During the recent Yamaha GenBlu carnival in Setia Alam, Selangor, paultan.org took the opportunity to ask Hong Long Yamaha Motor is the Yamaha YZF-R9 is coming to Malaysia. Our source inside Yamaha Malaysia said, yes, the R9 is coming, and soon.”
This is news of some import, as the current Yamaha Malaysia catalogue only contains the R25 and R15M, both of which have been in the market for the longest time. Yamaha Malaysia elected not to bring the four-cylinder sports bikes stating it was concerned over a lack of demand for high-priced, high-powered motorcycles in the Malaysian market (something that doesn’t seem to have dissuaded Kawasaki or Suzuki.)
Currently, for Yamaha’s three-cylinder two-wheelers, Malaysia gets the Yamaha Tracer 9 and the Yamaha MT-09 while the middleweight segment is conspicuously missing the MT-07 (discontinued in 2018), the Tracer 7 and the XSR 700, though we now get the recently launched Yamaha XSR155. So, a brand new sports bike for Yamaha in Malaysia, and naturally the question was asked, “when?”
2026 R9
The answer would be towards the end of the year in the fourth quarter, quite likely during the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang, or a special Yamaha event during that period. As for pricing, the current model MT-09 retails at RM57,998, so you can expect the R9 to come in way above the RM60,000 price point, possibly closer to RM75,000 and probably above if it’s a CBU model.
The R9 comes with Yamaha’s CP3 Crossplane engine from the Yamaha MT-09 naked sports, with three-cylinders and 119 PS. The R9 draws on Yamaha’s experience in racing, notably in MotoGP, and features aerodynamic bodywork. Winglets reduce front-wheel lift by six to seven percent in a straight line, and when combined with the front-end spoiler beneath the M-duct, is increased 10% during cornering.
KYB supplies the 43 mm diameter upside-down front forks, adjustable for rebound and compression damping on the left and right fork tubes with high- and low-speed valving. In the rear, a KYB monoshock comes with full adjustment for compression, preload and rebound.
Braking is done with radial-mount twin Brembo Stylema monobloc four-piston callipers on the front wheel. With 320 mm twin brake discs, braking power in front is controlled by a Brembo radial master cylinder and stainless steel braided hoses.
A full suite of riding electronics comes on the R9, with three riding modes – Sport, Street and Rain – along with two customisable modes and four track modes. Additionally, the riding aids feature Power delivery (PWR), Traction Control (TCS), Slide Control System (SCS), Brake Control (BC), Back Slip Regulator (BSR), Engine Brake Management (EBM), cruise control and front wheel Lift Control (LIF).
Standard equipment is a two-mode quickshifter with Setting 1 allowing for upshifts when accelerating and downshifts on deceleration while Setting 2 allows downshifts while accelerating and upshifts while decelerating, intended for track use in specific cornering situations.
Japanese brands marketing need to be more proactive! China brands are taking over the motoring segment.
electric superbike
We need the R7 here too, and a sub-500cc ADV/sport touring class bike from Yamaha to compete with their Chinese counterparts..
We need the R7 here too with the CP2 engine for that brap braapp noise and Yamaha needs to make a sub-500cc sport touring/ADV class bike to compete with their Chinese counterparts too!
This or RXZ better?