- 7 weeks ago
Get an inside look at the Yamaha R9, the new middleweight sportbike designed to bridge everyday rideability with track-ready performance. In this review, we break down the engine, handling, and features to see if the R9 delivers as Yamaha’s next great sport machine.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hey everyone, good morning and welcome to this episode of MC Commute starring Yamaha's 2025 YZF-R9 Sportbike.
00:07Who's ready to go for a ride?
00:08Alright everyone, there it is, Yamaha's 2025 YZF-R9 Sportbike.
00:13This is an all-new motorcycle from Yamaha Motor out of Japan.
00:17This model slots in the YZF Sportbike lineup.
00:21First we have the YZF-R3, the YZF-R7, now we have the YZF-R9, which is a mid-sized plus sportbike,
00:29and then the top dog of them all, the YZF-R1 and YZF-R1M.
00:33This motorcycle is powered by Yamaha's Trine True 890cc CP3 engine, liquid-cooled dual-rate camshaft, 12-valve cylinder head.
00:41This engine is good for right around 109 horsepower at the business end of that 180-55 series Bridgestone Batlax S22 tire.
00:51What do you guys think of this thing? This thing looks just awesome.
00:54It's got tasty YZF styling with these wings that actually have a little bit of downforce, says Yamaha.
01:02This is a really aesthetically pleasing bike. It looks like a full-fledged sport bike.
01:06It's not as wimpy looking as the YZF-R7, and it is, it looks like it's ready to go, just standing still.
01:14It is a very, very tasty ride. Who's ready to swing a leg over this thing and see what it's like to ride in? Let's go.
01:21Right away sitting on this vehicle, this motorcycle is pretty accommodating for street bike riders out there.
01:28The ergonomics package is not nearly as wimpy as the YZF-R7.
01:32That thing, well, it looks like a sport bike. It didn't necessarily ride like an authentic sport bike.
01:38This thing does. The clip-on style handlebars are mounted relatively low.
01:43You'd be surprised how aggressive this ergonomics package is without it being too aggressive like the YZF, without going YZF-R6 and the YZF-R1.
01:54The seat, there's actually a lot of room to move around front and back on the seat.
01:59There's a lot of room. The padding on the seat is narrow, but in action, this seat is actually pretty comfortable.
02:07You can ride four, five, six hours, and you're really not in a lot of discomfort.
02:12So, again, I think just having that platform where you can move around a lot, that's really nice.
02:18So, good job, Yamaha.
02:20The foot pegs on this model, they're not too high. They're not too low.
02:23So, they're definitely set up for more sport riding, but I wouldn't say that they're just so, so unaccommodating for us street riders who like to log miles on the road.
02:36The fuel tank on this motorcycle, it's rather wide, which kind of looks cool.
02:41It makes it look like the YZF-R6 and the YZF-R1 does.
02:45But, there's nice, deep knee cutouts, so you can really squeeze the motorcycle with your legs.
02:52That really adds control.
02:54Not so much when you're going 47 miles per hour on the road, but when you're riding in a more tactile, tactical environment where you're really going around corners and just racing around.
03:05Having the ability to lock in your legs really gives you a lot more control, and then you don't have to hold on so much with your arms and hands.
03:13It's a really nice touch.
03:14I like this ergonomics package on this motorcycle, and this windscreen is nice and tall, so you can really tuck in.
03:22It's got a lot of room right here, which houses that color TFT, which we'll get to in a little bit.
03:27Now, this vehicle is powered by an 890cc CP3 inline-3 engine, water-cooled, dual-rich camshafts, the 12-valve cylinder head.
03:34This engine is good for right around 109 horsepower at the business end of that British Jump Batlax F-22 rubber.
03:40The rubber on this motorcycle, it works really well.
03:43Real neutral handling profile, and it just does a good job for everyday riding and folks that want to get some in the corners.
03:51This engine is good for upwards of 60 pound-feet of torque, and that's really the signature feature of this powertrain configuration.
03:58It just has a lot of immediate torque.
04:02You don't have to rev the thing to the moon like you did on a 600 inline-4 bike.
04:07It just has a lot of torque that comes off the corner.
04:10It makes for a really easy riding motorcycle.
04:13Another plus is just how awesome this engine sounds.
