Did Yamaha Go Too Far With It MT-09?

Relaxstations

This year’s model features an updated 5-inch TFT dash with a multitude of settings and prebaked riding modes along with phone connectivity. Yamaha has reoriented the rider triangle into a sportier position, stiffened the suspension, refined the rigidity and balance of the chassis, and reworked the overall aesthetics of the machine. While the changes may not seem major, they do hint at a new philosophy infiltrating Yamaha’s “Dark Side of Japan” models.  Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/ Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld

Transcript

00:00Hey there, I'm Jen and this is the 2024 Yamaha MT-09.

00:11I think the MT series has always had a little bit of a reputation for being raw, you know,

00:16and a little uncouth sometimes. But I would have to say after riding this newest edition of the MT-09,

00:22Yamaha has made just the right amount of refinement. So it's still really fun and sporty,

00:26but it's not so in your face and trying to fight you on the ride. All right, so it's the same triple

00:31that we all know and love here in the MT-09 and that is a really a good thing. They didn't have

00:35to make any changes there because it has such a playful power band. Down low and like even when

00:41you're getting up six, seven thousand, eight thousand rpm, this thing is still hauling the mail

00:46and that's what riders want out of a Street Fighter machine. One of my favorite things about this MT-09

00:51is the updated quick shifter. I really tried to confuse this quick shifter. I definitely tried

00:55to shift when I'm idling, when I'm aggressive on the throttle. This might be the smoothest shifting

01:01MT today. All right, so as a shorter rider I really pay attention a lot to levers and foot selectors,

01:07things like that because I normally have a little bit more trouble getting a reach on all those

01:11different things. So I really like that the MT-09 does have adjustable levers for both the front

01:15brake and the clutch and also I think the riding position in general is going to suit smaller riders

01:20as well. So Yamaha told us about some changes they made to the riding position. At first I was a little

01:24concerned. It sounded like it was going to get a little too aggressive and sport bike-like. Now

01:28after riding all day on this MT-09 I would want to say that I think that verbiage is just a little

01:33over the top. This is still a really relaxed riding position especially compared to the sport bike

01:37models. So if you're a rider and you're worried about this thing getting a little too sporty, don't

01:41worry about that. I was still comfortable all day, nice and upright, no soreness on the shoulders.

01:46All right, so out here in Cupertino, California and all the way through Santa Cruz we found a lot of tight

01:51technical roads. I was definitely doing some heavy trail braking into a lot of these corners. Blind

01:56corners not sure where I'm going to be going next and I'd have to say the MT-09 was a really great

02:00dancing partner in that aspect and so if I need to make a quick fast dive the MT-09 was there with me

02:07all the way through. So Yamaha did update the suspension with stiffer settings. Now me being a

02:12smaller and shorter and lighter rider I do notice things like that. I would say the suspension is a bit

02:17stiff for my liking. Now I like that into tight technical corners but I would have to say for the

02:23casual riding, going through town, hitting potholes and bumps, you're going to feel a little bit more

02:27of that getting transmitted up through the seat of the pants. So the good news here is of course that

02:32the suspension is adjustable on the MT-09. The MT-09 has seen some refinements in the electronics

02:37department as well. It now has three pre-baked rider modes, rain, street and sport. Before it was up to

02:43riders to individually select TC, ABS and other rider aids independently but now the pre-baked modes

02:48take all the guesswork out and you also have two custom maps you could fine-tune that to whatever you

02:53like. I tried out rain mode it works as advertised nice gentle setting. Now between street and sport

03:00you know I actually find they're both pretty aggressive really sporty and fun so I say in either

03:06of those modes you're gonna have a good time. All right so new for this year Yamaha has taken another

03:10look at the front end and they've updated it here the styling and look of it it's a little bit more

03:16aggressive and brooding looking. I personally like it I think previous MTs were a little friendly

03:21looking you know they had like a smile in those headlights there so for this year you can enjoy

03:26a little bit meaner look to the dark side of Japan. The MT-09 still rides like the aggressive street

03:31fighter machine it has always been but it has gotten even more aggressive with the new riding position

03:36and stiffer settings it has definitely inched back toward a sporty and not a casual riding

03:40experience. All right so that's going to do it for our first ride review on the 2024 Yamaha MT-09.

03:45If you want to see more about this bike head on over to cycleworld.com

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