New Yamaha R9 First Look + REAL Dyno Results!

New Yamaha R9 First Look + REAL Dyno Results!

We Finally Got a Yamaha R9 in the Shop… First Look + Stock Dyno Run

Man, I've got a surprise for you guys.

We finally got one of these dang things in the shop.

The Yamaha R9.

I've been waiting forever to really get my hands on one, mess with it, take it apart, see how Yamaha designed everything, and of course put it on the dyno.

My own order actually got canceled, and from what I've heard, a lot of people have had the same issue. I've heard everything from delays to parts or chip issues, but I don't know exactly what the reason is.

What I do know is we finally had one sitting right in front of me.

And I was excited.

First Impressions of the Yamaha R9

Before we started doing anything, I wanted to just walk around the bike and look at some of the details.

A lot of people have been talking about the front end and the integrated wing design.

Listen, I like Yamaha.

I don't hate the way it looks, but I do think they could have done the wings a little differently.

Something more like the R1, where the aero elements feel more separate from the bodywork, might have looked a little cleaner to me.

But overall?

The bike looks good.

There's a lot going on with it, and Yamaha definitely gave riders plenty to play with.

Suspension, Quick Shifter, and Electronics

The bike comes with adjustable KYB suspension front and rear.

It also has a quick shifter and auto-blipper, which I know the street guys are going to love.

We've been using that kind of stuff in racing for a long time, but having it available on a bike like this from the factory makes the whole package that much better.

Then I started going through the dash.

There are different themes, lap-timer functions, navigation-related features, app functions, riding modes, vehicle settings, and plenty of stuff buried in the menus.

It's actually pretty cool.

My only complaint?

There's a lot of unused black space around the screen.

I kept looking at it thinking, "Why didn't Yamaha just make the display fill that whole area?"

It would have looked cleaner and probably felt even more premium.

But that's me being picky.

Brembo Front Brakes… and a Nissin Rear

Up front, Yamaha gave the R9 Brembo hardware.

That's a nice touch.

You've got a Brembo front master cylinder and Brembo front calipers.

Now, keep in mind, the master cylinder is still production-level equipment. It's good, but we're not talking about something like an aftermarket RCS19.

Still, it's nice stuff.

But then Yamaha does something I always find funny.

Brembo front.

Nissin rear.

Come on, guys.

You're already doing Brembo up front. Just give me the Brembo rear, too.

Charge me another fifty bucks. I'll pay it.

That Huge Opening Under the Bike

One of the other things that immediately caught my attention was how much open space there is underneath the motorcycle.

You can literally stick your hand through there.

It's a pretty wild design when you're standing next to it and looking at how everything is packaged.

The R9 also has a new frame design and a different swingarm setup, so there are a lot of details here that I want to spend more time looking at once I have my own bike and can really start taking things apart.

For now, though, this customer's bike gave us the perfect opportunity to start learning.

This Customer Already Put 1,229 Miles on It

The customer told me he had already completed the break-in mileage.

I turned the bike on and checked.

1,229 miles.

He definitely enjoyed the motorcycle.

Probably could have brought it in a little sooner, but when you love a new bike, I get it.

You want to ride it.

And honestly, I was just happy to finally have one in here.

What We're Installing

The customer brought us a pretty solid list of upgrades.

We've got an M4 exhaust, a TST fender eliminator with an adjustable plate bracket, Domino grips in blue and black, stand spools, an air filter, an oil change, and then we're going to tune the motorcycle.

There may have also been a tinted windscreen on the list, but I needed to double-check with him.

The main thing I wanted to do was show you guys the whole process.

Not just the finished motorcycle.

I want to show you what's underneath the seat, how the rear fender comes apart, what kind of storage Yamaha gave you, how the exhaust fits, and then how everything changes on the dyno.

We've Already Seen Good Gains From Tuning

We've already tuned another R9, and we saw around a 10.5-horsepower improvement during that work.

That doesn't mean every R9 is automatically going to gain exactly 10.5 horsepower.

Different bikes, conditions, modifications, dynos, and tuning strategies can produce different results.

But it gave me a pretty good idea of what this platform is capable of.

And I want to show you guys what's actually happening when we tune one.

What changes.

What restrictions we remove.

What we pay attention to.

And what the dyno tells us.

Let's Get a Stock Baseline

Before touching anything, I wanted a stock dyno pull.

That's the right way to do it.

Get the bike exactly as it came in.

Run it.

Save the graph.

Then start making changes.

That gives us something real to compare against instead of guessing whether the exhaust, air filter, or tune actually did anything.

So we got the R9 strapped onto the dyno and made the baseline run.

The Stock Curve Looked Pretty Good

When we pulled up the graph, the first thing I noticed was that the curve looked pretty dang good.

There was a little dip in one area that I expect we'll be able to improve once we get into the tuning.

The air-fuel ratio also looked pretty good to me.

I generally like to see things a little on the safe, rich side rather than pushing something unnecessarily lean.

The important thing is that the bike gave us a clean stock baseline.

Now we can start changing things and actually see what each modification does.

What Happens Next

Next, we're going to do the oil change, install the fender eliminator, air filter, grips, and M4 exhaust, and then get the bike back on the dyno.

I don't want to drag this project out across a million videos.

I'd rather get the modifications done, show you exactly what changed, put it back on the dyno, and give you the results.

That's what you guys actually want to see.

And that's what I want to know, too.

I'm Just Happy We Finally Got One

I've been waiting a long time to spend some real time with an R9.

I still want my black one.

I don't want the blue.

And I definitely don't want the red.

Sorry, red R9 guys.

But getting this customer's bike in the shop finally gives me a chance to start learning the platform and showing you guys what's really going on with it.

And once my own R9 finally arrives, it's going to get ridiculous.

Multiple exhausts.

Dyno testing.

Tuning.

Comparisons.

Track stuff.

We're going to have a good time with this bike.

For now, we've got the stock baseline.

Next up, we start modifying it.

Thank you guys for watching and supporting MotoBros.

Please ride safe, grow your skill, and I'll see you guys in the next one.

Craig, MotoBros