‘It made me question my love of superbikes’
Best ride The A9 out of Inverness. The dying embers of a mid-summer sun cast 100ft MT-09-shaped shadows over shimmering lochs. I’d ridden up from Land’s End that morning. I was tired and emotional. Bike was fine.
Longest day 903 miles in 20 hours from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
What hurt first? Neck. Below 80mph wind blast is more than acceptable for a naked, above that it is a pain.
Anything to confess? I cracked the front nose-cone panel when my drill bit picked up on the plastic while fitting the official Yamaha screen.
High point A sportsbike-slaying trackday at Cadwell – the pace and punch that the MT-09 SP demonstrated was impressive, but it was the sense of fun that I’ll remember.
Low point None.
What do you most admire?
Its KYB fork. Multi-adjustable and adaptable to any situation.
What’s it really good at? Charging down the B1090, flicking from side to side. You feel engaged and invigorated, but never stray past 100mph.
And really bad at? Its only real weak point is big trackday lean, not a problem for road riders. But this can be fixed by removing the hero blobs, or fitting the optional Yamaha rearsets.
What’s broken or fallen off? Nothing, the build quality and finish is very good.
What irritates? Nothing.
What did you think at the beginning?
I was intrigued to see if after 15 years of sportsbike ownership an MT-09 SP was satisfying enough for an experienced, performance-minded rider.
And now? I now know that it is.