FIRST RIDE: YAMAHA MT-09 SP
The old one was good, but the new one is even better.
Packing one of the most exciting engines to emerge in the last ten years and an easy on the wallet buy-it-now price, no wonder Yamaha’s MT-09 has rumbled off showroom floors aplenty. Yes its triple has to offer up a nod to Triumph, but who cares when it’s this good?
And the plaudits continue: urban warrior; monster wheelie merchant; solid build quality and utter reliability. Yet…
It doesn’t handle too well – at normal speeds all is well, but the front end can sometimes feel like it’s going to wash out, especially on less grippy roads, and the back ties itself up in knots when you’re hard on the throttle. It also gets a weave-on at very high speeds, more noticeably the sports touring Tracer 900 version.
Suspension specialists have made fortunes producing replacement shocks and properly damped and sprung fork kits to cure these ills, but there wasn’t much you could do about the Yamaha’s supermoto-high front end. The only way to ride it fast was to jam it hard into a corner, trailing the brake to put pressure on the front tyre, but even then it would sometimes wander off.
Yamaha modified the MT-09 in 2017 with separate rebound and compression damping adjustment in each fork leg. This improved things slightly, but for 2021 they’ve tackled the problem head on. So, as well as giving the overhauled engine more cubes (847cc to 889cc), power (113bhp to 117bhp) and torque (64 lb.ft to 67 lb.ft), a raft of six-axis, IMU controlled electronic rider aids, a new colour dash, an up/ down quickshifter and restyled bodywork, Yamaha have reworked the frame, too. The aluminium twin spar is lighter and stronger and the headstock is a whacking 30mm lower. That’s a huge amount. These radical changes add up to a new MT-09 that still feels supermoto tall, compared with a Street Triple RS, Duke 890 R or Tuono 660. And it still gets a shimmy-on flicking through bumpy, high speed,
Price £10,202 Engine 889cc, liquidcooled, 12v inline triple Power 117bhp Torque 67 lb.ft Top speed 145mph (est) Rake/trail 25°/108mm Wheelbase 1430mm Kerb weight 190kg (claimed) Seat height 825mm Tank size 14 litres Economy 57mpg (tested) Colours Black Availability Now
Bike verdict Now with handling to match its superb engine the MT-09 is the bike it should’ve always been and with its SP goodies is a truly desirable sports naked.
Bike rating 9/10 flip-flops, but now it goes into a corner without you wondering where you’ll be on the way out.
If you can find the extra £1203 the £10,202 SP version is the one to go for where, thanks to more refined suspension, it handles like a mini-super naked. Like the 2018 MT-09 SP (which was still too head-up, arse-down), it sits on KYB forks with black DLC stanchions (a la K3 GSX-R1000) and an Öhlins rear shock, both gloriously adjustable. You know the drill – they’re plusher and more controlled, but they also give you the solid footing to enjoy the rest of the Yamaha’s fruits.
Mechanically and electronically identical to the standard version, the SP has even richer power through the revs, smoother fuelling (although not completely perfect), is even shoutier (how it got through Euro5 is a mystery) and more playful than its European rivals. Brakes are strong, Bridgestone S22s are stickier than the old S20s and there are lots of lean sensitive rider aids to keep you safe… but you can also turn them off to play the fool. But staying true to its roots the MT-09 continues to be comfortable, easy to manage and even has adjustable footpegs and bars.
Not only does the MT now work as a fully functioning naked sportsbike, it’s also a machine worthy of its SP badge thanks to its black, blue and silver R1m-alike paintjob, clear lacquered ali swingarm, smoked brake and clutch reservoirs and blacked-out bars, levers and rear sprocket. It even has cruise control.
The MT-09 SP is now such a blast, you’d have to question why you’d go for something bigger, unless you do lots of two-up work or are a fast group trackday demon. It’s arguably more exciting than a super naked, as it’s always more fun to thrash a small engine than plod on a big one. A lightweight, feisty, mid-powered naked like this is all you need to ring your bell on the road… especially now it goes around corners properly.
‘The MT-09 SP is now such a blast… it’s always more fun to thrash a small engine than plod on a big one’