Yamaha introduced a unique and exciting dynamic to their road bike range a while back with their “Dark Side of Japan” bikes, encapsulated in their XSR range. In their words, it would be “a side that is raw and characterful compared to the more supple Japanese ride”. Compared to their European counterparts, the Japanese factories have, by and large, become a little sterile. The phrase, “universal Japanese motorcycle” or “UJM”, has been coined, describing efficient, reliable, but somewhat sterile bikes produced in the Land of the Rising Sun. Yamaha have turned this UJM mindset on its head with their Dark Side approach, and taken it to another level with their “Faster Sons” philosophy.
In their words, “the Faster Sons philosophy pays homage to Yamaha’s rich heritage while being focused on the performance of the future”. Enter the Yamaha XSR 900 GP Sport Heritage model. It is inspired by the likes of the World Championship-winning YZR 500 ridden by Wayne Rainey, and the Suzuka 8-hour winning YZF 750 ridden by “Nitro” Noriyuki Haga and Colin Edwards. The result is a factory-built custom bike which is totally unique. ‘Heritage’ models are becoming more and more popular. Perhaps they remind us of a world that was a little less frenetic and not changing at a pace that has us feeling as if we are hanging on for dear life.
In the world of heritage motorcycles, Yamaha’s XSR 900 GP is absolutely beautiful. I get it that beauty is subjective, and that my sports motorcycling history played out in the era that spawned this bike’s styling, but just look at it will you? Literally, everyone who laid eyes on it raved about the styling. It looks like nothing else out there. It does remind me a bit of my Yamaha TRX 850, another quirky yet soulful bike. The GPs that Yamaha is selling in SA all have the optional belly pan fitted as standard. My test bike was painted in the ‘Marlboro colours’, complete with yellow number boards like those that adorned Wayne Rainey’s 500 GP bike. An orange-red (better known as legend red) and pearl white, with mag wheels painted to match. Stunning! Little niceties abound, like the ‘R’ clips that secure the fairing uppers. The rear preload has a remote adjuster, making shock adjustment for load a doddle. Rear passenger accommodation lurks under the seat cowl with fold-out footpegs.
Typical of a modern premium bike, the GP 900 enjoys a full complement of electronics. Four riding modes are rain, street, sport and custom, which allow you to adjust parameters to your preference. For me, you stick it in sport and leave it there. The fuelling, unlike on the early MT-09s, is precise. Let your wrist be the traction control, etc. ABS and traction control are meant to keep things tidy and idiot-proof the bike to some extent. The GP employs a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which provides lean-sensitive traction control, slide control system, and wheelie control (or Front wheel lift control in Yamaha speak). It has Bluetooth connectivity, which allows you to connect your phone or access Garmin StreetCross navigation on the 5” TFT dash. All the other typical information like fuel levels, range, trips and so on can be accessed by utilising the toggle switch on the left handset.
The heart of the bike is Yamaha’s gruff, torquey and soulful CP-3 engine, as found in their MT-09, naked XSR 900 and 900 Tracer models. To my mind, it is one of the great motorcycle engines of all time. An 890 cc, DOHC, 4-valve per cylinder, liquid-cooled and fuel-injected triple, it produces 117,5 hp @ 10,000 rpm in a wonderfully usable way. Its torque of 93 Nm peaks at 7000 rpm, with good thrust right out of the basement. I can already hear the scoffers saying “only” 117,5 horses, my crotch rocket has over 200… Well sure cupcake, but how many of those horses do you actually need and use on your typical road rides? Looking at Yamaha’s own 200 hp Superbike, the R1, we see that the 900 GP produces more power and torque than its big brother up to 7,500 rpm, giving it a real-world advantage for road riding. 7,500 rpm on the GP 900 equates to a road speed of 175 km/h. The bike, fully fuelled, weighs a tad over 200 kgs, but you wouldn’t say so. Pushing it around or riding it is effortless. It turns intuitively yet is uncannily stable at all lean angles. This would be a weapon on the 22, that fabled piece of road between Sabi and Hazyview, which has unfortunately, like the rest of SA, fallen into disrepair in recent times.
The fit low and mid-range power means that this is not a bike on which you are compelled to rev the hell out of it all the time to get a hurry up. It is also extremely pleasant to ride at moderate speeds as it always has enough power and torque on tap to not have to constantly stir the gear lever. This makes it a satisfying bike to live with day to day, be that in the cut and thrust of peak hour traffic or blasting through the twisties. On two of the five days that I had the bike, I literally got up early with the sole purpose of riding the XSR. It’s been a while since that happened. I ride bikes by choice day to day, so it’s not that I don’t get adequate saddle time. It’s just that this bike is simply magnificent in the way that it rides.
The ride quality on its KYB suspension is good. It is firm but wonderfully controlled. It makes much of its 137 mm front wheel and 150 mm rear wheel travel. The footpeg position is such that you can lift yourself out of the saddle if you anticipate bad bumps without pulling yourself up on the bars. You do a kind of jockey action, raising your tail from the seat over the obstacle.
Wheels are 17 inches at both ends with a 180/55 at the back and a 120/70 up front. The bike does not feel “over tyred” and the slightly narrower back wheel aids in turning on what is a relaxed yet supremely stable chassis. Using Yamaha’s Deltabox frame design results in a confidence-inspiring ride. Modern Sports motorcycles are designed primarily to strafe racetracks rather than to work optimally on roads where surfaces are far from perfect. The GP 900 has a 1-degree more relaxed head angle allied to a 9.1 cm longer wheelbase than an R1. It turns and changes direction effortlessly but is never twitchy or highly strung. It inspires incredible confidence. There is front-end weight bias, which gives a planted front end, again inspiring huge confidence when trail braking. Brakes are powerful and well-controlled with a reasonable feel.
The riding position is very reminiscent of my Honda VFR 800, but perhaps with a smidge more leg room. Shorter riders (under 5’10”) may feel a bit stretched over the tank, but for my 6’3” frame, I could smash Cape Town in a day, no problem. The seat is great, again encouraging long saddle time without issues. Unfortunately, the 14-litre tank will call time on the fun every 280 k’s if you are riding with any sort of gusto. The motor is turbine smooth at 6,000 and 150 km/h, at which speed you should achieve around 20 km/L in ideal conditions. The clip-on bars are not too low, and the fairing works very well at these speeds, with the wind supporting your head and shoulders. The standard cruise control makes it easy to rest your throttle hand as required.
The sound and visceral feel which emanates from the belly of the beast when you whack it is spine-tingling. The first time I gave it a bit of a squirt, hooking through the gears with the superb bi-directional quick-shifter, I found myself cackling in my helmet like a demented banshee! The 6-speed gearbox is a trifle notchy when using the clutch, more so when the motor is not at optimum operating temperature, but this is totally negated by one of the best quick shifters that I have experienced on any motorcycle. The symphony of sound and taught purposeful feel of the bike combine to create one of the most rewarding sensory experiences that you will ever enjoy on a motorcycle.
This bike is so much more than the sum of its parts. It looks so spectacular that you are almost nervous that the ride will be underwhelming by comparison. Happily, that is not the case. If anything, it is even better to ride! Being in the privileged position that I am to get to ride the latest and greatest, it is easy to become blasé. With this bike, that can never be the case. I thought that my sport bike era had ended, given the limited roads to really use their talents, as well as traffic volumes and such. The Yamaha XSR 900 Sports Heritage has changed that jaded view completely. It tugs on the heartstrings in such a way that the old BMW 3 Series advertisement from yesteryear comes to mind. “I want it because I want it”! Bikes this evocative don’t always have to make sense. It also represents excellent value at R269,950. Sportbikes, by and large, will set you back up to two times that amount, and for me, none of them have the deep appeal and real-world ability of the XSR 900 GP.
At this stage of my life, I try to be a bit more circumspect when it comes to buying bikes. I have owned so many bikes that it is not generally a problem to come up with good reasons as to why I don’t have to have a bike, given that it is similar to what I have previously owned and therefore not compelling enough to “have to have it”. The Yamaha XSR 900 GP has thrown a frikken’ huge cat amongst those pigeons! It is different enough and unique enough to warrant unbridled lust. When Bjorn and I met up for a photo shoot, he arrived on his Anniversary model Yamaha XSR 900 in classic Kenny Roberts livery. I used to own this bike. This gave me a deep love for the CP-3 engine, but also, over time, frustrated me as I felt that the chassis, whilst good, didn’t completely live up to the full potential of the magnificent motor. With the XSR 900 GP, this has totally changed. Here is a harmonious marriage of engine and chassis packaged as a thing of absolute beauty.
I also believe that slowly but surely the world is coming to its senses as far as sportbikes are concerned. Certainly, when it comes to road riding. The latest V2 Ducati Panigale has lost over 30 horsepower to its predecessor, and yet on the road is all the better for it. The fact is, very, very few riders have the skill to harness 200-horsepower motorcycles irrespective of where we ride them. We love to think we can or egotistically give our peers the illusion that we can, but realistically, they are a bridge too far. Bikes with a good usable engine like the new Duc and this Yamaha XSR 900 GP, housed in a good chassis, allow us to ride in a way that is simply so rewarding because we are in control and feel like riding gods when we ride them in a spirited manner. Its faults are few and pale into insignificance when measured against its huge talents and emotive appeal. I fear that there has to be a Yamaha XSR 900 Heritage Sport in my future…I’ll have mine in the ‘Marlboro colours’, thank you very much.
Yamaha XSR900 GP
For more information on the bike featured in this article, click on the link below…