04:16This thing is just so tasty-sounding.
04:17Listen to that magnificent triple-cylinder roar.
04:23This motorcycle has a really pleasing sound and character to it.
04:27Obviously, it sounds almost identical to Triumph Motorcycles inline-3 package,
04:33but really what sets this engine configuration apart from the Hinkley brands is just how little vibration this engine has.
04:41The vibration that this engine has, in typical tuning fork spirit, it feels tuned to this application.
04:48There's not a lot of bad vibes on this bike.
04:52Let's go, folks.
04:54Clutch action on this motorcycle.
04:56Clutch is nice and light.
04:57If you are someone who doesn't have a lot of hand strength in your left hand,
05:01I think you're still going to be able to operate this clutch because it's got a real nice light pull.
05:04Yet its engagement is progressive.
05:06It doesn't feel as racy and well-weighted as the YZF-R1,
05:12but it also doesn't feel wimpy like it's just some fake sport bike.
05:20So we really like that.
05:22Yes, folks, some corners.
05:24Let's let this big dog eat.
05:27Now, this particular bike has an electronic quick shifter
05:30that allows for full throttle upshifts and downshifts without using the clutch.
05:35We really like quick shifters.
05:37It just makes riding so much fun.
05:39You can just upshift and grab gears without having to use the clutch.
05:43And conversely, when you're entering the corner, you can just downshift.
05:47Oh, I'm getting carried away out of my speed, folks.
05:50This engine configuration is just so fun to ride.
05:52I was getting carried away to the speed.
05:54Good thing we have cruise control.
05:56Let's enable cruise control.
05:57There's a button right here on the switch gear.
05:59You push this button.
06:00There's also a pit lane limiter.
06:03We're going to put it in cruise control mode, however.
06:06And then you just hit the set.
06:08And now we have cruise control enabled, 41 miles per hour, and nothing bad can happen.
06:16How cool is that, folks?
06:17The cruise control on this motorcycle is super accurate.
06:20It is facilitated by the ride-by-wire electronics, so really accurate cruise control.
06:25But we also have a number of other great electronic gadgets, which we're going to talk about here in a second.
06:32We have this global mode button, which allows us to switch between modes.
06:38We have street, sport, custom, and a rain mode.
06:43But let's take a break real quick, folks, and just talk about how fun this ride is because I'm having a blast.
06:48All right, everyone, this YZF R9 is just simply a blast to ride.
06:53And look how good this thing looks.
06:55This motorcycle looks as good standing still as it does out on the road.
06:59Really like that 890cc CP3 engine.
07:01Tons of character, tons of torque.
07:03Really fun to ride.
07:05And again, just that riding position.
07:07It's really accommodating.
07:08Six-foot-tall, 190-pound rider.
07:10And I fit really well on this bike.
07:12It's racy without it being too racy.
07:15And it's really good for both street riding on an aggressive stretch of road or just cruising around the highway like we are right now.
07:23Look at this thing.
07:24So tasty.
07:25All right, folks, enough talking about this thing.
07:27Let's hop back in the saddle and go for some more riding.
07:30Yeah!
07:31Okay, folks, where were we?
07:33Yes, the global riding modes, which we can enable right here.
07:36Rain, street, sport, custom one, custom two.
07:39So those global riding modes control the combined engine power and throttle mode maps, traction control, slide control, lift control, which is Yamaha speak for wheelie control, and the quick shifter and ABS programming and engine brake control.
07:58Right now we're going to ride in our custom setting.
08:01Custom setting is a setup that we went into this color TFT and adjusted while we were at a stop.
08:07You have to be at a stop to make those adjustments.
08:10Basically, with this custom one mode, we have max power, least amount of track control, least amount of slide control, least amount of wheelie control, least amount of engine brake control, and the quick shifter on in its more aggressive quick shift format, which I don't know why you wouldn't have it like that.
08:29So, still, it's really neat that you can tweak everything.
08:34This motorcycle does have a very advanced electronics package that combined engine power and throttle mode maps lets this motorcycle go from mild to wild.
08:42So, if you're a rider who's really comfortable with the dynamic of this power band, power mode number one is going to be for you.
08:51However, if you just bought this motorcycle and you're not familiar with it, put it in power mode four, and you can graduate from high number to low number as you get more comfortable.
