Yamaha is in the midst of redefining its sport bike lineup. The first step was to kill off the popular and iconic YZF-R6 supersport, but that left a massive hole between the R3 and R1 models.
To help fill that void, Yamaha recently debuted the Yamaha YZF-R7, but while the 75hp / twin-cylinder platform makes for a good stepping stone from the R3, an R6 replacement it is not (and never was supposed to be).
That duty will likely fall to another machine, whose name has been spotted in government documents: the Yamaha YZF-R9.
As the title suggests, the YZF-R9 will be built off the MT-09 platform, with its 890cc three-cylinder engine. Beyond those details, however, the bike’s final form is anyone’s guess.
It should be noted, that there isn’t 100% certainty that the R9 will even come to fruition (let’s call it, a 95% certainty), though the bike would make a great deal of sense in Yamaha’s lineup.
The CP9 motor is good for just under 120hp (87.5 kW), while still providing an ample 69 lbs•ft of torque at 7,000 rpm. This should make for a powerful, yet usable, motorcycle for the street and track (something the 108hp motor on the R6 was not).
The MT-09 platform also offers a six-axis IMU, which assists in the traction control, wheelie control, and engine braking. Yamaha has also added a slip-assist clutch, quickshifter, and TFT dash to the mix.
Overall, the MT-09 is a fairly feature-packed machine, especially considering its $9,400 price tag in the United States.
If we connect the dots, all of this is to say that a full-fairing sport version of the Yamaha MT-09 is an attractive idea, not only for riders, but also for Yamaha Motor, and one could be built for far less than the $12,000+ MSRP on that the YZF-R6 commanded.
This is because the MT-09 is a more robust package than the MT-07, and thus require less work from the Japanese manufacturer in order to make it a proper machine for the track.
Yamaha could literally just add a fairing, some rearsets and clip-ons, and call it done. Maybe adding $1,000 to the price tag in the process (though we would expect something closer to $11k to be the mark).
Additionally, a Yamaha YZF-R9 could make a strong intermediate machine from the current R7 and R1 products, while also offering something fairly different from the rest of the market.
A three-cylinder supersport is a surprising rarity in the motorcycle industry. There are plenty of twin-cylinder and four-cylinder machines in this category, and yet only two triples (the rare Triumph Daytona Moto2 765 and MV Agusta F3 800 motorcycles).
One of the negatives in the 600cc supersport segment was the fact that the majority of the offerings were variations of the same theme: high-revving 600cc inline-four machines.
Ill-suited for the street with their peaky power bands, the Japanese offerings seemingly lost sight of what riders wanted in their day-to-day riding – something which has slowly be regained with the ~900cc offerings also in this space, on the fairingless side of the equation.
It shouldn’t surprise us that bikes like the Yamaha MT-09 and KTM 890 Duke have been strong sellers, as they offer more for the street-focused sport riders amongst us (primarily usable torque and robust electronics), with also a cheaper price tag.
Take that same formula, apply it to the full-fairing club, and see what happens… Here enters the Yamaha YZF-R9, and the rumors thereof.
For as much excitement as we have seen for the Yamaha YZF-R7, it is the YZF-R9 that should perhaps get the two-wheeled loving masses the most excited.
When it comes to bikes for the track, that fit into the 600cc supersport category, we called the Ducati Panigale V2 our pick of the litter (though it does tread more into liter-bike territory).
On that same vein though, we have chastised KTM for not developing an RC890 machine off its parallel-twin category (something Kramer has done, with ample potency).
Faster, better, lighter, cheaper… we are just now at the conception point for a new generation of this category, and its proper inception could start with the Yamaha YZF-R9.
So with that, Yamaha, what are you waiting for?
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