9K is not bad at all .... now KTM Duke 690 for 10K just looks silly, and Triumph STR just might loose some market.
It seems that they threw all kinds of new tech into the engine with an easy maintenance schedule in mind. The only obvious thing they left out is ABS, which really is a head scratcher for brand new bike released at the end of 2013 year .... at times when ABS will become mandatory soon pretty much everywhere where it matters.
9k? Smart. Unless American dealers discount heavily, I don't think Yamaha Canada will lose much to cross-border shopping (though individual shops could change that). Get the product launched under the magic number with all the cool bits on display. Generate buzz, steal some market share and THEN add an ABS option which pushes the cost closer to 10k. If it walks the walk, then people won't be so shy about the cost at that stage. 10k before anyone touches it and you would immediately get (unfavorably) compared to existing premium brands.
I'd rather have the ABS than radial brakes though, even if they look the part.