2025 Yamaha YZF-R9 to be Revealed October 9
The R9 is finally coming
Yamaha has released teasers for what might be the most anticipated new motorcycles in recent years, a new R9. The teaser, disseminated across Yamaha’s social media channels, offers brief glimpses of a sportbike with a heavy emphasis on the number 9, leaving no doubt that the new YZF-R9 is finally on its way, with an announcement coming on Oct. 9.
Like many people, we’ve been anticipating the R9 for some time now, and it seems like Yamaha has been waiting for the right time. The recent decision to make the R1 a track-only model in Europe obviously helped create a space for the R9, even if the literbike continues to be offered as a street legal model in North America.
The teaser video, titled “The Dawn of a New Era”, provides a few good looks at an LED headlight and a very blurry blue sportbike, but the clearest look is probably at the rear wheel, showing some of the similarities – and differences – between the R9 and the MT-09.
The wheel is a different design, but in true Yamaha fashion, shown in the company’s signature blue, with the rear shock coil in a matching hue. The rearset pegs look like they might be slightly higher, though that could be the result of the camera angle and the rider’s weight compressing the suspension. The subframe looks similar to the MT-09’s, but what we can see of the main frame looks a little different, though that may be merely a cosmetic change. The exhaust is partially obscured, but it still looks similar to the one on the naked model.
[UPDATE: The R9 has received CARB certification as a 2025 model. It shares the same certification as the MT-09 and MT-09 SP, suggesting no changes to the engine and exhaust. The certifications also confirm three color codes: Blue, Black, and White.]
The headlight design looks similar to the R7, with two LED strips surrounding a central light, rather than the R1’s four-light setup. The shape of the LED actually looks a bit like the MT-09’s light, but flipped around so the bend is in the front.
The R9 is expected to be Yamaha’s weapon in the Supersport racing class, though its 890cc Triple will mean the existing rules will need to be adjusted to make it eligible. What remains to be seen is if Yamaha will offer a higher-spec R9M version, just as it did with the YZF-R1M.
We’ll have to wait for the full announcement on Oct. 9 to know more, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Yamaha releases a few more teasers before then.
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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Now for us ADV'ers, PLEASE make a T9!
Another washing down of sportbikes. As if parallel-twins weren't bad enough.