Yamaha R9 incoming | Top racing boss suggests new three-cylinder sportsbike could arrive for 2025

Fresh hopes for a new three-cylinder Yamaha R9 sportsbike have been ignited within the World Supersport paddock, following claims that the Japanese brand will be switching from the four-cylinder R6 to a new Yamaha MT-09 derived racer for the 2025 season.

Kervin Bos, who is the Team Manager at Yamaha Ten Kate Racing – winners of the 2021 and 2022 WSS titles with Dominique Aegerter – spoke to MCN and confirmed the switch, also stating that little to no official detail on the finished machine is currently available.

“Everything is really unclear. The only information that we have is basically on the racing model,” he said. “The racing model is already in heavy development, and many things are already happening about that.

“The only thing I can tell you for sure is next year in World Supersport the Yamaha R6 will be replaced for the R9, but by my information it is unclear when the bike will be available for on the road.”

Further to Kervin’s comments, our sources in Japan (who kindly supplied these renders of what a finished bike may look like) further suggest that a production-ready R9 is ready and waiting – likely to appear in the coming Autumn.

The 599cc four-cylinder Yamaha R6 road bike was replaced by a track-only R6 Race in Europe at the beginning of 2022. No longer meeting emissions requirements for homologation, its track focussed position and rev happy motor made it difficult and uncompromising on the road – ultimately leading to a significant decline in sales.

“That’s the biggest question mark for Yamaha now as well,” Bos added. “I think  that’s also the reason why there is not too much information available to everybody, because I think they are just working flat out to make sure there is a kind of production model ready as soon as possible – maybe next year, or the year after.”

According to Bos, an R9 development racer has already appeared in anger at Misano in Italy, further confirming our suspicions that the eventual racer will be based on the existing MT-09 package – itself updated for 2024 with fresh electronics, a revised riding position, and a new set of plastics.

Using the £10,100 MT-09 naked as a base would suggest that any eventual R9 would share its existing 890cc three-cylinder engine, which currently produces a claimed 117.3bhp at 10,000rpm. Offering heavy doses of grunt at the low-to-middle RPMs, it’s a completely different ethos to the old school R6, which needs to be thrashed to get the best out of it.

This motor is housed in a cast ali frame, which would likely remain for a sports derivative – however could receive revisions such as a steeper steering head angle for greater agility. Changes to the swingarm, and subframe are also not out of the question.

On the theme of shared parts, the eventual R9 could well also retain the more premium £11,310 MT-09 SP’s gold finished 41mm KYB upside down forks and Öhlins rear shock – with the settings altered for the sportier disposition.

Whether Yamaha would make it as extreme as the R6 remains to be seen though, with an aging rider demographic suggesting something slightly easier on the wrists would generate more sales. This may then need to be altered again for racing.

The idea of an R9 has been a long time coming and back in the first week of August 2021, Yamaha filed applications for the name ‘R9’ in the European Union, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the ‘YZF-R9’ tag in the Philippines.

What’s more, the faired Yamaha R125, A2-legal Yamaha R3, middleweight Yamaha R7, and superbike Yamaha R1 all having a naked MT counterpart sharing the same engine platform. The current missing piece of the puzzle is the MT-09, leaving the ideal gap.

MCN approached Yamaha about the bike, however they declined to comment.