The 6809 was 8 bits, in the same way Z80 and 6502 and 6800 were: 8 bit data bus, 16 bit address bus.
It had a few 16 bit instructions: arithmetic on data in registers, or loading/storing a 16 bit register (8 bits at a time). I think the Z80 did as well.
It had a few 16 bit instructions: arithmetic on data in registers, or loading/storing a 16 bit register (8 bits at a time). I think the Z80 did as well.
Here's Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_6809