It has been a decade in the making, the R9. The MT-09 debuted in 2014 as an answer to Triumph’s successful 675 Street Triple. Only it launched with an 847cc IL3 engine. Now, there’s a fully-faired R9 sportsbike, following hot on the heels (for Yamaha) of the R7 parallel-twin sportster based on the MT-07. That arrived in 2022.
The MT-09 was king of the middleweight roadsters for performance. It represented great value for riders who couldn’t stretch to a litre superbike or, more to the point, didn’t want to. While some of the components weren’t exactly top shelf to allow it to be built to a price, the bike was genuine lightweight fun. And there was nothing quite like it.
Now there’s a sportsbike based on this – full name YZR-R9 – that’s built for both road and track. Given the R1 is ending production after 2025, this will therefore take over as Yamaha’s top sport offering.
The engine now displaces 890cc and produces 87kW and 91Nm in the MT-09. In the R9, with an ECU reflash, expect a few units more. Instead of using the MT-09 chassis, there’s a new lightweight aluminium Deltabox frame developed for a mix of low-speed agility and high-speed stability. Wet weight is a commendable 195kg, lighter even than the R1 then. However, its tank is smaller at 14L.
Suspension is top shelf stuff, with fully-adjustable KYB forks, and a matching KYB shock. Brakes are similarly top-spec Brembo Stylema monoblocs, acting on 320mm discs.
There’s all the modern safety gadgets you might expect. Included are a six-axis IMU (so cornering ABS and TC), along with the expected ride modes, quickshifter, slide and wheelie control, linked ABS, adjustable levers and a full-colour TFT screen. And plenty more electronic control systems besides. Surprisingly, there’s also cruise control.
Styling is a step up on the MT-09’s, with R1-like shark gill slits in the tank, a screen that hints at touring as much as track work, and of course winglets. Because what self-respecting sportsbike doesn’t have aero nowadays? Thank Moto GP for that.
Colour options include blue, black and white/red. So blue then. And when it arrives in May the Yamaha dealers will be asking you for $23,199 before you ride away. That’s under $3k more than the MT-09 SP. Given we’ve yet to test ride the R7 I imagine a review of the R9 by NZ Autocar might be some way off as well.
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