Putting a slightly modified YZF-R9 to the test at Blackhawk Farms Raceway
Back in the beginning of this year I was fortunate enough to be one of the very first people stateside to sample the 2025 Yamaha YZF-R9, not only one of the first but we lucky journalists got to get our hands on the R9 at beautiful Sonoma Raceway at a private media launch event.
I won’t go into too much detail but if you’re interested in my in-depth first impressions you can find the link to my original story HERE. To sum things up, the R9 left a very deep impression on me, with its usable power, light, direct chassis, trick electronics, and fantastic out-of-the-box Showa suspension. It all came together into a package that didn’t need much to be a formidable track weapon.
Ryan rolling the 2025 Yamaha YZF-R9 at Sonoma Raceway back in March. Photo by Yamaha.
After my story, I had several people reach out to me to ask more questions about what I thought of the bike. Many of whom were friends that rode and raced with my local trackday and race organizations. One friend in particular, Derek, was strongly considering an R9 for his next bike as he was long overdue for an upgrade from his trusty 2004 Suzuki SV650. I remember telling him “Out of the box, this bike could do 15’s easily at Blackhawk”. The latter being our local home track and the 15’s I was referring to was a laptime of 1:15.0, a time on a middleweight that I will say “starting to move” at the 1.95 mile track in South Beloit, Illinois. Especially on a stock bike.
Derek asked me what I thought the bike might need. I replied; “Not much! If I was going to track it, I’d throw on some track bodywork, maybe an aftermarket master cylinder and a slip-on to really hear that beautiful exhaust note, and go!” I continued by explaining the stock suspension felt great and until you really start pushing into fast “Expert” times at Blackhawk, you’d be more than fine with the OEM setup. Showa did a really nice job with the all new suspension so I felt confident you had room to grow with it.
This bike handled extremely well, even stock. Photo of Ryan by Yamaha.
Fast forward to mid-summer and Derek let me know he was able to snag an R9 and was working on a few upgrades for the track. He ended up doing a very cool Pramac Yamaha-inspired livery, M4 exhaust, DNA stage 2 air filter, 2 Wheel Dynoworks ECU flash, WRS race windscreen, Bridgestone slicks, Armour Bodies bodywork, Tech Spec tank grips, Woodcraft case covers, and suspension baseline for 210lbs. It was a tasteful list, not much more would be needed in my mind to round out the build. Excitedly, Derek also told me I should take it out sometime when we’re both at Blackhawk together. He didn’t need to tell me twice! I was most eager to see if my prediction from earlier in the year about the lap times at Blackhawk, and if my initial impressions held true. Or was I just overcome with the excitement of my first on-track press launch?
The day finally came when Derek had brought his beautifully livered R9 to the track. I was just coming off a day of coaching on my R1 but Derek told me I should take the bike out in the afternoon. It was perfect weather, sunny and just shy of 80 degrees. I didn’t have to give the ergos a second thought as I sat on the bike. I simply turned the brake lever adjuster in one notch to better suit my hand. With that, I gave Derek a nod and the warmers were removed, stand dropped, and I rolled out towards pit out.
Derek’s beautiful R9, ready to roll at Blackhawk.
As I’ve mentioned in previous stories, I have a soft spot for the baritone of a triple engine and I love the way the R9 sounds. With the M4 exhaust, that triple note is downright addictive and I couldn’t help but grin as I rolled out onto the track. I quickly recalled what I had predicted about the bike being able to do a 1:15 out of the box. I’m aware this isn’t a completely stock bike but given the bike I rode at Sonoma was also on Bridgestone race tires, the only real difference performance wise is the tune. Everything else is pretty much equal.
The first thing I noticed as I began my out lap, was the slight dead spot I had also noticed when I first rode the R9 around 5500 rpm was gone, due to the tune Derek had done on the bike. The power curve was linear and predictable just as I had remembered. My first lap impression was that the bike almost felt more tame than I recalled but I’m certain that was due to just having hopped off of my own R1.
As I started my first flying lap, braking into T1 I immediately felt at home. The braking power was strong and predictable and I had a good feel with the front tire as I dove into the turn. The handling was light and flickable just as I remembered from my first ride. Having the power band smoothed out allowed me to keep up my corner speed and get the power down as I exited each corner. After another lap I had clicked off an 1:18 without really pushing, so I knew I had a lot left in the tank. Beginning my next couple of laps I started to catch traffic so slowed up a little and decided to dive into the pit lane to try and get some clear track.
I love Yamaha’s triples. Nice upgrades, Derek. Ryan onboard.
