Posted by My local Yamaha dealer, Moores Motorcycles, very kindly lent me their demo bike and I can tell you now, I was not disappointed.
The XSR 900 GP is reminiscent of the YZR500’s raced in the 80’s and 90’s and is a celebration of Yamaha’s racing history.
The front of the bike sports a YZR GP racer inspired fairing, the seat hump which neatly covers the pillion seat, and the deltabox style chassis are a tribute to Yamaha’s past racing bikes.
Although the XSR 900 GP has classic inspired looks, the technology on this bike is very much up-to-date with the latest braking and suspension set ups, riding modes, extensive electronics package including cruise control, up and down quickshifter and phone connectivity.
I think you would agree with me that this is a very beautiful bike and I absolutely love the livery of the Legend Red colour option.
A Few Specs for you:
- Weight: 200 kg
- Seat height: 835 mm
- 4 stroke DOHC 890cc CP3 engine
- 93 Nm @ 7000 rpm, 119 bhp
- 6 speed
- 5” TFT display with 4 themes to choose from with smartphone connectivity
- 3 riding modes: Rain, Street and Sport
- Yamaha Ride Control + 6 axis IMU which controls rider aids
- Cruise control
- Up and down quickshifter
- Self cancelling indicators
- Fully adjustable front and rear suspension
- 2 colour options: Legend Red or Power Grey from £12,506
There are a range of accessories available including a lower fairing which is £600 and a tinted screen at £144.
A Racer Pack which includes lower fairing; tinted screen; licence plate holder and Akrapovic exhaust is available at £2,750.
Engine
The XSR 900 GP has the high torque 890cc CP3 four stroke engine pushing out 93 Nm @ 7000 rpm and 87.5 kW @ 1000 rpm giving you 119 bhp.
It really came across when riding just how smooth this engine is and combined with the Deltabox chassis and weighing in at just 200 kg, this bike has a really sporty feel to it.
The third generation up and down quick shifter, cruise control and the assist and slipper clutch, all combine nicely to keep the bike settled during sporty riding.
Dropping a gear and overtaking seemed effortless on the XSR 900 GP and makes you grin from ear to ear in the process.
Chassis
The chassis is the Deltabox frame which was first introduced by Yamaha in their grand prix bikes of the 80’s which, at the time, was pioneering technology that shaped the future of the sport production motorcycle.
This chassis makes an appearance in a lot of today’s Yamaha’s. The chassis on the XSR 900 GP has increased rigidity and has been tuned to improve stability and increase the feedback from the front end.
The clip-on handlebars and handlebar switches fixed above the top yoke move you forward on the bike increasing the load on the front.
There is the latest suspension technology on the XSR 900 GP with fully adjustable KYB upside down forks and link type rear suspension.
The upper cowling is harking back to the 80’s & 90’s Grand Prix racing days and looks incredibly cool. There is a lower fairing available either in the sport pack or separately and, certainly for me, I would have to fit this as this finishes the bike off perfectly.
I love the box shaped rear seat cowl which is in the same colour scheme as the rest of the bike, it really does complete the look of the bike.
There are riser clip-on handlebars fixed above the top yoke which has the effect of moving you further forward on the bike thus increasing the load on the front end. I really felt in tune with the bike, the leant over position wasn’t too much but still had that racing feel when riding.
The aluminium footpegs are adjustable with lower and upper positions to accommodate the seating position and dropped, clip-on handlebars.
Ride by Wire Throttle & Modes
There is a responsive ride by wire throttle on the XSR 900 GP so instead of having a throttle cable connected to butterflies in the inlet, it will all be controlled by electronics and the twist grip just sends an electronic signal to the ECU.
There are three riding modes: sport, street and rain which feature factory settings with different intervention levels to suit different conditions with a manually adjustable custom setting.
An extensive selection of rider aids are also present including Lean Sensitive Traction Control and ABS, Slide Control and front wheel Lift Control System.
