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Yamaha’s 2025 YZF-R9 is the sportbike we’ve been waiting for Yamaha to build. It features one of the best three-cylinder engines we’ve ever ridden, and then is stuffed into a high-spec chassis, and comes with a complete suite of rider aids. Is it ready to start a legacy of its own?

Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/yamaha-yzf-r9-first-ride/

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Category

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Sports
Transcript
00:00Good morning we're here at Sonoma Raceway for the introduction of the YZF-R9
00:05and guess what it's pouring rain and the track is completely soaked because we
00:10really wanted to come and find out what this new R9 is really about it this is
00:15such an exciting new model for Yamaha and one that's been much anticipated the
00:19R6 is gone this is their new middleweight bike we want to find out if
00:22this is really a replacement for the R6 or just a new gen supersport kind of
00:27like what we suspect but hopefully we'll get a little bit of time today to
00:30get our bearings on this bike and see what it's all about
00:43so this is a very familiar engine to us it's the CP3 engine that's 890 CC that
00:50is also in the MT-09 SP in the tracer 9 models we love this engine at cycle
00:56world we've been a big fan of this engine for a very long time and in fact
01:00last year it won 210 best awards in the tracer 9 GT plus and also in the MT-09
01:06SP so we were super excited when we heard that the YZF-R9 was coming out
01:12because with our love of this engine we thought man put this in a real sport
01:17bike and it would just be the perfect combination because the MT-09 SP just
01:22is an absolutely ripping naked bike this engine other than the final drive
01:27gearing is identical to the engine in the MT-09 the only real difference is
01:32that this bike has different final gearing so this has a 43 tooth sprocket
01:37on the rear instead of a 45 on the MT-09 so it's got a little bit taller gearing
01:41for a little bit better top speed but otherwise the engine is identical
01:45everything about it's the same there's no difference in a little bit we'll talk
01:48more about how it was to ride on the track so that's an overview of the CP3
01:52and the YZF-R9
01:56we just got our first sessions on Yamaha's brand new YZF-R9 and we went
02:02out on a really wet track on full wet rain tires it took a little while to get
02:06up to speed and build some confidence and really start to feel what the tires
02:10were doing but then after you know five six seven laps started getting
02:14comfortable and could start really twisting the throttle really trusting
02:18the electronics we had it kind of in a pretty conservative rain mode so you
02:23could really get aggressive on the throttle and the tire wasn't spinning
02:27too much at all just really driving forward and then really started to get a
02:31feel for what this engine is like in this bike just like this engine has been
02:35in the MT-09, the MT-09 SP, the Tracer 9 GT it's just such a great overall package
02:41it's just got such nice torque delivery really really smooth with the
02:45electronics the thing works so well like I really enjoy this engine in so many
02:50different applications so it's super exciting that now in the R9 this engine
02:54has found another home and works just as well as it does in those other bikes and
02:58so it's a really great fit I think for most people this is not an R6 it's not a
03:02super revvy top-end motorcycle but when you get out on there especially on a wet
03:07track when you're trying to be super smooth and you could just roll on the
03:10throttle and the torque is there I thought this engine is just a really
03:14fun bike it makes this bike so good hopefully as the day dries out a little
03:18bit we'll get a better understanding of how it is with a little bit more grip on
03:22the track and start to push a little bit more but in the one sections that I
03:26could start to push you know going down through the S's a couple places where I
03:30could really open the throttle and shift on the rev limiter really really fun and
03:34I think people that are looking at this type of bike want to know is is it gonna
03:38live up to my expectations as a track bike and so far from the limited time
03:41that we've had yeah it's really cool so now let's do a little bit of an overview
03:48on the YZF-R9's chassis so this is probably one of the areas that I think
03:53Yamaha really had to concentrate hard on to make this bike a super sport bike
03:58compared to the MT-09 so this bike has fully adjustable KYB suspension at
04:04either end it's got high and low speed compression and then it's got rebound
04:08and preload on the fork and a fully adjustable rear shock with remote
04:13preload adjustment that's a big step up from some of the other bikes that
04:18they've made in the past like the even the R6's didn't have suspension quite
04:22this sophisticated maybe at the end there they did but this has a Kashima
04:27coat on the fork that's very similar to the factory stuff that KYB has
04:31done so it's got really top-shelf suspension on this bike that makes a
04:36whole lot of sense because they've gone to great lengths to also make sure that
04:39the frame is different so compared to the MT-09 for instance this frame is
04:44all new it has a completely different front section it has a completely
04:49different swing arm the only thing that it shares with the MT-09 is the subframe
04:53but everything else is specific to this model what they were trying to do is
04:57accomplish a lot better rigidity and in particular for improved braking because
05:02they know it's gonna have slick tires on it for track days and stuff and it's
05:06gonna have a lot more load going into the front so the chassis is completely
05:11different than the other bikes that this engine goes into Yamaha has gone all in
05:15on this chassis to make it a real super sport chassis Yamaha will tell you that
05:20this is not a replacement for the R6 but the buyer that's gonna buy this bike is
05:24gonna take it to track days is gonna go on sport rides this is a little bit
05:28different than some of the other next-gen middleweights that we've seen
05:32on the market like Suzuki's GSX-8R and the new Panigale V2 I think that this
05:37bike is a little bit more hardcore for sport riding and so Yamaha has made the
05:41chassis worthy of that
05:45this bike is really meant to be a real super sport bike and so Yamaha has gone
05:52to great lengths to make this chassis incredibly good this bike so far
05:56instills a ton of trust like I got out there and I was trying to feel out the
06:01tires and really just trying to get up to speed and see how everything felt but
06:06then as I kept pushing and kept pushing a little bit harder my comfort zone and
