Yamaha MT-09 SP
Just how good is Yamaha’s new naked?
YAMAHA MT-09 SP
The MT-09 that Yamaha pulled out of the bag back in 2013 arguably saved the brand from extinction. Eight years on, with hundreds of thousands of sales to its name, the time had come to repay that debt to this naughty naked with a ground-up evolution. Of course, there are other reasons for the MT’s redesign, with a core factor being the introduction of Euro5. Unfortunately, no matter how successful a bike is, no machine is safe from the ball-ache of legislation, but Yamaha saw this forced factor as an opportunity to take the MT back to the drawing board and make it bigger, better and even more of a head-case. Aside from the odd nut and bolt, everything about this bike is new, with the salient component, the engine, benefiting massively from this box-fresh REV-olution. To offer more of a buzz up top, the much-loved CP3 motor has been given a longer stroke and an enlarged capacity. The result of which means a 4bhp gain up at the limiter end, and even more torque down low. In fact, the spread of power on tap is not simply greater throughout the rev range, but more linear and, thanks to a new ride-by-wire throttle and enhanced fuelling, it’s a damn sight smoother too… but we’ll get to that a little bit later. Other big changes include the introduction of an R1-inspired electronics suite, meaning the SP packs everything from slide control to wheelie control, engine braking management to rider modes. And just in case you need to legitimise your new purchase as a commuter to the taxman, there’s also cruise control on the cards for the very first time in the MT’s short but meaningful life.
Yamaha’s really gone to town on the SP and the entire thought process behind this latest iteration has seen the package move up a gear. It’s meaner, leaner and for 2021, it’s also far less motard. Gone are the gangly forks and wallowing, long travel rear shock. The package itself is lower, shorter and benefits from a lighter and stiffer frame that’s aided by a swanky looking, brushed aluminium, swinger. Weighing in at just 190kg wet, the Yamaha has also picked up the mantle for being the lightest naked in its class, which is partially owing to a new manufacturing process, called SpinForged, that’s meant the wheels are thinner, stronger and weigh in some 700g less than they did before. Every little helps, as they say, and that’s the reality of this bike’s new guise… for every big change made, tens of little changes have been fired into the mix. Of course, perhaps the least subtle difference of all is to the front headlight, which is now LED and more minimalist than ever. Some people like Marmite, some people don’t, but whatever your thoughts on the look of the bike, I’m pretty sure you’d be less on the fence about the riding experience.