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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