Yamaha MT-09 - Verdict

[fr499y 0]

Well its the new motorcycle by Yamaha which houses the newly developed 850cc three cylinder engine. On pictures and paper this bike looks stunning. A lovely middle weight triple engined motorcycle, with 115BHP and 64ft lb torque. Its light at only 188KG wet.

Quick overview

The bike itself kind of looks unfinished at the front ( you'll need to see one to understand what i mean ) but put that aside and its a good looking bit of kit. Its feels small and nimble when you sit on it, the bars are nice and wide and the clocks are easy to see. The seats like a plank but then again its a new bike and i weigh as much as a chicken!

The Bike

Suspension & Handling
Not much to say, the bike felt perfectly setup for the middle weight rider. The handling of the bike was spot on. A very flick-able bike, stable on dual carriageways and very nimble around town and the back roads.

Brakes
The bike uses a pair of twin pot radial mounted calipers, with twin 298 mm discs on the front and a single 245 mm disc on the back. Enough power to stop you with a single finger ( wouldn't recommend trying it though )

Engine
The bike has three power modes. A, STD, B. these can be changed on the fly as long as your not using the throttle, so can be altered whilst rolling, slowing down off the throttle or standing still. To me, this is where they went wrong. B mode is the only mode that i can say gives you a nice ride. Its smooth with great throttle response. Yes its what Suzuki would call a wet mode, so the power is slightly lower and the throttle is less snatchy. B seems to allow you to ride the bike how its meant to be ridden, you can slow down and gradually open the throttle, smooth without any snatchiness or hesitation.
Then comes the A mode, the so called sport mode. This is what lets the bike down. You do get the full power of the bike, and with that comes brilliant acceleration BUT a very very snatchy throttle. As you would expect, this makes it very difficult to ride around town, traffic or simply pulling off from the lights. I found whilst using A and STD mode the bike would feel like it was going to die whilst pulling off, Giving the bike more throttle helped but it did make you feel like your at a drag strip waiting for the green light.

With all that being said, the MT-09 in B mode makes for a brilliant ride. A Quick, nimble bike that will certainly give triumph a run for its money! I would recommend this as an alternative to Triumph's Street Triple 675, but not the Speed Triple 1050.



Image copyright Yamaha

[dick65 0]

don't forget Yamaha have history for building triples  
I hope other models will be forthcoming  

[fr499y 0]

If it didn't have the electronics for the different power modes, it would be perfect. Little things like that seriously let down a good bike. Yes there is already talk about new triple models, one that might be a tourer/enduro style as its a very slim engine that could easily fit into a frame built for a parallel twin.

[dick65 0]

its a new model so things should get ironed out by next year  
news of a tourer sounds interesting  

[madsod 0]

I like the look of that and the sound of 3 pots is so nice  

[haveugot1 0]

Nice looking bike. Would like one for local use and the busa for long days out.

[Stue11 0]

Yamaha are crap    














































only kidding   nice right up Matt and i do like the look of that   

[fr499y 0]

Im just randomly taking bikes for a ride out trying to take out a Ducati, but there a bit funny with it :S They didn't seem too fussed when i owned a Ducati :roll:Next year i will be taking out the new V-strom 1000 :)and if i can sweet talk the local Ducati dealer, a hyperstrada