Yamaha XSR900 2016 Review
The popularity of classic cafe culture grows every year, and not only in Europe. Not everyone uses a motorcycle as transport; many ride purely for pleasure and prefer to do it in style! The world's leading manufacturers react quickly to the development of the subculture. Traditionally, classics are made by Triumph, but their motorcycles in factory form don't meet modern riding conditions: fast, dense city traffic, traffic jams, complex interchanges, emergency situations and highways.
The Triumph Bonneville is the most popular donor for homemade cafe racers, but for customizing fans it's difficult and expensive to build a custom on it. Honda's CB1100EX is also technically outdated. The first neo-retro bike was made by BMW. The R nineT turned out original, very expensive and simple, with questionable design, but quite modern and capable. The second was Yamaha with the XSR900, whose detailed video review you can read and watch below! The Japanese neo-retro is built on the Yamaha MT-09 road bike. The MT-09 is one of the most (perhaps the most) successful road bikes on the market thanks to its excellent value for money. The model was built from scratch for modern riding conditions using modern technologies, and you really feel it on the move.
The MT-09 base is hard to adapt to a classic style because of its technologically shaped aluminum frame and swingarm, but Roland Sands (lead designer) did an excellent job! The new compact controls look clean, the headlight has an unusual, memorable silhouette, the decorative aluminum covers fit the design well, and the wheels are so light they look like spoked wheels.
On the move, a lot about the motorcycle impresses:
First of all, the suspension: high quality, balanced and effective. It lets you ride comfortably and confidently on poor roads, even with a passenger. The fork has long travel and is hard to bottom out, and the Monocross shock also has high energy absorption and soaks up bumps perfectly. Despite the long travel, the suspension stays firm under active riding. You can ignore bumps, potholes and speed bumps even with a passenger. The suspension really makes riding a pleasure and allows what other road bikes can't! The new CP3 three-cylinder engine seems ideal for a city motorcycle. Three-cylinder engines have already been used on Triumph and MV Agusta motorcycles; they have good low-end pull like twins while revving high, which gives high peak power. Three-cylinder engines are also more compact, lighter and cheaper than inline fours. Largely thanks to the engine, the XSR900 turned out light and not very wide, with a well-concentrated center of mass, which gives excellent handling.
The XSR900 has electronic rider aids:
ABS is standard on any modern motorcycle. The XSR900's ABS works noticeably but reliably. We tested it on different surfaces: you can mindlessly stomp on the brakes, and there were no problems.
Traction control on the XSR has two levels and can be switched off. The aid is very useful in the rain and on dusty roads. In the second, more sensitive mode, you can twist the throttle hard without fear of the rear wheel breaking loose.
The rider aids are very useful when the motorcycle is used as transport in dense traffic and you need to get to your destination quickly. They let you concentrate more on the traffic situation rather than on the road surface. Obviously, ABS and traction control are the minimum for a modern motorcycle!
Another useful thing is the throttle response modes. The XSR900 is very powerful at the bottom end and lunges forward instantly even with a small turn of the throttle. With a passenger and in cruising mode this gets tiring, so there are different settings: sport, standard and soft. Standard is the most suitable for the city. Soft is great for riding with a passenger. The new controls are compact and comfortable. The dashboard is great: minimalist, but with all the necessary information, instant response and good readability.
Overall the XSR900 is an excellent motorcycle for the money. There are no direct equivalents. The closest competitor in specs, but not in style, is the MV Agusta Brutale 800 streetfighter (the same specs), but the European bike is almost twice as expensive. Yamaha has analyzed the needs of modern city dwellers well and made an effective, balanced motorcycle of the highest level for reasonable money.