New Yamaha MT-09 Wins Prestigious Design Award

The new Yamaha MT-09 has won a Red Dot Design Award for 2024, one of two bikes from the Japanese manufacturer to win one of the prestigious design awards this year.

The MT-09 entered its fourth generation for 2024, with a redesign of various aesthetic pieces such as the front screen, fuel tank, and tail section, mostly with a redirection back towards something like the 2020 MT-09 after the cyclops styling of the 2021 version proved somewhat unpopular. Additionally, the redesign of the fuel tank includes some acoustic ducting to improve the bike’s sound, even if the 890cc CP3 engine remains unchanged. Of course, the new tank has ergonomic impacts, too, with the intention being to create a freer riding position.

The 2024 MT-09 was not the only Yamaha bike to receive a Red Dot Design Award, as the 2023 XMAX 300 maxi-scooter also picked one up.

Compared to the styling focus of the MT-09, the 2023 XMAX’s focus was on practicality. The functionality of both the front fork and engine, Yamaha says, “are visualised in the tight silhouette, expressing an attractive sense of exuberance.”

The success of the MT-09 and XMAX 300 means Yamaha has picked up Red Dot Design Awards in each of the last 13 years, having won one at least every year since 2012.

Yamaha is not the only Japanese motorcycle brand to have won a Red Dot award in 2024, after Honda picked up several awards including for its EM1e: electric scooter.

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