Yamaha MT 09
Not new, not fancy and not likely to draw a crowd. Yet the triple is still a fabulous thing
THERE ISN’T REALLY one thing about the Yamaha that you could confidently slap on a billboard and surround in flashing lights as being ‘best’. The Indian is unanimously regarded as better looking and is way more charismatic. Husqvarna’s 701 is lighter, more accurate and gets the nod from fashionable types, while the whooshing Suzuki is faster, smoother and more comfortable on multi-lane slogs. About the only thing the MT-09 wins is the bright wheels competition. Thing is, while the three-cylinder MT-09 might not be the most powerful, fastest, sharpest, coolest, best on fuel or even have the nicest indicator switch, it’s really close on everything. Its assorted elements combine in a glorious whole that’s there or thereabouts on everything you care to assess or measure. I don’t want to say it’s more than the sum of its parts… but that’s what Yam’s triple is. What really does it for me is that the MT is aimed squarely at satisfying road riders, rather than having boastful figures or making impressive but largely irrelevant claims. It won’t tear a dyno from its anchoring and hasn’t been developed at the Nürburgring. It’s for people like you and I, on the roads we enjoy, any day of the week. After the solidity and girth of the fourcylinder Suzuki the trim triple feels as flyweight as the mono-lung Husky. It’s easy to push around in the office car park, and equally easy to perform feet-up U-turns on a country B-road where the Suzuki needs a paddling five-point turn. The slim chassis responds to light input at any speed, and there’s a fine sense of control from the riding position. It’s not actually as high, broad and supermoto-ish as it appears. In fact the MT-09 is very trim (frame rails go inside at the swingarm at the pivot to give a supermodel waist) and so appears more gangly than it feels. You’re closer to the ’bars than on the other bikes, however, and the Yamaha has the most upright riding position – holding 80mph on the MT is less taxing on all the other three.
I think the supple suspension is the best here for most riders on most roads. I’m in the minority, with road tester Martin Fitzgibbons complaining the Yamaha lacks damping and control, especially at the rear. And he’s not alone. But I rate the compliant chassis – and not having gold forks or brake calipers displaying the
B-word matters not a jot. The MT absorbs imperfections that clatter the FTR. It soaks up mid-corner bumps that threaten to flick the lightweight Husky off line, and is the plushest on long, straight rides. Handling is still light and steering is still precise; it’s just that the Yam is set up to try and swallow bumps, rather than trackday glory.
There’s a tight corner on one of my regular country-road routes with a jumble of bumps dotted around its middle. They make the MT-09 move around on its suspension. It’s not wallowing as such, but the chassis’ poise is affected as the soft damping allows quite a bit of wheel travel. The important thing is that the triple stays on line. On the FTR and Husky, their stiffer set-ups skip across the top at lean and they try to dance out towards the opposite grass verge. The Yam’s damping only becomes a problem if every speed limit is about 30mph below your typical pace.
Whining, gurgling and droning, the 847cc inline three delivers equal road-focused delights. It captures the three-cylinder promise of V-twin-style grunt and soaring four-cylinder power almost perfectly, with flexibility, roll-on thrust and a wheel-lifting top-end rush. Sounds great too. And it’s not thirsty. Early MTS were criticised for snappy on/ off fuelling. The current model is still crisp and responsive in its Standard riding mode, but without being snatchy. There’s a perkier A mode for those after light-switch reactions, and a softer B mode for people who should have bought an MT-07 instead. There’s traction control with a couple of different settings too (and which knows the difference between wheelspin and wheelies, so allows wonderful floating second-gear silliness), plus a switchable quickshifter.
Offset dash, squinty alien-eye headlights and fluro wheels aren’t to everyone’s taste. Steve has to try hard not to shake his head as I prattle on about how bright coloured wheels make any bike look like it weighs 50kg less. But I like that the MT-09 is bold. I have nothing against adventure bikes and like a classy retro, but in a world awash with beaky giant trailies and lookalike throwbacks, there’s no harm in standing out.
Especially as you’re standing out by riding something brilliant, rather than just different for the sake of it.
‘I don’t want to say it’s more than the sum of its parts… but’