Five things you need to know about...

The new Yamaha MT-09 SP

1 NEW FRAME HELPS HANDLING

The old MT-09 could feel tall and the standard suspension settings were so stiff it didn’t work on the road — especially in low-grip situations. Now the MT-09 and SP have the same lighter, stiffer, new frame with a lower headstock that cures its handling woes at a stroke. The SP’S tweaked KYB forks and Öhlins rear shock add an extra layer of plushness and control

2 THERE’S MORE ELECTRONIC ASSISTANCE

A new ride-by-wire system and six-axis IMU facilitates a full set of rider aids, shared by the standard MT-09 and SP. The Yamaha has traction, slide and wheelie control, cornering ABS and a very sweet quickshifter and autoblipper. Both MTS also have a new 3.5in colour multi-function TFT dash and the SP also comes with cruise control

3 THE DETAILS ARE IMPRESSIVE

The 2021 SP is finished black, blue and silver, like an R1M superbike and has a doublestitched seat and clear-lacquered ally swingarm. Brake-fluid reservoirs are dark-smoked and the brake levers, bars, rear sprocket and slippery DLC fork stanchions are all black. It may not cost a whole heap more than the base model but it’s so nicely finished, you feel like you’re getting something special for the money and a Yamaha worthy of its SP badge

4 THE ENGINE IS NOW PUNCHIER

Like the standard MT-09 (£9002), the SP uses the same inline three-cylinder engine, heavily modified for lightness and more sparkle. Capacity grows from 847cc to 889cc, power climbs from 113bhp to 117bhp and torque is up from 64lb·ft at 8500rpm to 69lb·ft at 7000rpm. The outgoing motor was never lacking but now it’s even more alive

5 IT SOUNDS FANTASTIC

Fuelling is on the prickly side of smooth but never a distraction and the Yamaha sounds so angry at full throttle, you’d swear it slipped through Euro5 while no-one was looking