Hot on the heels of the 2024 series MT-09 unveiled on October 31, Yamaha has now unveiled a sportier SP version.
Just a week after the naked’s last unveiling, the SP is based on an all-new credible package that has been given a new fairing and styling that incorporates LED lights – plus a sportier riding position, improved brakes, all-new TFT instrument panel and controls.
The heart of the new MT-09 remains the characteristic “CP3” three-cylinder engine updated in 2021, as well as the die-cast aluminum Deltabox frame introduced in the same year.
The new bike, the 2024 SP, builds on the base of the new MT-09 and adds improved fully adjustable suspension, top-of-the-range Brembo Stylema brake calipers, an extra customizable Track riding mode, an R1M superbike-inspired black, blue and silver paint job (complete with polished aluminium swingarm) and (for the first time on any Yamaha) a new “Smart Key” keyless ignition system.
Although much of the SP is the same as the MT-09 as standard (since most of it is new for 2024), it’s worth remembering.
The most obvious is the “new slimmer, sharper look”, which includes a new tank, a new set of LED front lights in a redesigned canopy, a new LED rear light with separate rear and brake lights, plus a new two-unit seat with matching fairing.
The riding position has also been updated, with the handlebars lower and the footrests higher and set back, although both are adjustable. And, as with the standard 09, there’s a completely new five-inch TFT instrument panel and switches, derived from the latest Tracer 9 GT+ (and Niken GT). After that, however, the new SP takes on a life of its own.
As with previous SPs, the 2024 bike comes with fully adjustable premium suspension, this time with a gold finish, coated in DLC (Diamond Like Carbon), 41 mm KYB forks at the front and an Öhlins monoshock at the rear.
The new forks offer full adjustment for preload, rebound and compression damping, while the Öhlins rear unit offers adjustments for compression and rebound, as well as a remote preload adjuster.
The brakes on the new MT-09SP have also been upgraded and now, for the first time, use dual Brembo monobloc “Stylema” calipers, bringing superbike-class braking performance to Yamaha’s 900 roadster.
While the standard MT-09 2024 features three riding modes, Sport, Street and Rain, the new SP has an additional Track mode that allows the rider to customize four extra patterns of power, traction, braking and more to suit certain scenarios on the track. There is also an exclusive Track theme on the SP’s TFT screen.
A new and hitherto exclusive feature of the new MT-09 SP is Yamaha’s new keyless “Smart Key system”. This system includes a new “on-off” control, instead of the usual key slot, on the top of the tank, which is active as long as the new Smart Key is within reach. The new control also includes an option to lock and unlock the tank lid.
The new Yamaha MT-09 SP 2024 is presented only in black/silver/blue, inspired by the R1M, with a polished aluminum swingarm. Prices and availability have not yet been announced.