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2024 · Naked Bike · A variant of the MT-09
Differences between the standard MT-09 and the SP
The Triple With Real Soul
The MT-09 SP is built around Yamaha's 890cc CP3 triple, an inline-three making 119 hp and 69 lb-ft with a rising, characterful delivery that rewards revs. The SP trim layers premium hardware over the standard bike: a DLC-coated KYB fork, a golden Öhlins rear shock, and Brembo Stylema front calipers, backed by a full electronics package running cornering ABS, traction control, ride modes, and wheelie control off a six-axis IMU. In its class it lands as the composed one, a naked that carries genuine character without ever tipping into chaos.
On the road it settles fast and stays approachable, with light steering and a short wheelbase that make tight, twisty going feel natural. It suits the weekend canyon and back-road rider who still wants something civil in city traffic. Reliability scores well and the aftermarket runs deep, so it ages into whatever you build toward. Do confirm the open recall covering throttle-position-sensor wear, which can cause unstable idle and stalling, has been handled. The caveat is honest: this is a composed naked, not the sharpest weapon in the class, and that calm reads as tame if you came looking for an edge.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 119 hp (88 kW) @ 10,000 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 69 lb-ft (93 Nm) @ 7,000 rpm |
| Displacement | 890 cc |
| Engine | Inline-three |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front brake | 298 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70 ZR17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55 ZR17 |
| Wheelbase | 56.3 in (1430 mm) |
| Seat height | 32.5 in (825 mm) |
| Wet weight | 428 lb (194 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 3.7 gal (14 L) |
| Fuel economy | 47 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Lighting
Safety
Swing a leg over and the first thing that registers is the seating position: upright, roomy, the kind of stance that still makes sense an hour in. You sit in the bike rather than on top of it, and that feeling of being held builds trust before you've turned a wheel. Fire the triple and it talks back, a raw, irregular mechanical note that owes nothing to exhaust trickery. What surprises is how little of it reaches your hands; the bars stay smooth where you'd expect buzz. The quickshifter slots every gear so cleanly it vanishes into the background after a few miles. Wind it up to a real road pace and it feels light and eager underneath you, happiest when the road keeps turning, a touch less planted once the pace climbs and the straights get long.
The MT-09 SP (RN87-SP) builds on the standard MT-09: the upgraded hardware, the key spec changes and where its character shifts. The full ride, specs, scoring and verdict are all right here on this page.
My own 0–100 score for this bike against the class, area by area — the marker on each bar is the class average.
What stays with me is how much of that old supermoto streak lives on in this generation, only better disciplined. Set against the bikes before it, Yamaha has shaved off the most frantic of the nervous energy, and to my mind the machine is stronger for it. It is still fast, still switched-on, still itching to muck about the instant you provoke it, just reined in tighter now. The soul was not stripped out, only aimed somewhere you can actually get at it more often.
What defines this chassis for me is that tight wheelbase. Push it hard into a chain of switchbacks and it flicks over on command, taking to that aggressive, supermoto style of riding without complaint. I settled in almost at once, because the riding stance sinks you down into the bike and that held feeling gets confidence going straightaway. There is a flip side worth stating plainly. Wind the pace onto faster, more open roads and the eager, playful nature trades away a slice of stability, and several of us clocked the same thing. Read it as calm and composed rather than razor-sharp, closer to a mature all-rounder than a track weapon. The premium Öhlins unit out back only earned its keep when I was really leaning on it, riding two-up, or adding load; everywhere else the standard hardware satisfied just as well.
Light hand, big stop. That is the headline with the front Brembos, which hand over serious retardation from a pull far softer than the result would lead you to expect, so hauling off speed never taxes your fingers. The calibration on the ABS earns equal marks from me. It sits on the lenient side and waits noticeably longer than rival setups before it cuts in, leaving more of the brake's working range open to a rider with the skill to meter it themselves.
