Yamaha MT-09 Overview
While Yamaha has produced numerous awesome bikes over the years, the MT series are some of the best and offer great value for money, even in terms of used bikes.
It offers a three-cylinder engine that performs really well and comes wrapped snugly in a light chassis. While the suspension definitely needs to be improved, the bike is otherwise a pleasure to ride.
The MT-09 was the first bike that was revamped in the MT series with the upgraded 2016 model featuring a softer engine, which helps to iron out the otherwise not so smooth throttle. It comes with a new colour scheme and has a three stage traction system. The engine has been tweaked on making the bike more responsive. The first setting is the swiftest response, with the second setting definitely smoother. The third setting offers the most change, which makes it more manageable than previous models.
The triple traction control system of the bike offers better stability and handling especially, in wet and slippery conditions. The vehicle comes in three colours Night Fluo, Lava Red and Matt Grey with a smooth and nifty finish. Apart from being funky to look at, the bike performs well on all parameters including the engine, which offers ample power just waiting to be revved.
While the changes in the bike are a welcome addition, the fact is that its suspensions could have been improved to make the ride smoother. Despite the wobbles particularly at high speeds, the bike’s overall performance still makes it attractive to many riders.
Yamaha MT-09 spec
| Seat height |
820mm |
| Weight |
188kg |
| Engine |
Liquid cooled, four stroke, DOHC, 12v |
| Capacity |
847cc |
| Average fuel consumption |
42mpg |
| Top speed |
145mph |
| Insurance group |
– |
Yamaha MT-09 Gallery
Owner Reviews |
| Submitted by: | David Britton | Review Date: November 2016 |
Comfort | | Seat needs improvement | | Ride Quality | | Twitchy throttle at low speeds, but pulls well |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | |
| Engine Rating | | |
| Brake Rating | | |
| Running Cost | | Fuelling |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | Great fun, well priced, easy to work on! It wants to pull your arms off! |
| Cons Comments | Fuelling |
| Submitted by: | Flabdog | Review Date: February 2017 |
Comfort | | Bike comes with a flat seat which is better for taller folk who don't want to be sliding into the tank all the time. A bit more padding would be good as it can become uncomfortable after a while. | | Ride Quality | | Suspension on the soft side which I don't mind not being on the skinny side. Handling is very good, does everything you want. |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | Can't fault the bike at all. Looks great and everything put together well. |
| Engine Rating | | More than fast enough for most people. If you're gonna give it a handful put your weight forward or you'll be on the back wheel through all the gears. |
| Brake Rating | | ABS model. Stops as you would expect. Front end can drop due to the soft forks. |
| Running Cost | | More padding in the seat. |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | First Yamah I've owned. Certainly won't be the last. Nimble and fast it's all the bike you're gonna need really. Looks, light weight, leg room for taller people, build quality. |
| Cons Comments | More padding in the seat. |
| Submitted by: | DS | Review Date: March 2017 |
Comfort | | Very comfortable riding position, but since it is naked, it is not very suitable for long journeys. Also the stock seat is a little bit too firm. | | Ride Quality | | 2016 MT-09 is smooth to ride and has tons of torque. Awesome handling. The suspension is on a plushy side. Even taking into account the suspension "issue" it is still strong 5 stars. This bike is just fantastic to ride. |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | Build quality is adequate to the price. Some parts are made of plastic, but overall quite good quality. |
| Engine Rating | | This bike is famous for its fantastic engine! |
| Brake Rating | | Adequate, but I wouldn't go further than this |
| Running Cost | | Suspension should be better. |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | Awesomely fun bike to ride. Make you smile all the time. The engine&exhaust sound (esp with Akrapovic full system) is one of the best on the market. I think this bike is a real star, taking into account its price. If you like naked bikes, you have to give it a try. |
| Cons Comments | Suspension should be better. |
| Submitted by: | Johnathan Wallace | Review Date: March 2017 |
Comfort | | I'm around 5ft 8 and find it pretty comfortable although the seat is on the hard side | | Ride Quality | | Rides well, very light and can be thrown around with ease either in town or on the twisty roads. Suffer from soft suspension even at max settings, common problem with this model but apparently much better on the 2017 model |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | Great build quality as with all Yamaha bikes, never had an issue |
| Engine Rating | | Probably the best thing about the bike, extremely torquey with tons of power in every gear, it's a wheelie machine! |
| Brake Rating | | Standard brakes are decent enough, could always be improved but decent for the price point of the bike. |
| Running Cost | | The suspension. |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | I love the MT09, brilliant bike for the price. |
| Cons Comments | The suspension. |
| Submitted by: | Chris Corley | Review Date: March 2017 |
Comfort | | A bit on the firm side but tolerable | | Ride Quality | | It's 46kg lighter than my FZR1000 and boy that makes a difference! It corners fantastically. I can't wait for dry roads. |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | No problems yet |
| Engine Rating | | It's not as powerful as my FZR1000 but it doesn't need to be. It's a strong pulling motor. Smooth and vibe free. |
| Brake Rating | | ABS that works. So much feel through your fingers you can feel exactly what's happening |
| Running Cost | | The seat comfort. |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | It's a great bike. Riding bikes puts a smile on my face. This one puts a mad grin on it and naughty look in my eyes. Had to buy a radiator guard. The overall is a fantastic fun bike to play on. The way the suspension keeps it right. The feed back through the tires is great. |
| Cons Comments | The seat comfort. |
| Submitted by: | Simon | Review Date: March 2017 |
Comfort | | Not so comfy for pillion | | Ride Quality | | |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | |
| Engine Rating | | |
| Brake Rating | | |
| Running Cost | | Smoothness at low speeds but that is the animal! |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | I love it, it makes me feel good to even look at it! |
| Cons Comments | Smoothness at low speeds but that is the animal! |
| Submitted by: | Michael Walker | Review Date: September 2017 |
Comfort | | Fine for solo back road blasts. Good leg room and upper body position and (surprisingly) wind protection up to 90mph | | Ride Quality | | With Maxton front and rear is brilliant fun. Stock suspension rubbish though excels at 60-90mph on tight and twisty B roads |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | Looks a bit plastic but solid, solid quality and nothing gone wrong except wear and tear in 10k miles |
| Engine Rating | | Superb |
| Brake Rating | | Not the greatest stopping power but good feel. Excellent hard on the brakes and turning tightly. |
| Running Cost | | |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | Fun without having to do 140 everywhere |
| Cons Comments | Looks! |
| Submitted by: | Richard | Review Date: October 2017 |
Comfort | | Use it as a commuter – great riding position for someone ever 6’ tall | | Ride Quality | | Great for normal riding, but if you push it the suspension is a little lacking. It is a budget bike after all, so exactly what you expect. |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | Mine lives outside, still in great condition after 2.5 years. |
| Engine Rating | | Love it. |
| Brake Rating | | Had more powerful breaks, but has abs so great for a commuter bike |
| Running Cost | | Apart from insurance (but I live in London) no issues here. The only big annoyance is the small fuel tank. |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | All day comfort with a great engine. I love it. I ride as fast as I did on a sports bike – I have better comfort – all on a bike that is still looking good despite being out in the British weather ridden all week. |
| Cons Comments | The size of the fuel tank. |
| Submitted by: | Chris.C | Review Date: November 2017 |
Comfort | | I've ridden from London to Wales for the day & up and down the curving valleys for hours , my butt was fine on what others say is a pretty firm seat, although I am under 11 stone so potentially this is why I don't have any complaints about the seat compared to heavier riders or other reviews I've seen. | | Ride Quality | | There's no denying the Bike is snatchy on the throttle, but it really does have insance amounts of LOW down torque – which is a good thing and also why alot of riders bought this bike – so nothing that can't be managed by changing the mode to lower 'B' and just adjusting how aggressively you're used to twisting your wrist. |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | I remember when buying the bike, I was just super impressed with how much of a bargain it was in terms of price & just how much chunky looking bike and insane torque you were getting for your money. However two area's to point out on the bike was how quickly the Exhuast and also rear shock started to display signs of rust which compared to other bikes I've own which where even 2-3 times older than my MT-09 still weren't showing as much rust on these area's yet? So perhaps these non-treated areas is what allowed the price to be so low. But everything else on the bike is absolutely Solid. |