09:00Same with track control.
09:01Level nine is the most small track control.
09:04Number one is the least, so you can graduate as you feel more comfortable.
09:10Realistically, this engine doesn't really make enough power to really necessitate slide control, but it's still cool that Yamaha has it on there.
09:17Same with wheelie control.
09:18Of course, this motorcycle is capable of wheelies, but it really doesn't have a crazy amount of power where you really need wheelie control.
09:25Or, I'm sorry, lift control says Yamaha, but it's still neat that this motorcycle has that electronics package, and it's all IMU powered.
09:34So, the IMU chip basically gives this vehicle positional awareness in three axes.
09:41Roll, yaw, and vertically lift.
09:45So, really neat that this bike has this type of electronics.
09:48We also have the ability to pair this vehicle with our iOS or Android powered smartphone via Garmin Street Cross app and get turn-by-turn navigation right in the display.
09:58That's super slick.
10:00So, wow, we still like wearing our Cardo Systems Pactalk Edge and Pactalk Pro headsets.
10:07Realistically, with that TFT display, you don't really have to just have Bluetooth communication.
10:14You can just see the turn-by-turn navigation right there on your screen as long as your phone's paired with that and you have the Garmin Street's Cross app open.
10:22Really, really nice.
10:24Now, we talked about this motorcycle has a 3.7-gallon fuel tank.
10:27We've been averaging 35.3 mpgs, nearly 36 mpgs.
10:32Not the best fuel mileage.
10:35Obviously, this engine is a hoot to ride, and we like to ride this thing full throttle.
10:40Well, obviously, we can't ride this vehicle full throttle right now.
10:44We only do that on a closed course, but as you can see, we ride a lot of closed course.
10:49If you're more mellow with the throttle application, you could get nearly 40 miles per gallon,
10:54but if you're going to ride this thing like it's meant to be ridden, it's going to drink some fuel.
10:59I wish the fuel tank was a little bit bigger.
11:01I'm not going to lie.
11:01But the small-ish fuel tank allows for a motorcycle that's really light, 430 pounds.
11:08With a full tank of gas, this motorcycle is certainly not the heaviest out there, nor the lightest,
11:14but it feels really nice on the road.
11:16It's decently agile.
11:20And this KYB suspension does a great job of providing good comfort on the road,
11:26yet good road handling in the corners.
11:30We have adjustable compression damping on the left fork leg
11:36and adjustable rebound damping on the right fork leg
11:39and independent spring preload adjustment all atop the fork leg.
11:43It's also cool that the damping cartridge has both high and low speed circuits,
11:47so you can really dial in the action of the fork based on preference.
11:53It still would have been nice if Yamaha engineers would have installed a front suspension system
12:03with independent compression damping cartridges on each fork leg.
12:06I like that.
12:07Those type of front suspensions that have independent compression and rebound damping.
12:11That gives just a little bit more accurate response.
12:14But they do this because it's lighter and less expensive.
12:20Either way, it works good.
12:21We really can't complain about it.
12:23The shock features a linkage, a top mount linkage that mounts between the top of the swing arm and the frame.
12:29And we have remote spring preload adjustment.
12:32That's right.
12:32There's a knob right here that allows you to raise or lower the ride height of the vehicle just really easily.
12:39It's a really handy feature.
12:41Cool that Yamaha allows us to make spring preload adjustments without having to use any tools.
12:48We also have high and low speed compression on top of the shock body and rebound damping at the bottom.
12:57A lot of adjustment.
12:59The adjustment range is pretty good.
13:02Pretty good adjustment range on this motorcycle really allows you to tailor the suspension setup to your riding style or environment.
13:12Again, this thing goes over the bumps really well for a sport bike.
13:15But this thing doesn't ride that rough.
13:19It rides over the bumps with a good degree of plushiness.
13:22It's still a sport bike.
13:24So it's not going to go over these bumps like a Harley Davidson Street Glide or Road Glide.
13:29But it's not going to rattle your teeth out too.
13:32This thing has really good compliance over bumps.
13:35It still has a good degree of sport handling in the corners.
13:39Of course, this route, we don't get to ride the bikes like we normally ride them.
13:44But rest assured, this thing has good sport handling.
