Yamaha R9 (2025) - Review

Technical Review: Ben Purvis (9/10/24)
Road Riding: Luke Brackenbury (17/6/25)
Track Riding: Michael Mann (17/6/25)

Ever since the three-cylinder Yamaha MT-09 entered production back in 2014 there have been rumours of a faired R9 sports bike based on the same platform. Now it’s finally here and surprises by gaining its own purpose-made chassis wrapped around a retuned MT-09 motor.

While the prospect of an R9 was little more than wishful thinking initially, back in 2021 we got the first solid evidence of the machine in the form of trademarks filed to protect the ‘R9’ and ‘YZF-R9’ titles. It’s been more than three years between those clues and the bike’s launch, and it’s clear Yamaha’s engineers have been hard at work on the project the whole time. The result is a sports bike that essentially slips into the position that was left empty by the demise of the R6 and more recently, the R1, as a street-legal machine. But does the change from an inline four cylinder to a triple create the best new direction for the R series?

Pros & Cons

2025 Yamaha R9 - Price & PCP Deals

A lack of direct rivals means it’s hard to judge the value proposition that Yamaha’s £12,254 price tag gives the R9. It’s only a fraction more expensive than the similarly-powered MT-09 SP and undercuts the track-only, £13k R6 Race, and by those yardsticks seems like a strong proposition. It’s also a little less expensive than the £12,509 XSR900 GP, which tested the waters for a faired MT-09 derivative with its half-faired, retry style. But throw Honda’s reborn CBR600RR into the mix, along with Kawasaki’s ZX-6R – the two last holdouts of the traditional four-cylinder 600cc category and each priced at around £10,500 – and the picture becomes less clear.

While the R9’s 117.3hp peak, the same as the MT-09, doesn’t stand out in a world of 200hp-plus superbikes, the relatively slow sales of those neck-snapping machines suggests that power isn’t everything. And remember, the R9’s power, torque and weight put it a nose ahead of the original 1992 Honda Fireblade in terms of pace, while combining it with modern suspension, tyres and electronics that machine could never have dreamt of.

For 2025 the bike will be offered in two colour schemes, Yamaha’s classic ‘Icon Blue’ and a simple ‘Tech Black’.

Sample PCP deal: for a £3,000 deposit and 4,000 miles per year, you’d be looking at £150 per month x 36-months, and an optional final payment of £5,992 (9.4% APR).

2025 Yamaha R9 - Engine & Performance

When Yamaha launched the MT-09 in 2013, pretty much everyone wanted that engine in a sports bike (if you’ve ever ridden a Triumph Daytona 675, you’ll know how good a triple with clip-on bars is…)

The R9’s power comes from the same ‘CP3’ triple that powers the latest MT-09 and spin-offs with just a handful of tweaks to suit its new home. The essentials of the engine are unaltered. The 890cc capacity, 78mm bore and 62.1mm stroke remain, as does the 11.5:1 compression ratio, and the figures for peak power – 117.3hp (119PS/87.5kW) at 10,000rpm – and peak torque are also carried across.

All of that helps when it comes to ensuring the R9 meets all the right emissions rules, of course, and reduces the development cost, but Yamaha has tweaked the motor with R9-specific ignition and fuel mapping, along with a different final drive ratio to suit its aerodynamic, faired shape.

The transmission is, unsurprisingly, borrowed from the MT-09 as well, and features Yamaha’s ‘third generation’ ‘QSS’ quickshifter, which allows clutchless up and down-shifts, with two settings available. Setting 1 is simpler, allowing upshifts during acceleration and downshifts during deceleration, while Setting 2 lets you downshift when accelerating or upshift when decelerating as well to cover a wider spectrum of use cases. I’ve used a lot of quickshifters, and the R9’s is possibly the most refined I’ve used - full throttle or pootling about at town speeds.

The electronics are as you’d expect of a high-end sports bike in 2025, including ‘Sport,’ ‘Street,’ and ‘Rain’ riding modes as well as two custom settings and four track modes, each controlling the setup of the power delivery, traction control, slide control, brake control, back slip regulator, engine braking and front wheel lift control. There’s launch control as well.

There’s so much to play with you would benefit from your own data engineer, but fortunately the settings can all be adjusted on the settings screen or via the MyRide smartphone app even when you’re away from the bike. Once you know all the acronyms (Power delivery (PWR), Traction Control (TCS), Slide Control System (SCS), Brake Control (BC), Back Slip Regulator (BSR), Engine Brake Management (EBM) and front wheel Lift Control (LIF) you’ll soon start playing with it (i.e. reducing LIF…).