YRC, or Yamaha Ride Control, allows you to select the engine power characteristic and level of intervention from the lean sensitive rider aids you wish to suit your preferences, riding style and of course the road conditions.
The modes and settings are navigated using the button and arrow keys on the left bar and can even be changed when riding along.
Having sampled the different modes, I personally preferred sport mode as I felt the bike best suited me and my riding style in this set up.
Instrument Display
There is a 5” TFT display of which you can choose 4 display themes. My favourite display is the analogue style tachometer, reminiscent of the classic racing bikes.
The information available to you is clear and easy to read especially when glancing down and tells you all you need to know – speed, revs, gear and mode you are, trip, fuel gauge and a clock.
The display in neatly housed in the front fairing which nicely stops any reflection on the screen.
The display also has smartphone connectivity which comes as standard allowing you to link your phone to the bike via the MyRide app.
Tyres
The Yamaha Spinforged wheels, which are extremely light, are fitted with Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 tyres.
Bridgestone describe these tyres as:
- A sports radial motorcycle tyre for street use that’s engineered to meet the requirements of the ever evolving modern-day sport bikes.
- This tyre is the latest in Bridgestone’s premium motorcycle tyre range and features increased levels of exceptional dry and wet grip performance, employing a newly-designed compound and updated pattern design.
Not having ridden with these tyres before, I was impressed with how solid and stable the bike felt and they gave me the confidence I crave in a tyre especially in the rain I experienced when riding the bike.
LED Lights
There are LED lights all round on the XSR 890 GP and I have to say the headlight on the GP has got to be one of the coolest out there.
I can just imagine how cool that must look in a car’s rear view mirror 😎
The headlight may look a little on the small side bearing in mind it’s the front light, but the light it gave off when riding home from bike night in the dark gave plenty of illumination and had good scope.
Main beam was good too and lit up the sides of the road nicely.
Although the indicators were perfectly adequate and did what they needed to do very well, I did think they lacked flair bearing in mind the style of the bike and I would look to change these.
The rear light is neatly housed and is in keeping with the style of the bike. Again, although it is not big in design, it is very effective when in use.
What’s The Yamaha XSR 900 GP Like To Ride, I hear you say?
I can tell you now, I did not want to give this bike back!
Not only does the bike look incredibly cool but the way the XSR 900 GP made me feel when riding the bike is what I crave most when riding.
Although at first glance you may think the bike has a very leant over the tank riding position, I did not actually think it was extreme.
I very quickly adjusted to the riding style of the bike and felt that I was more in tune with the bike than on a more upright bike. You feel as though you are ‘at one’ with the front of the bike and the corners seemed to flow better for me.
With a seat height of 835 mm and being 5’6”, I did find myself with only the balls of my feet on the ground so found moving the bike around a bit of a challenge, not due to the weight of the bike (200kg), but more because I couldn’t get proper traction when moving.
Riding the bike of course with this seat height was no problem at all, it was just when stopping at junctions etc. I had to be mindful of where I positioned my foot on the ground (ie. not in a slope or pothole in the road!)
Having said that, there was no way I was going to let worrying about the seat height get in the way of me riding this bike.
I thought the engine was very smooth, in fact probably the smoothest I have experienced but, for me, it was not loud enough, I would need to change the exhaust to be able to enjoy the sound of the engine more.
There was no notchiness when using the quickshifter, the up and down gear changes were very smooth and effortless.
I really liked the way the bike felt in the corners, solid and stable. The suspension felt really good and soaked up the lumps and bumps nicely while giving off vibes that the twisties were its happy place.
I found myself grinning so much while riding the XSR 900 GP and every so often little chuckles would escape especially after an overtake. Just drop it a gear and open the throttle and the bike is off 😜
The XSR 900 GP is one of those bikes that you just can’t help riding. I’d come to the end of a twisty road and I just needed to turn round and go and do it again.
Thank you to Moores Motorcycles for the loan of the XSR 900 GP, I couldn’t help taking the bike back the really, really long way round!
BK
Here’s a link to my YouTube video: