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VIDEO: How Yamaha Developed The 2021 MT-09’s Sound

Looks Strange, Sounds Great!

That awfully strange exhaust found on the new MT-09 has some real-world functionality; Yamaha didn’t make it ugly on purpose and this video will explain why.

On first impressions, it may seem like Euro 5 updates might have killed the legendary MT-09 exhaust and engine scream, but Yamaha wants to assure you that is not the case.

The gear teeth on the newly updated engine have been made thinner to reduce engine noise at low revs. I own the 2015 version of this engine, and I’ll tell you right now it clicks and clacks like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Yamaha dialed back the engine noise so that the exhaust note would be easier to hear at low RPMs.

The intake ports have also undergone a re-work to bump up the overall noise at higher RPM. That means that the entire RPM band for this motorcycle has tuned and revisited to ensure your bike sounds better than ever.

I haven’t heard the new MT-09 in person, so I can’t speak on whether or not these updates actually made any discernable changes, but the video is still interesting nonetheless and sheds light on Yamaha’s development process when it comes to exhaust acoustics and perfecting the perfect sound.