2025 Yamaha R9 - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

This is something of a pleasant surprise. We expected the R9 would follow the same recipe as the smaller R7 and R3 models by simply wrapping the chassis of the equivalent MT naked bike in a fairing, adding some low bars and rearsets plus dedicated sports suspension, and calling it a day.

And as pleasant as both of those sporty-looking bikes are, thankfully Yamaha took a different approach with the R9; a real-deal, no-compromised race bike on the road.

With its own dedicated, cast aluminium Deltabox frame, Yamaha claims to have adjusted the torsional, lateral and longitudinal rigidity specifically for the R9, using carefully-chosen thicknesses for the aluminium as well as strategically-positioned holes in the chassis. Coming in at only 9.7kg, it’s said to be the lightest frame yet for a Yamaha supersports model, helping the R9 hit its wet weight of only 195kg. That’s just 2kg more than an MT-09 despite the addition of the bodywork and beefier suspension.

Speaking of which, it would have been easy to use the same forks as the MT-09 SP, but while the KYB brand is unchanged, the R9’s are fatter – 43mm vs 41mm – and take their inspiration from the R1, nestled between a similar top yoke. Adjustable for compression and rebound, one on each fork tube, they’re paired to a fully-adjustable KYB rear shock instead of the MT-09 SP's Ohlins. The wheelbase, at 1420mm, is just a fraction shorter than the 1430mm of the MT-09, and substantially less than the 1500mm of the XSR900, which has a different swingarm.

The front brakes are Brembo’s ubiquitous Stylema monobloc calipers, gripping 320mm discs and operated via a matching Brembo master cylinder. If you require more stopping power than this and your surname name isn’t Quartararo, then I'm lost for words; the performance and feel from this system is exemplary.

The six-axis IMU allows for cornering ABS, and the antilock on the rear wheel can also be switched off for track use.

The result on the road is a very firm one indeed and the bike is begging to be on snooker table-smooth racetracks; put it this way, I had to keep winding the handy remote preload adjuster softer to get the rear shock to stop kicking me out of the seat. 73kg me ended up on the softest setting and that was acceptable, but not perfect.

Controversial I’m sure, but 90% of the time on the road you’d be faster, more comfortable and composed riding an MT-09. But in reality, I don’t think riders are weighing up between these two bikes. Proper sporty bikes are always compromised when it comes to less than perfect roads.

2025 Yamaha R9 – On Track

Lucky chap, Michael Mann, got to experience the R9 on track at a Bennetts Track Day at Brands Hatch and had this to say: “One session at the BikeSocial members-only Donington Park track day in May only whetted my appetite for a several more sessions at the slightly compromised Brands Hatch Indy layout a month layout. I say ‘compromised’ because ironically the circuit sweeper leaked hydraulic fluid on the racing line around Druids and the exit of Graham Hill Bend. Lap records remained intact as a result! But seriously, the Indy circuit might not be everyone’s cup o’tea but because the same corners come around every 60-seconds, each session therefore offers around 15 occasions to test the brakes, handling, gearchange, acceleration, etc. in the same place. Repetition results in a more thorough test, right?

The R9 is a narrow, light, small machine and yet is classified as Yamaha’s halo sportsbike in the wake of the R1’s non-compliance with the latest EU emission laws. So, 6ft / 90kg me makes this thing look like the R7 from the side, though I only really noticed when glancing at side-on photos. The bike still has plenty of room to slide your bum around on – and the seat/peg/bar ratio is well suited to the track, and even the short 20-mile road ride I managed too. Comfort is one of the welcome compromises of this particular sportsbike, I didn’t feel especially cramped, which my 45-year-old knees were happy about. Getting tucked in behind the screen again didn’t feel like a chore and what wind blast there was on the start/finish straight was barely noticeable such are the benefits of its rather attractive fairing.

The perky, pitchy noise from the airbox and its accompanying acoustic grills really do add to the charm and intrigue. Name me a person who doesn’t like the sound of a triple and I’ll show you a liar. This CP3 motor is an utter gem, and I was so eager to see how it’d perform in this bespoke chassis. 120bhp won’t suit a Snetterton but on the short squirts and rolling Brands Indy circuit, it was more than capable. Revving the bike too much sees the red line come-a-knocking very quickly. Peak power is 10,000rpm and the bike needed those gear changes, it was revving out in 2nd on the run downhill from Druids before braking for the next left. And with a good run out of Clark Curve and I’d be up to 6th before braking for Paddock Hill. Downshifting with this level of electronics looking after was nothing but easy and stable, even on that bumpy section into the first corner. Not once did I feel the bike squirm or become unnerved. And only a couple of occasions did the ABS show up when squeeing hard into Druids.

