Yamaha R9 Review: New R9 tested on road and track

The revived middleweight sports bike category – traditionally known as the SuperSport class – continues to captivate as Yamaha returns to the fold with the all-new Yamaha R9. Powered by an 890cc triple, the R9 has already secured a World SuperSport (WSS) victory on its debut at Phillip Island and comes with a competitive price tag of just over £12,000. It’s clear the competition has reason to be concerned.

At first glance, one might assume the R9 is just a reworked MT-09, especially since its R7 and R3 counterparts share the same basic structure as their naked sibling models. However, the R9 is far from that. It features an entirely new Deltabox frame and chassis geometry, multi-adjustable KYB suspension, and while it retains the powerful and versatile CP3 engine from the MT-09, nearly everything else is fresh. This includes a six-axis IMU and a comprehensive suite of lean-sensitive rider aids, such as ABS, along with top-tier Brembo Stylema calipers. All of this is encased in a sleek and aerodynamic design, which Yamaha claims is their most efficient design yet.

While the R9 is clearly track-oriented, it has been meticulously designed to also perform on the road. According to Yamaha, the R9 offers "pure sports performance with a strong R-model DNA, while also being highly accessible."

SuperSport is experiencing a resurgence, both on the track and in showrooms, and here at Visor Down we were eager to ride the latest entry in the segment. However, after a massive rainstorm flooded the iconic MotoGP Jerez racetrack and surrounding areas in southern Spain, Yamaha swiftly shifted the entire press launch to Seville — the same track where we had ridden the new Ducati V2 weeks before. It was a logistical challenge, but Yamaha went the extra mile, ensuring we still had the chance to test the R9 on track.

What's the new Yamaha R9 all about

There’s been a bucket load of interest in the new R9. After all, Yamaha has a tradition of producing red hot mid-capacity sports bikes. Think FZ600, FZR600 and, for the last 25 years or so, the at times dominant YZF-R6. Now the Japanese giant is hungry for more WSS success and the road-bike sales that will follow.

Centre stage is the flexible, fun and grunt-rich CP3 890cc triple, a direct lift from the hugely popular MT-09, now producing 119PS/117bhp @10,000rpm and 93Nm/69 fllb @ 7,000 of torque. It's a cracking engine suited to any number of riding environments and, for this track-focused iteration, Yamaha has altered the final gearing from the MT-09's 16/45 to 16/43 to increase top speed and tweaked the YCCT fuelling. Although the engine is the same, the aluminium Deltabox frame is bespoke, a staggering 10kg lighter than the MT's, with tighter, faster steering geometry and increased rigidity. Quoted wet weight for the bike is 195kg, with an unofficial dry weight of 179kg. That is light.

KYB suspension is fully adjustable, high-end Brembo Stylema brake calipers pair with large-diameter 320mm discs (there's a single 220mm disc on the rear), while a plethora of riding modes, power modes and lean-sensitive rider aids derived from the R1 are installed alongside a six-axis IMU. There's new switchgear, a 5-inch full colour dash with a race display option and connectivity, and the most aerodynamic bodywork Yamaha has ever produced with an attractive minimalist front end and integrated winglets. Priced at just over £12,000 the R9 is cheaper than the track-only R6 and less than Ducati’s recently launched Panigale V2 S, but more than the traditional inline four-cylinder 600cc machines from both Kawasaki and Honda.

Rain stopped play at Jerez - Donington plays host

So with Chad’s first review of the R9 being a bit of a washout on the weather front, I took the chance to swing my leg over Yamaha’s new range-topping road bike back here in the UK. It was a short loan of around ten days, but I managed some road miles on it, and one gloriously sunny (and very, very hot) trackday at the beautiful Donington Park.

The loan starts in Wolverhampton, and it’s raining - hard. Not an ideal starting point and made worse by this particular R9 being shod with shiny new Bridgestone RS11 road and track hoops. Slotting the bike into rain mode ups the TC and softens the throttle enough to put me at ease, though, and for the most part, this first ride is a commute on some okay roads back to Coventry.

It does, though, highlight how focused the little R9 is. It may have the heart of an MT-09, but as is mentioned further up the page, everything else is new. The riding position feels very similar to the R1 and R1M, with high-pegs and narrow bars that sweep back aggressively. On closer inspection, and with an R1M parked next to the R9, it seems the clip-ons used by Yamaha are identical to those found on the now-track-only super bike.

