Yamaha has expanded its retro line-up with the introduction of a stunning new MT-09-based XSR900 GP, which pays homage to the championship winning YZR500 Grand Prix bikes of the 1980s.
The model shouldn’t really come as too much of a surprise, having been shown thinly disguised as the DB40 concept at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The XSR900 GP is the production version, which will go on sale next year at a price still to be revealed.
As the name suggests, the new model is heavily based on the current XSR900 – a classically styled naked which shares its basic platform with the MT-09 roadster. The most visible difference is the addition of the frame mounted half fairing and slabby rear seat hump, which have more than a hint of the GP bikes raced by the likes of Eddie Lawson and Kenny Roberts, with the ‘Legend Red’ livery bearing a remarkable resemblance to that of their tobacco sponsored machines, thanks also in no small part to the bright yellow number boards which were mandated back in the day. A more sober ‘Power Grey’ is less likely to excite children of the seventies, but has an air of Japanese market TZR250 about it in our opinion.
Indeed one of the key tributes Yamaha is honouring is its iconic Deltabox frame design, a concept which first appeared on Roberts’ 1982 racing bike and which transferred over to production with 1985’s TZR250 – with Lawson having won the 1984 500cc title on a Deltabox framed YZR.
But although the 115bhp, 890cc three-cylinder motor is unchanged from the standard model, the XSR900 GP is not simply an XSR900 with a fairing. The adoption of sporty clip-on handlebars (complete with bar end mirrors) has changed the geometry and, in turn, Yamaha have made some modifications to the GP’s own Deltabox frame to take advantage of the more front-biased handling. There’s also a fancier dashboard nestling inside that fairing, with the 5” TFT dash from the Tracer 9GT+ and Niken giving the rider a thoroughly modern interface, and there’s nothing old-fashioned about the tech at all, with KYB suspension, modern brakes and lightweight ‘spin forged’ wheels shod with high end Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 tyres. Yamaha’s press release makes mention of a lower fairing being among the official accessory options, but so far no pictures have been released of it. Owners will be able to further customise their XSR900 GP though accessories such as a tinted windscreen, Akrapovic exhaust and a modified licence plate holder. The seat cowl, which is standard, can also be removed to reveal a slightly precarious looking pillion perch.
To riders of a certain age the Yamaha XSR900 GP will undoubtedly evoke some great memories and we can see it attracting a crowd at next month’s Motorcycle Live motorbike show.