Overall, the R9 is a fabulous all-rounder on track. In the right hands, it’ll upset machines with +30-40bhp, yet is equally as simple to get along with for those in the novice group. Naturally there’s an abundance of electronic settings to work through too, depending on your skill level.”

2025 Yamaha R9 - Comfort & Economy

There are myriad factors behind the decline in superbike popularity over the last few years but one undeniable one is that the latest generation of machines has tended to put the focus so firmly on track riding that road use has been largely forgotten – resulting in bikes that are torturous over long distances. The R9 is no different.

The bars are clip-ons, mounted under the top yoke and I wore three different jackets (separately) on the first day of riding the bike to see if it was weight gain giving me pins and needles in my hands when riding under national speed limits. Nope. And I haven’t put on weight. This is very much a sports bike riding position, and at 5’7” I’m certainly below average height and more of a racer build (just not the speed. Or talent.).

The seat is reasonably comfortable for a sports bike - you’d still want to be under 35 to consider a cross-continent jaunt on it - and the 830mm seat height makes it accessible to a lot of riders. The pillion seat is about the size of a sugar sachet and during our test of the bike I managed to convince zero of the five people I asked to take a ride on the back of it…

Surprisingly, there are no items listed in the ‘Comfort’ category of the 74-item strong official accessory catalogue for the R9, but there are pannier and tank bag luggage options; European track day, you say?

Fuel economy is probably not high on your agenda if you’re choosing the R9. With spirited road riding we saw 53mpg and the fuel gauge flashing ‘fill me’ at 120 miles.

2025 Yamaha R9 - Equipment

On board you’re faced with a 5in colour TFT dash – pretty much the industry standard these days – with smartphone connectivity and a newly designed set of bar switchgear to help navigate it.

With a six-axis inertial measurement unit connected to ride-by-wire throttles and the antilock brakes as well as the engine’s ignition, there’s all the latest rider aids but also a couple of luxuries including standard-fit cruise control, operable above 35mph, and a speed limiter that you can set to make sure you don’t get carried away. I really found this useful, and despite my best attempts, if you switch it off when full throttle it gradually reintroduces the power. Clever!

The dash’s smartphone connectivity allows the use of the Yamaha MyRide app to modify the riding mode settings, and via the Garmin StreetCross app you gain full navigation. The dash also gives the usual info on calls, texts and even weather updates. For more in-depth control, the subscription-based Y-TRAC app lets you access data logging from the bike including lap and sector times, as well as data relating to lean angle, revs, gear position, throttle position and speed, which can all be cross referenced to GPS data from either the rider’s phone or an on-bike Garmin GLO2 GPS unit. If you’re so inclined, you can even use the Y-TRAC app to let your pit crew (you have a pit crew, don’t you?) send messages to the dash while you’re on track. What a time to be alive.

2025 Yamaha R9 - Rivals

Three-cylinder sports bikes aren’t thick on the ground since the demise of the Triumph Daytona 675, and the remaining examples of the breed are either in a higher cost class altogether, like the MV Agusta F3, or in a lower performance bracket like the Triumph Daytona 660. That might change with the introduction of upcoming Chinese triples like the CFMoto 675SR and the Zontes 703RR, but until they’re available the R9’s main rivals are the old guard of 600cc-class four-cylinders or maybe Aprilia’s RS660 twin.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R | Price: £10,599

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Power/Torque

112bhp / 50.9lb-ft

Weight

198kg

Honda CBR600RR | Price: £10,529

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Power/Torque

119.4bhp / 46.5lb-ft

Weight

193kg

Aprilia RS660 | Price: £10,450

Read more

Power/Torque

100bhp / 46.5lb-ft

Weight

183kg

2025 Yamaha R9 - Verdict

Gone from Yamaha’s showrooms are the screaming R6 and crossplane R1, the latter boasted almost 200bhp. And if we’re all honest with ourselves, nobody needs that kind of power on the road: some of us just want it because we do.

The R9 makes just shy of the last R6’s outright horsepower but makes more torque at a lot lower in the rev range, making the engine a lot more flexible, friendly and more involving to ride at any speed. And dare we say, a much better noise.

As a package, the R9 is lacking nothing; the chassis and electronics specification is incredible and allows you with limited tools and a smartphone to tailor it to your needs. Yes, it’s a compromised road bike by way of its riding position and firm suspension, but that is the mark of something that truly is sports orientated. And in black, with its wings, it looks truly special.

The R7 is a fine road bike that plays the part of looking like a sports bike, but if we are playing the numbers game then I have to say that 9 is way more than 1. After riding the R9 on road and track we are convinced this is where sports bikes on the road need to be. I can’t wait for Bennetts British Superbikes to have this category of supersport bikes as the top class.

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2025 Yamaha R9 - Technical Specification

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