Yamaha XSR900 Review at RevZilla.com

having this is let me go through Scylla something guys me remember not too long ago I was out in San Diego testing the new Yamaha xsr 900 at their North American press launch now Yamaha promised to ship us a bike which they did and I've been beating up the miles on that thing and then they also sent us out of box apart which I've augmented with some pieces I raid it out of the RevZilla warehouse so we're gonna throw some of them took in the Box a whole bunch of xsr parts for the reviewer shooting literally right now hey it's a center spin it is a center stand and a sea cow and some other stuff but we're shooting at review right now so I took the bike out last week while you're out of town before heading out to the FC ten launch yeah what I think was actually kind of impressive I liked it a lot more than the the FCO nine I thought the traction control the ABS huge upgrades over the FCO nine without being as much as the the FC ten there are some good upgrades in this bike speaking of nice little upgrades were gonna throw some parts out of the XS are nine hundred I wanna make this bike into a real LEM LEM runner you putting the parts on right now no no no like I told you we're shooting a review as we speak do you want to come along yeah I'll come but I call the exes are well that's fair I would probably do the same thing well we're sitting up make sure you subscribe to us at RevZilla comm so you can catch all the cool content we're rolling out at all points in time including a special parts upgrade video for the XS are 900 and speaking of suiting up if you want more info on the gear that LEM and I are wearing for this review click the info button on your desktop or mobile device and check out the video that we did breaking down the gear we had that that that quick John bonehead let's get out there on the road you [Music] [Music] already Spurs you I'm doing this bass ackwards today I'm actually out here on the FZ own I'm spending time in this after I've already got a few thousand miles down on the xsr this is kind of your bikes progenitor I got to be honest II I'm sort of missing that thing because you've got some features that I don't have slipper assist clutch adjustable suspension but we both are packing the same triple middle here how's that engine treatin ya dude this is one of my favorite engines of motorcycling today the first time I got to ride it was in the F jo9 and now in the XS are nine hundred plenty of power plenty of torque it's a great engine for Street riding and it's also really cool to see the Yamaha put this dungeon in a bike that has a retro inspired styling so many the retro as we see today feel almost neutered by comparison you know it's really cool to see the Yamaha gives you a bike and looks up but it also has got some power to it ah dude yes of those new retro czar turrets but really this isn't Yamahas first crack at a triple I mean in order to see that we got only back to the 70s check out the XS 750 XS 850 and while those weren't the first to market they definitely weren't the fastest bikes of their period they definitely were the thinking man's ride you know they had some cool little tech bits there I mean for the time that shaft drive they had you know self cancelling turn signals this was pretty heavy stuff back then and you know really I feel like the XS are is kind of embodying that you've got the traction control on there that really spiffy display I mean that is like you know just the fast-forwarded version I feel like of the old XS series didn't your dad used to have an XS 750 oh absolutely that was bike that he wrote in Mexico that's the bike that there's a picture of me as a little four-year-old sitting on grinning like an idiot and much to my mother's sugar and I knew then like I was gonna ride a motorcycle someday well I was cool I got to take the XS are 900 up to visit him the other night and he spun around the back a couple times and he came back he was so excited he's like oh this reminds me so much of my old motorcycle and he was already looking for a place to strap luggage down at the back so it was cool to see him get excited about it totally that makes perfect sense I mean I think the XS are 900 has a good blend of power and technology that's going to attract a really wide array of riders from a pretty broad background simply because it has so much to offer it's powerful enough to keep most people happy and it's kind of got like an electronics light package on you know it's enough electronics really to feel like you're getting a modern bike but it's not so much that it's overwhelming like some of the really tech heavy motorcycle absolutely so what do you say we grab bite to eat and talk about this a little further erase you let's go all right so after that last little ride it seems like you feel the xsr is pretty much for every single rider out there them oh god cherry Spurgeon there are some folks the xsr is not for despite the fact this is a bike with some broad appeal there are definitely some people who are not going to be well served by an XS are the first folks that come to mind or those are interested in covering big mileage if you're into touring the XS are is probably not the bike for you it's a fairly compact bike and as you can see there's not really a whole lot of room for meaningful luggage on this motorcycle the second group of folks so I think the XS are is not gonna interest is probably the track set if you're looking for all-out performance the XS are is not going to be the bike for you simply because this is a bike it's really most at home on the street I think fair enough the third and perhaps the most significant group of people who are gonna be underserved or perhaps not served at all by an X s are are the rookie riders anybody who is fresh to motorcycling should not be on an ex SR this bike is way too powerful for them and I would even make the argument to that somebody who wasn't really comfortable in their first bike might not even be comfor on the XS are as a second motor so it's funny I don't mean to laugh but I'm trying to picture this as my first bike picture getting on this motorcycle I've never ridden motor SEL before there's just too much power there's too much going on here but one of the things that I like about this is you talk about all the different people that it doesn't really meet up with but I think there's a wide variety of riders out there that it does kind of hit and because of that there's gonna be a lot of different competition with other bikes because this bike wears so many hats what is it is it a sport naked is it is it a retro bike that we've seen so many or is it a sport bike like where