RIDING Yamaha's brand new FZ8 is a breezy affair at over 90mph, not that I'm doing those speeds on public roads. And so it should be - it's the latest model to enter the hugely popular naked middleweight category, with no fairing to protect from windblast or to hide all that manly metal.

Until recently Yamaha's FZ series comprised the 600cc FZ6 and 1000cc FZ1 naked machines and FZ6 Fazer and FZ1 Fazer ABS semi-faired versions. These bikes are referred to as ‘sports naked' because of their strong performance and lack of fairing.

They're equipped with parts straight off Yamaha's flagship sportsbikes. This means upside down forks, as well as the YZF R6's engine in the FZ6 and the YZF R1's litre engine in the FZ1, both detuned for improved midrange at the expense of top end to better suit a town-bike nature.

But for 2010 Yamaha has replaced the FZ6 and FZ6 Fazer with the FZ8 and Fazer8 ABS, the latter boasting a half-fairing, twin headlamps and ABS brakes over its naked sibling.

As the name suggests, the new FZ-8 has an 800cc capacity, achieved by using a sleeved-down version of the R1 engine.

The move staves off threats from other middleweight naked rivals with increasingly large capacities including Kawasaki's Z750, Aprilia's Shiver 750 and even Triumph's 675cc Street Triple.

And with the naked category now confirmed as the biggest-selling in the UK among many other countries, no wonder manufacturers strive to stay on top.

The FZ8  is nicer to ride than the FZ6, the engine's extra beef making all the difference. More power and torque make the FZ8 much more useable round town, and it's fast too - it tops almost 150mph. That's almost too fast (if there is such a thing) on a naked where anything over the ton is a mighty strain on those neck muscles.

Because the engine is still rather rev-happy - it has its origins in a superbike after all - I'd be tempted to lower the gearing to give it even more low-down bite at the expense of top speed, a cheap and effective modification.

Handling-wise, the FZ-8 feels more like a slow FZ1 than a fast FZ6, but that's down to the big imposing chassis that gives it the desirable appearance of a large capacity mean machine.

Despite the 17-litre tank, the FZ8 shows itself up as a thirsty beast, demanding a re-fill every 100 miles or so. This could be down to it being such a blast to ride I can't help thrashing it everywhere.

A more sedate ride would no doubt produce better fuel range, but you try reigning in the fun when riding one of these.

The FZ8 follows very much the naked bike trend of wide tank, large single headlamp and sleek rear end. The four-into-one exhaust culminates in a large stumpy side can that I'd want to tidy with a sexier aftermarket version if the bike were mine. Looks are a big part of naked bike ownership after all.

And because everything's on display, you'd hope to admire top-spec parts such as radial brakes. But my eyes are drawn to the conventional-mounted calipers off an older Yamaha model. Plus, the FZ8 isn't equipped with some of the technical wizardry of other bikes in the class, for instance the Shiver with its fly-by-wire throttle and engine modes.

Although disappointing, the FZ8 doesn't need all that as it performs at least as well, with all the reliability and build quality you can count on from Yamaha.

And at just £7,799, the FZ8 offers a lot of bike for your money, and that's a whole grand cheaper than the Fazer8 ABS.

: £7,799

: Fuel-injected liquid-cooled 779cc DOHC 4-valve cylinder

: 94bhp

: Six-gear chain drive

: Aluminium diamond with aluminium twin-sided swingarm

: 220kg

: (F) 310mm discs, four-piston calipers (R) 267mm disc, single-piston caliper

: 17 litres