Just as it makes a high-spec, Öhlins-sprung SP version of the MT-10, Yamaha is planning to unleash an MT-09SP for 2018.
The firm has homologated the bike already, suggesting it will be launched soon.
From the documents we’ve seen, we know it uses the same 84.6kW, 847cc, three-cylinder engine as the stock MT-09, suggesting that all the changes will be to the cosmetics and the suspension.
It’s the same pattern Yamaha established with the R1M-based MT-10SP, which uses Öhlins’ semi-active suspension instead of the already-decent stuff on the standard model.
While we haven’t seen the MT-09SP yet, it makes sense that Yamaha will follow a similar theme.
The semi-active Öhlins kit is likely to be too expensive to make sense on an MT-09-based bike, but some of the firm’s cheaper kit would still be a big improvement over the stock parts.
As well as revealing the MT-09SP’s name, the homologation documents for the new bike show that its internal code is MTN850D, where the normal MT-09 is MTN850. The code name emphasises that the motorcycle is aligned with the MT-10SP, which is internally known as MTN1000D, compared to MTN1000 for the non-SP version.
But Why?
If you’ve got the coin to buy an up-spec 900cc nakedbike, wouldn’t it make more sense to opt for the MT-10? Not necessarily, especially when you consider the 765cc Triumph Street Triple, which is offered in not two, but three different versions and whose top-shelf RS is selling just as well as the entry-level S version.
When?
Expect to see the MT-09SP officially at the EICMA motorcycle expo in November. There’s a good chance we’ll snap some spy pics between now and then, but it – and hopefully the firm’s Ténéré 700 – should be revealed in Italy within three months.
By Ben Purvis
