Yamaha MT 09 SP
When a bike gets the ‘SP’ treatment you expect it to be better. However...
NOW THIS FEELS like home,’ declares Steve Herbert, Bike’s digital editor. ‘It’s the flat seat and upright riding position, the wonky dash that feeds you only the information you need. And the incredible triple engine. I love the MT-09.’ And many, many people agree with him. After all the MT-09 has been one of the most successful motorcycles nearly half a decade. Which is a long time when it comes to selling bikes. Indeed, the revatalised MT range has been turning round the fortunes of Yamaha for years now, its emphasis not on power and tall gearing, but on usable torque. That makes the MT-09 an absolute hoot when it comes to riding typical British biking roads with their mix of turns, gradients and surfaces. The MT-09’S 847cc triple is easily the most versatile engine here. On twisty B-roads it has the gut-punching thrust of the MV Agusta. There’s also enough of a top end to tank along A-roads at a hellish pace. Hit village limits and it delivers the soft low-rev fuelling of the Triumph. There’s none of the KTM’S hunting throttle or snappy fuelling to endure. All this is to be expected. Yamaha tech bods have spent four years sculpting three distinct and characterful engine maps. Unlike the take-’em-or-leave-’em rider modes of the Street Triple, the MT’S three settings completely change the feel of the bike. Click the mode button on the right switchgear to cycle through the options: nutcase A-mode for immediate and neck-spraining acceleration, a well-rounded Std-mode for select-and-forget riders and the most sultry of B-modes for response as soft as whipped cream. Just like the Yamaha’s traction control settings, these modes are simple to understand, dedicated button. few enough It’s much to remember more intuitive and change than the at Street the flick Triple of a RS’S five modes with their customisable options and Health and Safety warning notices. So far, so standard MT-09. But this bike isn’t standard. It’s the SP version, new for 2018, and costing £9342 instead of the standard machine’s £8542. That extra £800 gets you coloured seat stitching, a posh SP paint job with name badges on the wheel rims... and fully-adjustable gold suspension. You know it’s a special bike when the suspension is gold. Gold is synonymous with Swedish suspender-maker Öhlins and, yes, there is indeed a shock from Sweden screwed between the frame and swingarm. Push down and release the flat seat and soft damping smooths out the spring’s return to standard height. It squeezes class from its piston with a sumptuous action that beats everything else here, even the comparable Öhlins unit on the Triumph. There’s even a remote preload adjuster to make pillion fiddling easy. Marvellous. Things are different at the front, despite the gold. The two fullyadjustable stanchions are KYB. On the MT-09 SP’S launch (Bike, April 2018) I was told that adding an Öhlins fork would push the SP’S price too close to the £11,771 MT-10. But mismatched suspension front and rear is typical of these middleweight nakeds: the Triumph twins an Öhlins STX40 shock with a 41mm Showa Big Piston Fork, and the MV Agusta pairs a 43mm Marzocchi fork with a Sachs shock. Both bikes deliver a balanced – if firm – ride. Let’s see how the Yamaha compares. Paul Lang levers himself off the SP after a long, bumpy B-road. ‘Why is this so harsh? I want to waft over bumps. Even with preload fully wound off, you can’t say the Yamaha is wafting. It doesn’t even turn quickly. Give me back the Triumph... or even the KTM. Those bikes are softer and turn quicker.’ Paul’s right. The set-up feels too firm at the front and also dulls the standard bike’s accurate handling. Coming from the laserprecise Brutale, the Yamaha’s front end feels like it’s draped in wet towels. Even the smoothest road surfaces turn into a wade through an overflowing laundrette. It might suit furious track work, but on standard British roads the SP’S ride is worse than the standard bike, not better. If you’re not careful, dropping the front end after the odd crest wheelie sends the handlebar flapping. No such issues with the MV or Triumph. And unlike the KTM, the Yamaha doesn’t give you the reassurance of a steering damper. The MT-09 SP confounds me. On the one hand I do feel at home: there’s that superb engine and you get simple electronics that enhance B-road fun – you’re allowed wheelies in traction control setting 1. But the SP’S higher-quality suspension makes the ride worse. For British roads buy the standard MT and save £800.
‘The SP’S higher-quality suspension makes the ride worse’