06:09just getting into a groove and really starting to get a feel for the bike the
06:14thing that stands out is that I could really really trust the front and on a
06:18wet track that's everything right so just trying to come into some braking
06:22zones trail braking as little as possible trying to get most of your
06:25braking done bolt upright on the rain tires the feedback from the front is
06:30really really good and then the handling on this bike you're not being super
06:34aggressive you don't have a ton of grip on the wet track but the turn-in is
06:38really quick and light and nice just really feels aggressive and sporty but a
06:42lot of stability so coming out of carousel and starting to pick up the bike
06:47and the bike just does exactly what I wanted it to do in these sort of
06:50conditions and gave me the trust to not worry about it too much and as I got
06:54going you know and started really getting a feel for it I could appreciate
06:58it and have a completely trustworthy front and it gives you confidence and
07:01with the combination of that in the rain tires I started you know really really
07:05trusting it and having a lot of fun to be honest so from a handling standpoint
07:09really really good brakes same thing the Brembo's are freaking awesome the
07:14Stylomas that are on this but we're in the wet so you can only push so hard
07:18what we got to experience a little bit today one finger braking you're trying
07:23to be light you're trying to not be too aggressive in the wet braking zones but
07:26the feedback is really good with the rain tire so you could really trust it
07:30and never had any problems but one finger two finger braking power so
07:34really really nice setup so far the Chassis feels really fantastic
07:42as you would expect with all of Yamaha's bikes that use this CP3 engine this has
07:48a full suite of electronic rider aids it's got a six axis IMU it's got the
07:53Yamaha chip controlled throttle it's got all the bells and whistles you can go in
07:57it's got four different track settings and four different mode settings that
08:02are preset but you can go in and customize all of those modes for your
08:05traction control your lift control your slide control your engine braking
08:11control your brake control which adjusts some other things outside of engine
08:15braking one of the things that's super nice is that Yamaha has put the new left
08:19bar control pod on this motorcycle which we first saw on the MT-09 SP a year ago
08:26and it's got a much simplified navigation on the actual control pod
08:30much different than the previous little click wheels this thing has a joystick
08:35that is much easier to go in and navigate the menus so super slick there
08:39you can change your screen views on the TFT display for different views for the
08:45track for the street or to whatever you prefer it has all the connectivity things
08:49so you can connect the Yamaha app and you can be able to go in there and have
08:54navigation from your phone or get calls and see what your music is if you're
09:00wearing a headset on there so it's got all of those features as well via
09:03Bluetooth and USB-C power plug today we spent time riding in the rain and the
09:09electronics were a big part of that today that's a kind of a brief overview
09:12of the electronics and when we get a chance to test this on a dry track
09:17somewhere down the road we'll be able to dig into those features a little bit
09:20more
09:25you know I was really curious about how the ergonomics would be because a lot of
09:30these new generation sport bikes like the GSX-8R have a really relaxed high
09:36bar really comfortable riding position even the new Panigale V2 has a really
09:41open riding position so I was curious what the YZF-R9's ergonomics would be
09:46like and pleasantly I'm really happy to say that they're very sporty they're
09:51very super sport the one thing that's nice is it's got a real low bar the bar
09:56mounts underneath the triple clamp in the front so you've got a really nice
09:59attack position but the bars are wide so you've got a little bit more leverage
10:02you don't have this real old-school super sport feel you've got a little bit
10:06more splayed out handlebars so that was really nice and then the foot peg
10:11position we've got the adjustable foot pegs right now in the low position and
10:14for me that's awesome my knees are not awesome anymore and so I couldn't have
10:19had them in the high position I would have died I found the cockpit really
10:22roomy I could move back and forth the seat picks up at the back a little bit
10:26so when you scoot back you've got a little bit more room overall I think the
10:30the riding position is very track oriented and very sport focused which I
10:35think is perfect for this bike I think that's what this bike is meant to be so
10:39for track days and stuff like that you're gonna go out there and be
10:41instantly comfortable for the street I think it's gonna be not as comfortable
10:45as some of the the other competition but that's fine this is a little bit more
10:50hardcore of a sport bike and I like that about it
10:56is this bike a replacement for the r6 or is it considered a hardcore super sport
11:02like the r6 had become over the years or is this a more street-friendly sport
11:07bike spending a day on it here you know like we've said over and over we had a
11:11rainy day but I think we've got a good understanding of what this bike is all
11:15about the new r9 is a much more hardcore sport bike than say even the
11:21r7 was the riding positions a little bit more aggressive you've got the the CP3
11:26engine which is really awesome but they really went to great lengths to make the
11:30chassis a very super sport oriented chassis so I think that this is the bike
11:35that people are gonna really want to take to track days do some club racing
11:39it just got homologated for Moto America competition in the super sport class
11:43next-gen super sport so I think you're gonna start to see a whole bunch of
11:47these and it's already won a race in the world super sport championship so this
11:51thing is legit yet it's got a couple little subtle touches that make it a
11:54little bit more comfortable than say the r6 was or than an r1 is just a little
11:58bit more comfortable seating position a little bit less aggressive engine much
12:03more accessible power for the street so it'll be a great street bike as well but
12:07overall we're really impressed and we're really happy that Yamaha went this route
12:11with this motorcycle so kudos to Yamaha for that and we look forward to spending
12:15some more time with this bike so that's it from Sonoma Raceway here in Northern
12:19California and if you like what you see please like comment and subscribe and
12:24thanks for watching we'll see you next time