#fz-09

While the new Yamaha R1 and R1M are stealing the Tuning Fork headlines this year at EICMA, Yamaha also introduced another new model: the FJ-09, or MT-09 Tracer for the European market. Based on the FZ/MT-09 naked bike, the FJ-09 slots in below the FJR1300 as a more Sport-Touring machine for the entry level crowd. To meet the S-T needs for which it was designed, the FJ gets a host of new items like an adjustable windscreen, larger fuel tank, traction control, ABS and provisions for saddlebags, among others. E-i-C Kevin Duke is on hand at EICMA, where he gives us his first impressions of the FJ-09 after its worldwide unveiling.

A shootout comprised of four motorcycles of inline three-cylinder arrangement displacing four dissimilar engine capacities from three manufacturers? An unthinkable prospect when Triumph brought the venerable Speed Triple stateside in 1995. Yet here we are today embroiled in this exact scenario, nearly crapping our britches in childlike excitement at the wonderful diversity of three-cylinder motorcycle models from which to choose.