The riding position is pure sportbike.
At the beginning of the year, when I
tested this bike at Sonoma, I thought
the ergos were a little more relaxed
than some of the competition, but after
a while of living with it, I've changed my
mind. It's a head-down, ass-up sport
-
bike, and you'll really feel it after an
hour on board. The legroom is reason-
able, but that lowered seat over the R6
can make for a cramped ride position.
In a way, it has echoes of the Honda
CBR1000RR-R SP, a bike that's razor-
sharp on track and makes next to no
concessions of it. The R9 isn't quite as
bad as that, but it's not much departed
from the R6's line of thinking.
The R9 may have gained some girth
over the R6, but that size advantage trans
-
The R9 is very much a sportbike but
it feels confused. The MT-09-derived
three-cylinder engine has oodles more
torque than the R6 could ever dream of,
making it easy to leave in third or fourth
gear and zip from corner to corner. But
it is significantly longer and heavier
than the R6's svelte race-bred frame.
The R9's dedicated Deltabox frame
sits with a three-degree increase in
steering rake, which, combined with the
0.8-inch lower seat height, 1.8-inch lon
-
ger wheelbase and an extra claimed 22
pounds in weight, makes the R9 lazier
and slower in the initial part of the turn
than the R6 was. The R9 requires you to
muscle it into the corner like a super
-
bike; the agility of the R6's chassis is a
bit of a distant memory.
Longer and lower
than the R6, the
R9's steering is
a touch slower,
but there's more
stability when on
the side of the
Bridgestone
S22 tire.
P78
RIDE REVIEW I 2025 YAMAHA YZF-R9
