2021 Yamaha MT-09 revealed | All the pictures, specs and updates
The 2021 Yamaha MT-09 has received a significant update ahead of 2021 with a new look, less weight, and larger capacity engine
THE highly popular middle-weight naked from Yamaha has been updated as the 2021 MT-09 is revealed. the bike now features new styling and a new 889cc engine with more power and torque.
The update is the third in the bike's lifetime after it last received a spruce up in 2017. Then the bike switched from the slightly gawky looking single headlight version to the more modern and sleek-looking twin headlight model.
2021 Yamaha MT-09 video review
Here’s everything we know about the new model.
2021 Yamaha MT-09 styling
For 2021 Yamaha has again switched up the design of the bike, leaving the current MT design language of before well behind. For the first time in the history of the MT-09, the 2021 bike looks like nothing else in the Yamaha hyper-naked range.
The narrow twin headlights are now gone, with the front end now dominated by a large, centrally mounted LED light. Flanking the headlight are two slim LED DRLs, a small nod to the previous model in my eyes.
The rest of the design of the bike is about displaying the inner workings of the MT-09 for all to see. Yamaha’s designers have stripped back the bodywork of the bike to reveal the engine, suspension, and ancillary systems to the world. The overall stance of the bike is that of a compact, and neatly proportioned machine - and it’s no accident. Yamaha has placed the fuel tank, headlight, and exhaust as close to the new 889cc engine as possible. All of which lends to the impressions of mass-centralisation.
Engine
To help keep the bike abreast of Euro5 and ahead of the naked bike pack, Yamaha has opted to grace the 2021 model with the biggest mechanical update since the model was incepted back in 2014. Gone is the 847cc engine and in its place, a new 889cc has been created.
The new mill is Euro5 compliant and also makes the 2021 MT-09 the most powerful version ever. The extra capacity comes from increasing the stoke by 3mm providing the unit with another 49cc that boosts the top end by 4hp.
The top end of the engine’s performance is one thing, but as anyone who has ridden the MT-09 knows, the bike’s broad spread of perfectly linear torque is where the fun really is. On that note, Yamaha has boosted peak torque to 68lb-ft, with the peak number arriving at 7,000rpm, a full 1,500rpm lower than before.
Complimenting the new engine is a revised fuel injection system that sees the injectors shifted from the cylinder head to just after the throttle valve. The fuel is now injected directly onto the back of the intake valves. The system is claimed to improve atomisation, improving combustion, increasing fuel efficiency, and helping to gain that all-important Euro5 certification.
Chassis
The fly in the ointment of the previous MT-09 was the slightly under-damped front end, something you could fix with aftermarket kits – or upgrading to the SP variant! Yamaha has listened to though, as the new bike gains 41mm KYB forks with preload, compression and rebound damping adjustability. The rear suspension linkage design has been changed and the new adjustable KYB rear shock is set up to suit the all-new chassis with its significantly reduced un-sprung weight.
10-spoke Spin Forged wheels
The 2021 bike also includes an innovative new type of wheel that is heated up and then spun on high-pressure rollers. The result is a wheel that Yamaha is claiming to be its lightest ever, and as any motorcycle tuner knows, reducing un-sprung weight is the key to improving acceleration, braking, and handling.
Colours, availability, and price
The new MT-09 will be available in three colours: Storm Fluo, Icon Blue, and Tech Black. Deliveries to European Yamaha dealers will commence from March 2021.
Prices as yet are TBC
2021 Yamaha MT-09 features and specification
- New 889cc, inline 3-cylinder, 4-valve, DOHC, liquid-cooled EU5 engine
- More power at all engine speeds
- 7% increase in maximum torque at lower rpm
- 4PS increase in maximum power
- New 2.3kg lighter CF die-cast aluminium Deltabox chassis
- Lower 189kg wet weight – 4kg reduction and the lightest in 900cc naked class
- Shorter wheelbase for more dynamic handling
- New lightweight aluminium swingarm
- Bare and beautiful ‘coverless’ new generation MT styling
- Premium quality throughout, with Crystal Graphite frame finish
- Full LED lighting with Y-shape brand signature icon design front and rear
- New QSS - Quick Shift System with up and downshift functions
- Refined A&S - Assist & Slip clutch
- Light and compact new 6-axis IMU
- Lean-sensitive rider aids: TCS, SCS and LIFt with three intervention modes
- ABS and BC - Brake Control system
- D-MODE switchable engine running modes
- New ultra-light Spin Forged 17-inch 10-spoke wheels
- Larger 180/70-17 rear tyre with 120/70-17 front tyre
- Fully adjustable KYB 41mm USD forks with revised settings
- Adjustable KYB rear shock with revised settings
- Full colour 3.5-inch TFT instruments with remote handlebar switch
- Radial front master cylinder, 298mm dual front discs
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