For a country road engine, this triple sets the bar and I will defend that. The 890 pulls with a clean, progressive shove and enough personality that I would crack the throttle early climbing out of a corner and trust it to drive without hesitation. The gearchange lives up to it too: the newest shifter feeds ratio after ratio home without a jolt or a snag, and it faded from my attention within a handful of miles. I love the noise it kicks out, a coarse, uneven mechanical growl with nothing faked in the pipes, and what genuinely surprised me is how little of that roughness ends up in your palms. The one real shortfall shows against the punchier inline fours. Line them up together and the triple simply lacks their outright shove, so chasers of raw acceleration will look elsewhere.
Log a real stint and the ergonomics prove their worth. It seats you tall and open, spacious enough that I rolled up hour after hour without the usual soreness settling into my wrists or back. Riders after a committed sporting tuck will want more of their weight pressed over the front tire, but across the everyday mix of roads most of us actually ride, this layout keeps you fresh and pays for itself.
This isn't a test verdict. It's the sum of what riders have told me over a long stretch: messages that turn up out of the blue, questions piling up under my videos, and the back-and-forth that gets going when you're standing around the bikes at an event. Gather all of it for this MT-09 and the picture settles fast. The enthusiasm sits with how it goes and how it steers, and the friction almost always comes back to comfort.
Ask owners why they bought it and most land on the 890cc triple before anything else on the bike. They describe firm thrust down low and an appetite to keep pulling all the way to the top, along with a character they set well apart from the parallel twins many of them rode before. More riders point to the motor as their reason for signing than to any other single feature. The intake howl draws its own mentions, and the up-and-down quickshifter earns steady praise for slotting gear after gear without a jolt.
Right behind the engine comes the way it handles. Riders call it light and quick to change line, easy through town and just as willing once the road knots up. Those who have leaned on the adjustable fork and rear shock report a steadier front and more composure over broken pavement than the base bike gives. They also tally what the electronics cover: lean-sensitive traction, slide and wheelie control, cornering ABS, ride modes, cruise control, and that quickshifter, a package they rate against machines costing far more. The larger color screen, now with phone pairing and on-board navigation, draws its own approval for putting an old grievance to rest. The front Brembos come up again and again for stopping force and lever feel under a hard squeeze. Tying it all together is price. Riders frame the whole thing as serious performance without the premium sticker, and several add that strong resale and a wide service network take some worry out of the years ahead.
The complaints hold as steady as the praise, and they sit with comfort rather than handling. The one raised most is the lack of wind protection. With nothing up front to tuck behind, riders find sustained highway running above roughly 80 mph (130 km/h) wearing, a cost they accept as part of the naked format but bring up all the same. The seat follows close behind. Owners say the thin, firm cushion turns hard after about 95 to 125 miles (150 to 200 km), which pairs with a modest tank that stretches only around 135 to 150 miles (220 to 240 km) between fills to explain why the touring-minded reach for something else on big days. A smaller group notes an abrupt throttle pickup in Sport mode at low revs around town, adding that a switch to Street mode mostly settles it.
Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) wear causing unstable idle and stalling
An ECU programming flaw causes excessive sliding of the TPS brushes, generating abrasive particles that accumulate on contact points. This leads to unstable idling, potential engine stalling, and illumination of the check engine light with fault code P2135. Yamaha issued a safety recall to reprogram the ECU and replace the TPS at no cost for all affected 2021–2025 MT-09 SP models.
Where this Yamaha MT-09 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the MT-09 is actually built for.
You commute the city and hit the ridge roads on weekends. The MT-09 SP handles both: light and civil in traffic, eager and full of character once Skyline starts to twist. It looks the part and rewards the ride.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
For Angeles Crest and the LA canyons, this light, confident naked lets you get on the gas early out of corners. Through the tight stuff it's right at home, though it loosens a touch when the sections open up fast.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
On the Dragon and Blue Ridge, where skill beats speed, the short wheelbase and settled chassis suit your game. It drives through tight switchbacks on an aggressive, pushing input and holds you steady as you work each corner.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2021–2023
The Engine That Plays Itself
Compare to the previous model →