First Yamaha R9 Teaser: This is Not a Drill!

Social media is buzzing this morning after Yamaha dropped its first teaser which is widely believed to depict the incoming Yamaha R9 sports bike.

Obviously, there isn't much to go on from the Instagram post - a few blurry glimpses of a sports bike fairing, and close-up and out-of-focus (but still arty) shots of the headlight are about it as far as views of the bike go. There is also the not-so-subtle hint to the R9 as a countdown on screen begins at 10 and then glitches, stopping on the number ‘9’.

We can, though, clearly see a rider decked out in full race leathers, with sports riding gloves preparing (or at least pretending to prepare!) to ride the new MT-09 and XSR900 GP-derived machine. We do get one clear view of the bike, although it’s only of the rear wheel and swing arm while the bike is performing a burnout. Luckily enough I have an XSR900 GP press bike tucked away in my garage, and as far as I can tell, that’s the same swingarm and brake set-up as found on Yamaha’s recently released retro sports bike.

Other details about the bike are as yet unknown, although if I were to have a stab at the spec I’d guess it’s going to borrow elements from the MT-09 SP, quite possibly the Brembo Stylema calipers. What the bike doesn’t seem to have, which the MT-09 SP does, is the higher-spec Ohlins rear shock with remote preload adjuster. The bike shown in the video very clearly features a rear shock with a trademark Yamaha blue spring, so unless Ohlins has broken with a very long tradition for this bike, it’s likely the same KYB item as found on the XSR900 GP. It is possible, though, that Yamaha could be holding back some of the kit fitted to the MT-09 SP, and perhaps looking to add to the R9’s pedigree with an R9M or R9 SP model at a later date.

For that and all the full information on the new bike though, we don’t have to wait long, as the teaser from Yamaha does give us one piece of vital information, in that the ‘Dawn of a New Era’ will happen on October 9, 2024, fittingly!

We’ll be staying tuned and will bring you all the new motorcycle news as we have it.