The Yamaha R9 is GO!!! Yamaha has confirmed the release of its latest Supersport, the YZF-R9. This comes hot on the heels of the release of an updated R1 for 2025 and ushers in a new era for Yamaha ‘middleweight’ Supersport motorcycles. Goodbye R6, hello R9.
The YZF-R7 will have a big brother
WHAT MAKES IT OFFICIAL?
An official Yamaha teaser video released recently reveals the existence of the Yamaha R9 (check out the video below). Not only that, it also tells us the release date of the R9 is October 9. The video hides the true form of the bike and does not reveal any specifications. We can; however, hear a triple-cylinder engine at the end of the video. This confirms the long-rumoured suspicion the R9 will be based on the CP3 triple-cylinder platform.
WHY IS IT?
No doubt you are by now well aware of the demise of the middleweight Supersport. Their reduced footprint in the market has created a vacuum that numerous manufacturers have been busy filling with a new breed of cheaper, less capable and mostly parallel twin road going sport bikes (I refuse to call them Superports because they’re not!).
The Yamaha R6 was arguably the biggest victim of the Supersport slaughter. Yamaha tried to fill the void left by the R6 by giving us the R7, which has no business being compared to the R6 in reality. The R7 cannot hope to match the performance of the R6. The loss of the R6 left Yamaha without a performance motorcycle capable of competing in the Supersport class on the roads and racetracks of the world. Enter the R9.
One wonders why Yamaha is bothering with an R9 at all. Surely, they could have spent less money on bringing the R6 up to date, just as Kawasaki and now Honda have done with the ZX-6R and CBR-600RR, respectively. Alas, all that is left is for us to live in the hope the R9 will live up to the Supersport moniker. But with that said, we must give kudos to Yamaha for realising their mistake and bringing a Supersport back to market.
WHAT IS IT?
Most commentary supposes the R9 will be based on the MT-09. I don’t think this is entirely correct. More likely, the R9 will be closer in configuration to the XSR900 GP than the MT-09. Ok, they are pretty similar, but there are some crucial differences.
The XSR GP has a longer swingarm, clip-ons, and more relaxed front geometry than the MT-09. This aids high speed stability and control. The R9 will no doubt go further down this line and even further away from the MT-09 in terms of geometry and riding position.
All will be revealed in a few days, and rest assured I will cover everything you need to know after the full reveal. In the meantime, let’s dissect the teaser video to sniff out any clues Yamaha may have left for us.
Closer to XSR900 GP than MT-09
DID YAMAHA LEAVE ANY CLUES?
The video exposes the fact the R9 is based on the XSR/MT-09 triple platform by showing the swingarm and rear suspension arrangement. A comparison reveals near identical rear components with a slight variation in the footpeg position (which are higher set). Even the chain guard looks the same. We can deduce from this that the mainframe will more than likely be derived from the XSR GP as well (with geometry tweaks).
The shock absorber setup is similar to the XSR900 GP. We can expect diffrent linkage ratios and a remote preload adjuster like the XSR.
XSR900 shock absorber
We can see from the video that the R9 will follow the design language of the R-series, and the R7 especially. The front of the R9 follows the lead of the R7 with a single round headlight integrated into a central intake with slim daytime running lights on either side.
A blurry side view, partially hidden by the rider, gives us a glimpse at the front form. Interestingly, there is no obvious sign of aerodynamic wings, but this could be due to the blurriness of the image. It’s likely some sort of aerodynamic appendages will will be employed. It is the fashion, after all.
Sadly, that is all we can decipher from this video. How close will it be to the artist’s impression below? Pretty close, I think. All will be revealed soon; we might even get another teaser before the official launch on October 9. Stay tuned.
Check out the teaser video below.
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