I lucked out and had an open track ahead of me, and after taking a couple laps to shake things out I wanted to see what I could manage before the session ended. I pushed more on my out lap and pushed a bit deeper into T1 as I started my next lap. I’m always holding some in reserve when riding someone else’s machine, but the R9 was giving me the feedback to tell me I still had some on the table. I felt the front plant as I dove into the turn and the rear hook as I tried to get on the power harder on the exit. I couldn’t feel or hear any of the rider aids but if they were doing anything, it was unobtrusive to my riding.
By the time I exited the Turn 3 carousel I glanced quickly and could see Derek’s AIM Solo 2 completely green lit. Each green dot on the AIM represented a tenth of a second so this meant I was at least a half second up on my 1:18 time. Just from riding the track so much, I could sense it was over a second already. By the time I exited the double left handers of Turn 4 and 5, I was feeling much more in the flow. racers will often talk about how it is actually easier to ride at a certain pace, how it is more comfortable than slowing down. This was one of those times where it felt that way. Not that the R9 wants to be ridden slowly, but it definitely finds a better rhythm the faster you ride which made it easier to push.
On track at Blackhawk, loving my friend’s well-sorted R9.
Exiting the longer Turn 5, I did my best to keep my body low and let the bike pick itself up as I rolled hard on the throttle before the hard braking into T6. The R9 stayed planted, no upsetting movements and I felt I could shave another second off of whatever this lap turned out to be. I got a great drive out of Turn 6 and 6a which is a light dogleg right onto the back straight. At this point, I knew I just needed to keep Turn 7, the last turn clean and we’d have a decent lap in the books. I broke into Turn 7 and looked down track, hit my apex nice and late and powered onto the front straight. I glanced down and saw the green lights on the AIM still lit up and I kept the throttle pinned to the Start/Finish. I did a quick look down as I broke again into Turn 1 and saw a 1:16.72! I was happy but knew I had more time in the tank.
I got a slightly better drive out of the turn and immediately saw two green lights on my dash. I’ll often tell people I’m working with, sometimes just improving on one corner can make a big difference to an entire lap. Once you start to string on one positive, the rest of the lap can fall into place. I flicked through turn 2, and as I entered Turn 3, I kept my body low and tried to get on the power early and hard as I set up for the slowest turn on the track, the “Bus Stop”. The transition between here and the left hander of Turn 4 has been my weak point lately and I tried to purposely wait a split second longer on my turn-in, to get a better drive out and line myself up for Turn 5. I was able to improve on my drive, but I’ll say it wasn’t perfect but good enough for the AIM to be almost completely green lit as I exited Turn 5. I could see that 1:15 lap in my sights, so I just needed to keep the rest of the lap clean!
Helmet cam shot, tucked in down the front straight.
I braked into Turn 6, focusing on my corner speed and drive out when my heart sank. The checkered flag was waving. For trackdays a flag is shown at the crossover gate at turn 6 and the start/finish straight. My plans were foiled! I rolled off and came back into the pits happily frustrated. I wasn’t able to click off the time I had predicted but I knew it was only due to lack of time. The way the session played out, after a few shakedown laps, to be able to click off a 1:16 lap on my first flyer, I knew there was lots of time left.
I have to commend Yamaha again for the great job they did at creating a bike that is so approachable on the track out of the box. This made Derek’s job a lot easier and my experience all the more memorable. Reflecting back, I hadn’t even thought about the baseline setup on Derek’s bike but when he reminded me he weighs 30-40lbs more than me, softening up the suspension for my weight would have resulted in even bigger gains time-wise. However, I didn’t feel like the bike was too stiff for me during my session. I’m thinking this is partly due to how I have my R1 set up which inherently is going to be stiffer.
Some great laps on a great motorcycle. Thanks for the opportunity, Derek.
So we didn’t quite achieve what we set out to but I have no doubt, if I get the chance to hop back on that R9 again, we’ll check that box. The only negative I can really report from the whole experience is now that I have been reminded of how much I like this bike, I want to own one. The negative coming from my bank account!
As I wrap up, I have to say thank you again to Derek for giving me the opportunity to do the followup ride of the R9. You did a great job with the initial track build and I can’t wait to see where the bike takes you. I know you’ve already set a new Blackhawk Farms PB for yourself! Also, thank you again to Yamaha for the invite to initially review the bike. I can confidently report the rose colored glasses of my first track launch did not paint a false picture of my feelings about the R9. It is a great bike out of the box that can be enjoyed on track as-is, or with very minimal upgrades. As I said in my initial ride, Yamaha set out to make the Middleweight category more accessible and approachable and I would say overall, mission accomplished.
Ryan
Some onboard footage coming shortly…
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