13:50Let's turn the cruise control on again, folks.
13:54Right there.
13:56Cruise control on 54 miles per hour.
13:59We are rolling.
14:00Life is good.
14:02Now, this vehicle employs triple-disc hydraulic brakes from Brembo.
14:06We have beautiful jewelry-like Brembo Stilemo radio mount calipers up front and this nice radio pump master.
14:13So the brakes in this motorcycle, they totally work good.
14:16Good response.
14:16Good power.
14:18When you really start pushing it, they maybe fade a little bit.
14:23But realistically, you're reaching the upper end of the threshold of riding this bike.
14:29So if your front brake is fading a little bit, you should slow down because you're riding like a crazy person.
14:34Rear brake is nice and responsive.
14:37Rear caliper is from Nissan.
14:38The rear master is from Brembo.
14:40We also like the ability to disable rear ABS.
14:43That's right, folks.
14:44You can disable rear ABS in the menu.
14:47So if you want to do slides, you can do that.
14:49There's also two levels of ABS.
14:52ABS level 1 is the least aggressive.
14:55ABS level 2 is the more aggressive.
14:56And with the ABS level 2, BC2, you have cornering ABS.
15:04Yamaha motor doesn't call it cornering ABS, but it is lean-sensitive, IV-powered ABS.
15:08But that's only in level 2.
15:10Level 1, that's off.
15:13And the ABS programming works really well.
15:15You can ride this bike extremely hard with a lot of ABS intervention.
15:19It's quite amazing.
15:20Good job, Yamaha.
15:21We also have engine brake control, which allows for a little bit of added fuel in the engine during deacceleration.
15:28It reduces the back torque effect.
15:31We like generally riding this motorcycle with the least amount of engine brake control.
15:36But if you like it, you can add that in.
15:38Again, the switch gear on this motorcycle is nice and chunky, easy to use.
15:44A big upgrade from the previous switch gear package that we had bemoaned for years and years and years.
15:49Good job, Yamaha.
15:50Listening to the rider and owner feedback and getting the switch gear dialed.
15:55Now, if it was only backlit, if it was backlit, this switch gear would be totally awesome.
16:01Maybe it's because this motorcycle only retails for $12,500 only.
16:06That's still a fair chunk of change, but for $12,500, you get a pretty awesome little bike.
16:13890cc engine, tons of torque, tons of character.
16:16Very advanced electronics package that's easy to use with the chunky switch gear.
16:21Handling's nice and lively, yet it's still comfortable over the bumps.
16:24Brakes are nice and strong, and jewelry-like Frembo Stilema calipers.
16:29That's something you normally only see on big bikes.
16:31Gosh, I really like how this thing goes around corners.
16:34Really easy to ride.
16:35It likes a little bit of ride height.
16:37If you have it too low in the rear, it's a little bit sluggish during it.
16:41You just crank that preload clockwise.
16:44That knob clockwise puts a little bit more weight on the front tire.
16:47And this thing livens right up.
16:50Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was a super fun ride on Yamaha's 2025 YZF R9 midsize plus sport bike.
16:59This bike's really awesome.
17:00I just love the style of this thing.
17:01This thing looks like an authentic Yamaha R bike, not some wimpy bike like the YZF R7.
17:06And just that engine, the engine's super playful, fun to ride.
17:10Yeah, I wish it was faster.
17:12I'm not going to lie.
17:12This isn't a replacement for a YZF R6 in terms of visceral sport handling.
17:18But it really strikes a good balance between everyday street riding and more aggressive riding on the street or track.
17:26It's really nice.
17:27And having that electronics package that allows the bike go from mile to mile with the push of a button is really awesome.
17:31Love the standard cruise control and the ability to pair this vehicle with your iOS or Android-powered smartphone
17:38and get turn-by-turn directions via the Garmin Streets Cross apps.
17:41Super awesome.
17:42It's also really comfortable.
17:43Six-foot-tall rider, 109 pounds.
17:45Fit on this bike really well.
17:48And all in all, a really nice bike from Yamaha Motor for $12,500.
17:53Well, everyone, that wraps up our official MC Commute review on this 2025 YZF R9 motorcycle.
17:59If you can't tell, we really like this bike.
18:01We'll see you in the next episode.
18:02Thanks for riding with us.
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