| Engine Rating | | Holy Moly! ,.. I've owned various different bikes before this, including R6s and R1's, I've even taken part in some club racing & so I'd like to think I know and have experienced some of the extremes of engine performance and acceleration ability out there, but this MT-09 completely re-wrote the rule book in my opinion, its just a rocket from start to end on the rev range practically, never felt anything like it, so exciting, what a feeling, currently 27000miles on the clock and still Rocking along. |
| Brake Rating | | These are abit softer compared the likes of the R6 and R1 I've owned before, ..but everything is relative to you dialing in your senses to the MT09s abilities and I genuinely have never thought twice over the last almost 3 years now of owning the bike about thinking I needed more braking power at any moment along my daily commutes. |
| Running Cost | | 120miles +/- on a fuel tank (14Liters) ,.. So £15 does me the week fir my round trip 20 mile journey to work and back. My fuel economy will never be impressive when I have a rocket on tap which just entices you to nail it when the road opens up. |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | Initially it wasn't the looks, I genuinely ended up purchasing this bike because of the price to Power package I was getting, I actually went to the bike store to get an MT-07 but these were all sold out when first introduced in the UK with long back orders. The dealer convinced me to try their demo MT-09 and the rest is history – WOW it just blew me away! …so much acceleration, then as you fall in love with the performance and bargain, the look then grow on you and then you love the way it looks. Been riding for 17 years now in and around London and my latest bike is my MT-09 for the past almost 3 years now. It is also the first bike out of my previous many others iv'e owned along the way that has truly made an impression on me and just blown me away, just because of what it cost new, the new experience it offered in regards to where the power came in in the low revs. These bikes are absolute gems and come my future Trade-in time for a new bike, I am genuinely getting another one in the MT-09 family, this model bike has really worked itself into my soul. It's everything in one, it's a naked – 'sport-performance' – nimble, traffic fighting, Chunky sturdy looking 'Super-motard' – which also acts as the perfect road going Trackday bike – that sounds amazing with the upgraded Exhaust, the MT was & still is the new breed of beast on two wheels that still makes you smile everyday, year after year. Yamaha really nailed it with this machine. RESPECT! P.S And just look at those beautiful blue wheels. |
| Cons Comments | I've taken it on a couple of track days and that is where you will really noticed how basic the suspension is. Abit software and vague and if if stiffen it up abit (using Pre-load) on the limited settings (NO compression adjustment) then you just end up with it being too stiff for your weight. So definitely abit bleh, …But just remember how much you payed and you will still feel like 'Bargain'!!! |
| Submitted by: | vinnychoff | Review Date: November 2017 |
Comfort | | It is a well known talk that the seat is quite hard and not the best. After three thousand miles either my rear end or the seat has softened and is accetable for just over an hour rides. As I have not been longer on the bike i cant say but would think its ok. | | Ride Quality | | I am waiting for the good weather and dry roads. At the moment it is difficult to say with our roads at the moment. The standard suspension settings seem ok. I feel slighlty that the turn in is slow but as I have not experimented with any settings its early days. |
| Build Quality & Reliability | | It would have been five but after a short while driving in rain that was so heavy the roads were flooded. When I mentioned to the dealer I thought it could be rain. The dealer mentioned it could be chargeable which upset me on two things. Should the bike be able to go out in heavy rain? Why would yamaha dealers charge me or have a bike that is not fit for purpose. It turned out to be a o2 sensor and the dealer did not charge. upsetting though |
| Engine Rating | | The gearing is for a top speed of 125 with the engine power of over 110 bhp. It is so quick on acceleration and responsive in any gear. I have fitted the akropovic exhaust which is not noisy but improves with less weight and free flowing exhaust gases. |
| Brake Rating | | abs is a bonus and the brakes can be pulled up with one finger control. |
| Running Cost | | Sixty plus can be seen if kept to 60mph on the motorway. its a good bike for speed and miles per gallon |
| Overall | | |
| Pros Comments | It is light and so responsive to the power of the engine and gearing. The new looks of the led lights. Make it stand out. On the motorway it could do with a screen which i do have the small one that looks great but is not ideal for pushing the air out of the way. |
| Cons Comments | The seat could be improved. Now after three thousand miles it seems ok. It could do with some development. |
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