling off because I couldn't keep the front wheel down long enough. "I am not a good enough rider to full throttle this bike in first gear going 40 mph. I would have gotten the wreck." For a six-year-old bike running against new 200-hp flagships, that's still in the conversation.

The throttle response score is the one the tune actually earned. Stock, the ride-by-wire was jagged at low speeds, power would hit, then not hit, and I spent six years assuming that was just what 160 horsepower felt like. After the flash, it's predictable and linear in a way I genuinely didn't know was possible on this bike. The agility holds up too, wide bars, neutral chassis, did a full ChampSchool day at Road Atlanta with no drama. The KYB suspension is fully adjustable and even un-set for my weight, it handles fast canyon work and track laps without complaint.

Brakes are where the bike's age shows. Front bite is fine, never crazy strong, and the rear ABS chirps in too early when you're heavy on the lever. Modern flagship nakeds have moved past this, Stylema calipers, cornering ABS, and you feel the gap when you ride them back-to-back. Anyway, that's the price of admission on a 2019.

Rider experience and tech

The body position is the long-term win. Wide bars, slightly tucked lower half, top half barely leaned forward. The Yamaha comfort seat, the first mod I did to this bike, is genuinely excellent and I'd buy it again on day one of any future MT-10. "I've done touring all the way to track days, and this body position works for all of it." That's the comfort sub-score doing its job.

The tech is where the years are loudest. The dash is the LCD Game Boy era of dashboards. The mode button lives on the right grip where you can't reach it on throttle, and Yamaha named the modes Mode 1 / Mode 2 / Mode 3 in an order that makes no sense (Mode 1 is sport, Mode 2 is standard, Mode 3 is rain). I've owned the bike for six years and that naming still trips me up. The quick shifter only goes up. The cruise control works and is a genuine plus on long days. I run a Chigee AIO 6 to bolt some modern tech onto it, Apple CarPlay, Calimoto, the works, and that's how I keep the cockpit feeling current.

Ease of use is interesting post-tune. Pre-flash, this bike was twitchy enough at city speeds that I'd recommend riders treat it carefully. Post-flash, it's massively more controllable. Versatility is fair, city, highway, twisties, track, but the 4.5-gallon tank empties fast and the wind hitting your chest at 80 mph means you'll want a touring windscreen if you ever try to long-haul it.

The Chase Score & final thoughts

With a Chase Score of 75/100. Great Tier. The 2019 Yamaha MT-10 is the long-term-ownership bike that just keeps earning its parking spot. 40 ride points + 35 usability points, six years in, against a leaderboard full of brand-new nakeds with twice the technology. That's the bike doing its job. The fun-for-the-money sub-score is the most honest one on the sheet: I've owned this thing for seven model years and one ECU flash made it feel new again.

Buy a used MT-10 if you want a flagship naked motor for half the money of a new flagship naked, and budget for the Two Wheel DynoWorks tune day one. Skip it if you need a modern TFT dash, cornering ABS, or a quick shifter that goes both ways. Honest take after six years: even with the brakes and the dash going against it, this bike still belongs in the Great Tier.