Yamaha MT-09 SP
While the world has gone crazy for KTM’S 790 Duke, Yamaha’s new MT-09 SP offers a better build and a gruntier package
IN A MOTORCYCLING world that can fall into the trap of new is best and newer is even better, Yamaha’s MT09 SP is 2018’s unsung hero. When it comes to middleweights, everyone has been raving about KTM’S 790 Duke — and while there is no getting away from the fact it’s a decent bike, the SP has it licked when it comes to practicality and value for money. This is why we love it…
1 It offers great value
The £800-more-than-base-model SP buys you a lot. The standard KYB shock is replaced by an Öhlins version, fullyadjustable with a hydraulic preload adjuster perfect for compensating for pillions or luggage. Don’t think its race-bike stiff either — the SP’S rear spring is actually softer than the base model.
At the front, you get fully adjustable KYB forks of a similar-spec to a new R6, but with 137mm of suspension travel to soak up B-road Britain. The SP also has a silverand-blue, not flouro, paintjob more suited to us middle-aged blokes and you get a quickshifter. If you bought those separately, you’d be looking at an extra £2K or so.
2 It has the best engine for British roads
In a world where unnecessary, unusable power has corrupted streetbikes, the MT-09 family proves that 110 cleverly-meted horsepower is enough for anyone when it’s combined with the off-beat charms of a threecylinder motor.
Leave the throttle in STD mode and revel in the direct response, driving hard from astonishingly low revs before building into a crescendo of noise, drama and top-end surge that impresses even hardcore revheads. But best of all, most of this happens at semi-sane speeds – it’s possible to enjoy a chunk of the bike’s potential without appearing on Crimewatch.
Sure, that also applies to a Triumph Street Triple but the Yamaha uses no oil and its placement in the Tracer 900 has shown its appetite for miles.
3 The more you put in, the more you get out
This applies in many ways. With a rearwards weight distribution, the more you sit mock-aggressively over the front of the bike and load up that tyre, the better