The rest of the ergos flirt between the CP2-powered R7 and the OG supersport option, the R6. Bars are slightly higher but more importantly set significantly further forward, making the cockpit feel less claustrophobic and much roomier. The pegs are also fairly lofty. They aren’t the most extreme I’ve experienced, but again, they highlight this new model as being much more track-focused than bikes like the Triumph Daytona 660 and Suzuki GSX-8R.

Racy ergonomics aside, the R9 is a hoot to ride on UK roads. The engine is a big part of that, thanks to that tractable power and acres of mid-range. It seems, when tested in isolation, like all the bike you’ll need for road-riding pleasure. Like its CP3-powered siblings, fluffing your lines and entering a turn a gear higher than optimum isn’t an issue, and on my usual test route, I’m just flip-flopping between second and third gears.

There is another change I’m noticing, in that the new R9 seems to have a more potent engine noise compared to its CP3 siblings. It’s not the exhaust at work, but the airbox, which has been tweaked to improve the induction howl, giving the bike a racy new voice.

With the road rides out the way, I head off to Donington Park, for a glorious day on the GP circuit thanks to the good people at Bennetts. The Insurance company holds various track days up and down the country, all of which are open to Bennetts members at a discounted rate. Thanks to them, and Yamaha UK, I had six sessions ahead of me and the only downside was the heat. It was seriously hot. The kind of 34-degree heat and blazing sunshine that would allow you to fry an egg on a car bonnet, and I really wasn’t looking forward to donning my black leathers and black helmet for this one.

Session one, as always, was a steady affair, although it did allow me to compare and contrast the R9 with another CP3-powered bike, the XSR900 GP. I was at the same circuit last year testing that out, and like its retro sibling, the new R9 relishes Donington’s fast sweeping corners.

The only change made to the bike on the day was two clicks of rear pre-load and a drop in tyre pressures down to 29PSI hot. But despite this, I was still getting some tearing of the rear tyre even in the first couple of sessions.

With only one set of hoops to last me the day, I choose longevity over chasing any BSB contracts, but even riding a slightly cooler pace on the R9 highlights its sublime little chassis. The front end is a masterpiece, feeling planted and stable around every corner. Craner Curves is basically every rider’s favourite section of the track, and it’s a section that you need a reliable front end under you. It’s corners like that where the R9 really shines, easily keeping pace with much bigger, much more powerful bikes.

If there is one area where I feel that the R9 is lacking, it’s the brakes. The lever feel is, for me, too progressive. I’m left wanting a bit more initial bite from the front brake and a little less of a smooshy feeling at the lever. It’s weird, because this is top-spec kit from Brembo and it’s Stylema hardware, leading me to believe that it’s the ancillary parts that Yamaha have selected that are causing the feeling. It should be an easy fix, though, and I don’t doubt that some braided hoses and possibly softer pads would transform the way the bike slows down.

Verdict

All in all, the new R9 is a riot. Granted, at places like Silverstone, you are going to be getting dropped on the straights a fair bit, but that front end feeling you’ll get from the bike will more than make up for it’s straight line shortcomings. And that’s not to say that the R9 is sluggish, quite the opposite in fact, but compared to a 200bhp-plus sports bike, you are going to be left slightly behind.

What I found interesting at Donington was how close the R9 appeared to be in comparison to some track-day R6s. It’s a fair comment that I was comparing my riding to the other riders (and not the bikes they were riding), but I came across a number of R6s on the track, and the newer bike felt more than a match for the riders I was dicing with. The R9 was noticeably punchier out of the corners, in fact, while I was already cranking on the throttle to get down the next straight, a few of the R9-mounted riders would still be feathering the throttle. For me, that again highlights how much more forgiving the new bike is compared to inline four-cylinder super sport offerings.

So, similar power to an R6, similar weight, more tech and electronics, better on the road and - with a few modifications - probably faster on the track. More telling than any of my ‘opinions’ of the bike, though, are the reactions from the public. I chatted to a number of riders during the Donington trackday who had been riding with the Yamaha Track Experience, which has its own fleet of R9s. Nobody I spoke to had a bad word to say about it, not a single thing. There was even a guy who had put his name down for one the same day it was announced. He received the bike this summer and wasted no time in adapting it purely for trackdays. He’d dropped a full system exhaust with ECU remap, new rearsets, and upgraded brakes on the bike, and it looked and sounded awesome. He was extremely happy with the outcome, and he was movning up to the R9 from a trad supersport bike!

Images - Jamie Morris / Kelly Mercer

2025 Yamaha R9 specs

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