UNDER THE SKIN...YAMAHA R9

Yamaha's been in the game plenty long enough to know that if something isn't working, it's time to shake things up.

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Over the last decade or so, it's proven to be the master of doing so, developing many a product range such as the MT-series, while keeping its eye out for other opportunities. Despite dwindling sales in the sportsbikes sector, across all manufacturers, it's nonetheless worked hard on fine-tuning its R-family.

While we were gutted to learn the R1 would follow the R6's fate and cease production as a road bike at the end of 2024, the news of an R9 coming to fruition helped dry those tears and fuelled no end of speculation about how cracking a CP3-powered protagonist would be. Fast-forward to the back end of 2025 and Yamaha has just won the World Supersport Constructors' Championship, while picking up countless wins and lap records throughout the season. If ever you needed validation of a decision well made, surely this is it.

But it's not just on the racetrack where the bike's been hitting home, as it's also proven a hit in the showroom, picking up where the R1 left off, offering wannabe racers with a credible, powerful and fun-loving supersport machine... at a respectably affordable price.