P96
RIDE REVIEW I 2021 YAMAHA MT-09
Joining those electronic updates are a
bushel of mechanical changes. Back-to-
back rides with the outgoing MT-09 might
give away taller transmission ratios in first
and second gears. Sensitive ears might pick
up on a new airbox with three intake ducts.
Everyone should take note of the lovely and
entirely rethought exhaust design. Espe-
cially as a great many of them are destined
for dusty corners of garages or the closest
scrap heap. This is an MT-09, after all.
NEW AND IMPROVED
Solid as the engine updates may be, it
wasn't the powertrain that needed fiddling.
The outgoing MT-09 always felt a little vague
and unsettled in hard cornering, or on bad tarmac. Livable?
For a bike on a commuting diet, sure. But nobody shelling
out $10k for a new naked sport bike wants to start looking up
suspension shops after their first ride in the canyons.
"The headlight
looks like a stealth
fighter's jockstrap,"
Cantle drops the
quote of the year.
Lighter wheels give the MT-
09 a touch more speed when
changing direction.
