2024 Yamaha MT-09: A Decade On, Better Than Ever

08/05/2024 18:00

Yamaha will tell you that the MT-09 is a hyper naked machine. The lack of fairing screams standard. The messaging surrounding tubular handlebars is all about comfort.

But a day of ripping the 2024 iteration of the machine that started Yamaha’s current performance-oriented Master of Torque lineup demonstrated that all of that is just a ruse, a guise.

It’s a sportbike, pure and simple.

It may lack wind protection and clip-on bars, but the thing hauls, handles and brakes. It flicks hard into corners, holds its composure mid-corner, and barrels out with the front wheel threatening to come off the ground. After about 120 miles of twisty roads in and around San Jose and Santa Cruz in Northern California, I came to the following conclusion. It goes fast, it handles, it makes you feel fast, and if that doesn’t meet the definition of sportbike, I don’t know what does.

Tech Briefing

Yamaha established its three-cylinder hyper naked formula with the 2014 model (known then as the FZ-09) and has not strayed far from the roots put down with that machine. The engine has grown from the original 847cc to the 890cc of the current CP3 engine, also found in several other models in Yamaha’s lineup. Horsepower of the current iteration is a claimed 117.3 bhp at 10,000 rpm, with torque peaking at 68.6 lbs.-ft. at 7,000 rpm.

Changes for the 2024 model year include a new up- and down-quickshifter system that operates in a wider range of situations. The new quickshifter system allows downshifts under acceleration and upshifts while decelerating. A new transmission incorporates different internal gears and six drive dogs instead of the previous five. The idea is to reduce shift lash and smooth out the gear engagement. The new gas tank cover incorporates a pair of screens that increase the intake sound.

The riding position has been revised, with new handlebars more than an inch and a quarter lower and pegs that are more than an inch further back and slightly higher. The tank cover is more than an inch lower and more than two inches wider and is redesigned to hold the rider’s knees in place during enthusiastic cornering. The seat is now a split design, with rider and passenger having separate seats.

The twin-spar aluminum frame gets fine adjustments as the company chases better handling and feel. New engine mount brackets are slightly thicker – from 3.2mm to 4.0mm on the left and from 3.2mm to 6.0mm – to increase rigidity in that part of the chassis. A new headstock bracket is thinner to reduce rigidity there. The 41mm KYB forks get stiffer springs, 15N/mm from 14N/mm, and revised damping, and the single KYB shock gets revised damping and a new linkage with a flatter curve. The idea is to generate more stability and less pitch during braking and acceleration, as well as better front-end feel and more consistent feel over a wider range of riding conditions. Proprietary Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 tires are mounted over lightweight 10-spoke aluminum alloy rims.

Ride modes include Rain, Street and Sport, with two custom mode slots available for the rider who wants to fine-tune their personal selection of throttle sensitivity, traction control, slide control, wheelie control, back slip regulation and quickshifter sensitivity. The BSR (Back Slip Regulator) modulates engine brake torque in traction conditions where the slipper clutch is overwhelmed.

The styling is new and cleaner, and there are lots of little touches. The mirrors are new. The passenger peg mounts are hidden. The new seat is narrower at the front. New switches operate turn signals that now are self-canceling and have a lane-change function – tap the switch and the signal flashes briefly, then turns itself off. The cruise control couldn’t be easier to operate. And there are four different dash display modes, including one that is inspired by a piano – lest we forget, Yamaha makes exquisite pianos.

Riding Impressions

Yamaha’s plan for the machines powered by the CP3 engine is softer power at the bottom end of the rpm range, with a smooth transition to a punchy midrange and legit power at the top end. The 2024 MT-09’s throttle response is smooth and direct, even in Sport mode. I switched to Rain mode when riding down a single-lane road where the shadows from massive redwood trees hid the wet patches, and the muted throttle response was deeply appreciated. Back in Sport mode, wheelies were the norm, and on a section of Pacific Coast Highway shut down for the test ride by the California Highway Patrol, we got to exceed the posted speed limit – ahem. Even at speed, the bike felt smooth, calm and settled. At normal highway speeds, the thing was just loafing, waiting to jump when you called.

The new riding position, I felt, gave up nothing in terms of comfort. The bars felt slightly wider than clip-ons, but the lower position did not result in any greater pressure on my wrists. Same with the more rearset pegs. The engine vibrated little, the new mirrors worked, and the cruise control was responsive and sophisticated. I’ve quit apologizing for loving cruise control. I think it makes a long ride so much less taxing.

The new riding position provided real benefits in the twisty sections of the ride. Yamaha says the changes were designed to put the rider in a more forward-oriented stance, and I felt like I had a more direct connection to the front wheel. The chassis changes also were an improvement, and it was fun – I mean serious fun – when we got to the sections where it was left-right-left-right for miles, as fast as you dared. The suspension components were not the most sophisticated, but the bike was stable going into corners over roads bumpy enough to get the rear wheel airborne, and the machine was planted mid-corner. Bargain suspension components don’t have to be terrible – they just have to be tuned correctly, with proper spring rates and complementary damping, and Yamaha got this setup pretty close.

The Brembo radial master cylinder felt solid and allowed me to set my entry speed with precision. I’m not the last-of-the-late-brakers on track or road, but the Advics calipers and 298mm twin discs up front gave me everything I wanted on a quick mountain ride. And, as I have noted in several of my past MT-09 reviews, there was definitely a rear brake attached to the machine. What it does, I have no idea.

What else? The new quickshfter system was awesome, one of the best I’ve used. The seat was plenty comfortable. I wish there was a way to bypass the two Custom ride modes and just use the Mode button to toggle through Rain, Street and Sport, but man, isn’t that a first-world problem?

Yamaha got the original FZ-09 right and has spent a decade honing the bike to make it better. And it was clear at the end of the day that this iteration of the MT-09 is noticeably better than its predecessor and is the best one yet. Yeah, it’s fairing-free, clip on-free, etc., but the MT-09 is a genuine sportbike and a very, very nice mount for tearing through the twisties.

The post 2024 Yamaha MT-09: A Decade On, Better Than Ever appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.