Martyn is the resident expert on all things naked and was super excited about this all new 800cc, triple cylinder motorcycle. Oh boy was he right!

This bike is an absolute loon machine. Upon picking it up the two things that struck me first were:

  1. How light it is! It is much much lighter than Martyn’s Yamaha FZ8 and feels lighter than my CB600RR – a cinch to wheel around and park; and
  2. How awesome the dash is. The black fascia finish is really nice and reminds me of my new Galaxy Smart phone.

The engine cut out switch is integrated into the start switch and you push it down to fire the triple cylinder lump up. It doesn’t sound all that impressive on a cold start up, however, once the engine is warm it is another story.

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Ride

As you’d expect from Yamaha these days riding the motorcycle is easy. The clutch is light and low speed manoeuvres didn’t cause any problems. The back brake is good and keeps the bike taut in low speed, feet up, tight cornering; or when threading the bike through stationary traffic.

Open the throttle up and that is where the new engine comes into its own. It is an absolute beast and constantly wants to pick the front wheel up. Expect to see this bike on the cover of a lot of magazines hoisting its front wheel up into the air!

Once warmed up the exhaust sounds lovely on the over run. It crackles and pops like no other standard exhaust I have come across. I cannot wait to hear one with Akrapovic’s burbling away.

Conclusion

After a day of riding, I must admit I do really like this bike. In the right hands it will keep up, if not beat, my CBR600RR in the twisties. However, I just cannot bring myself to part with my lovely orange CBR600RR or a sports bike with a fairing. The wind really does get to you around motorway speeds.

At the time of writing this review Martyn has decided to take the plunge and join the dark side!

Quick Specs

Engine type – 3-Cylinder, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4-valves

Displacement – 847 cm³

Bore x stroke – 78.0 mm x 59.1 mm

Compression ratio – 11.5:1

Maximum power – 84.6 kW (115PS) @ 10,000 rpm

Maximum Torque – 87.5 Nm (8.9 kg-m) @ 8,500 rpm