Not since Yamaha built the XS750/XS850 models from 1976 through 1981 has the Japanese motorcycle marquee wandered down the road of building triple engines in its motorcycles.
But this has changed for the 2014 model year. Unveiled Tuesday at Yamaha’s National Dealer Meeting in Las Vegas, the FZ-09 features an 847cc inline triple that produces 65 ft. lbs. of torque.
Yamaha went through great efforts to compare and contrast the FZ-09 with its other leading naked sportbike, the inline-four FZ8. The FZ-09 is lighter by 53 lbs., has more power, better ergonomics, and, what was vastly emphasized, an MSRP of $7,990, which is almost $1,000 cheaper than the 2013 FZ8.
Attached above is a photo gallery of Yamaha’s FZ-09; for a preview of the motorcycle, click here.
Each photo above also makes for great wallpaper. To use as wallpaper, simply click the desired thumbnail to expand, left click on the image and Save to Desktop Background.
2026 Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory + Sara Lobkovich of CW Moto
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
You have to appreciate Aprilia’s moxie. Instead of designing its upright, semi-naked sportbikes to a price, the Noale team dives headfirst into crafting high-performance machines—and then sets the price to match. At $11,499, the 2026 Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory is an expensive bike for its class—almost 50 percent more than the Kawasaki Z650. That requires buyers to want something based on quality and capability, rather than prioritizing price. Editor Don Williams headed to the canyons on the new Aprilia, and in the first segment this episode, he gives us the lowdown on what he found.
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In the second segment this episode, Teejay Adams chats with Sara Lobkovich, a leadership coach and consultant who has authored a book on her deep expertise in Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), and organizational performance. Okay, so that’s cool, but what you probably don’t know about Sara is that she is also a Principal (with her husband Chris) and Assistant Crew Chief of the CW Moto Team who race in the Moto America series. Her many roles include strategic communication, social media support, and she helps ensure the team is operating at peak performance. Sara is a 20+ year rider and riding coach herself, and created The Moto Curious, a podcast to help make motorcycling more inclusive and accessible. She is a fascinating and welcoming lady, so from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode.
Here’s a quick reminder to leave us your comments on our social media—we’re on all the usual platforms at Ultimate Motorcycling. We love hearing your feedback… so good or bad, please let us know what you think. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear those ideas too!
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