Page 17 - LHR Motorcycle Magazine August 2024

“Maybe this is the start of the firm finally dealing with underwhelming

brakes across the range…”

when you keep your speed up and rail a bend – it adjust engine braking, features unique to the SP..
holds its poise with a keener turn rate and more
ground clearance than the stock bike which loads up
and makes it clear there’s a limit to how much
speed/lean it’ll stand, especially if you throw bumps
into the mix

The balance is better as well as the support, both
ends responding in a similar way and using around
the same amount of travel, where the shock tends to
collapse under duress on the basic MT-09. That’s
likely where the better turning and ability to hold a line
come from: factors like weight, geometry and even
tyre fitment (Bridgestone S23 as standard on both
models) unchanged between the two.

Spring and damping are matched well enough,
though it’s definitely on the sporty side and it can be These of course open the opportunity for skids, or
harsh on poor surfaces or big bumps. The fully- messing around backing it in (if that’s your bag), but
adjustable KYB forks (including both high/low-speed taking the rear wheel’s behaviour out of the equation
compression adjustment, an unusual addition) and also means the anti-lock response is further reduced:
Öhlins shock should have enough adjustment range it’s capable of really nailing the front tyre and even
to knock that back a touch, maintaining the SP’s lifting the rear a touch when the rear ABS is off,
superior stability and mechanical grip while something you can’t say of the standard MT-09. Or
introduced a little compliance for Britain’s battered any other recent Yamaha for that matter. Maybe this is
roads… the start of the firm finally dealing with underwhelming
brakes across the range…

Engine
The inline-triple configuration was monopolised by
Triumph for a long time: now, Yamaha’s CP3 lump
(now several generations and a capacity increase in)
is one of the best. Just shy of 120bhp is hardly
headline grabbing stuff but with a wide, flat torque
curve providing thrust via well-chosen gear ratios, it
never feels feeble. Quite the opposite – it’s grunty
from the bottom, and eager to light up the far reaches
of the tacho on the TFT dash.

As with most modern machines you have a choice of
throttle maps, but the middling map (the default for the
overall ‘Street’ ride mode) is the best choice – full
power, without the spiky throttle response that comes
The Brembo Stylema front calipers may be the most with selecting ‘Sport’.
welcome change for owners of either the previous
MT-09 SP or the current base model: power and feel
are much superior to the ADVICS four-pots used
across just about every large capacity Yamaha,
including the R1.

And it’s not just the calipers themselves that improve
braking performance: the forks extra support mean it
takes more effort to overwhelm the front tyre and
trigger an ABS response from the IMU-supported
electronics, and if you are a heavy braker you’ll
appreciate the ability to turn off rear ABS as well

Yamaha MT-09 SP Review