does it fall into play so let's stop back there a retro comparison for just a moment I feel like the XS are does have some retro styling cues that such I think is gonna be playing in some bikes like the Ducati scrambler maybe also the Triumph Roxton so I will agree with you on the Triumph Thruxton remember triumph is upgraded they're Thruxton see here it's got a bigger more powerful engine it's got upgraded brakes upgraded suspension but I'm gonna disagree with you on the Ducati scrambler the Ducati scrambler it's got the retro thing going on it's got that aesthetic I'll give you that but from a power standpoint the scrambler is like seventy seventy-five horsepower and I think that's gonna be a bike that's more keen for someone that's looking at a beginner bike or a second feikin yeah for me I look at this bike and I think of the other manufacturer has been doing triples right for years and that's triumph and I see the XS are 100 as at naked sport bike really coming in between do you get the street triple the speed triple or do you go with this so let's build upon that point a little bit further if somebody is looking at this bike and they're completely ignoring the aesthetics of it they're just shopping the spec sheet they want to you know a sporty naked bike that just offers a little bit more upright riding position they might also be looking at something like the cow ez 800 or perhaps maybe the suzuki gsx s 750 is just a you know this is a more conservatively styled version than those motorcycle so if you're gonna argue for those two then you have to look within Yamaha zone lineup and then the FCO nine comes into play it obviously we've been ripping around in the f09 all day but for me personally after spending time on both bikes I think the XS are nine hundred is definitely a more thought-out machine you know and is definitely worth the upgrade in price over the f09 I think I agree with you but that's not our decision to make what do you say I meet you over the bar I'm gonna take these guys out for a little ride [Music] man that guy never shuts up okay let's talk about the XS are can do on the road starting off with the drivetrain see you guys have seen how much fun we've had on this you've heard us tell you that this bike is a blast you see this jackass and ramp on the front end up let's see if we can talk with the power in this thing another way that makes it a little bit more apparent take a look at a dyno sheet for an XS are nine hundred and MCO nine let me think that triple motor in it it's not even a torque curve on there it's like a torque table top looks like Kansas so flat on there but here's the thing from 0 to 2500 rpms to are climbs straight up looks like a wood and then 2500 rpms it gets to like 60 to 65 foot-pounds and that's where it stays right out to the 10,500 RPM redline which is kind of insane when you think about it it's a flatter torque curve that will hardly Davidson they're absolutely nuts this mill is SuperDuper cool it makes so much power and it really whether you're wrapping this thing Lance the redline or instead you're just you know short shifting it you have the same amount of torque everywhere congratulations to Yamaha for not building a bike to the spec sheet weenies so let's move on the braking on this braking on the XS are 900 is completely nondescript which is a good thing it's it's exactly what you'd expect on a sporty standard bike these brakes to a great job nothing to write home about there's not really any problem with them two things probably bear a little bit of mention first the front brake feels just a touch mushy to me I think a lot of that is going to be due to the rubber hoses that Yamaha uses on this thing now I can't even dig him for that at 9,500 dollars for what is effectively almost a liter bike really hard to get mad at them for not using stainless up there the other thing to talk about too is the ABS cycling and I'm going to say the XS are 900 the ABS cycling down there the brakes when you like latch down the lever of the pedal it's unbelievably noticeable so if you're out of excess are 900 you're taking it for a test drive keep that in the back of your mind because I know a lot of people it's not instinctive on a test ride to go jam up the brakes but you might want to feel how this cycles just to see if it's something that you can actually live with so let's talk a little bit about suspension of handling check out this Fork up here now when I was out in San Diego Yamaha brass is telling me they change this thing up from the FCO nice let's talk about the FCO nine for one moment the front fork on the mzo nine is it is terrible when they were telling me they made all these changes on a fork that looks to me exactly the same and I thought ah this has got to be a load of malarkey but it really wasn't this fork is a little more adjustability different spring rates it's like a totally different motorcycle with this fork on this bike I really love the way this thing handles very neutral I like this bikes front handle way better than the mzo knives now the other thing that's really cool for handling too is you check out the tires down there Bridgestone s20 Evo's I love these skins I Huck these things for RevZilla I ride on these tires I love s 20 Evo's this is a tire that is inexpensive but it's definitely not cheap loads of grip really is a nice tire to see on a bike again at this price point the only thing you really give up with an s2000 is mileage and on a bike that you're really gonna be ripping around like a hooligan on who cares I don't need a high mileage tire a lot of tire that's really super sticky so finishing things off we should probably talk for just a moment about the electronics here now this does have the throttle modes the FCO nine has your standard throttle mode self-explanatory you've also got a mode much sharper much crisper than that standard mode really turns the throttle into something very sensitive B mode really damp sit down quite a bit so the throttle is much much softer however the big difference here is over on this side of the bars the traction control system that's something the f09 doesn't have Yamaha says this baby's got three three different traction control modes and I'm going to call bolt on that it's actually two modes they count off as a mode so you got off obviously every knows that that is but then there's two other modes you've got the first mode which really lets you bring the front end up slide the rear let see kind of horse around a little bit and the second mode however again much gentler much more conservative will not allow the front wheel to come up it's going to be great for those riders who are we're thinking the XR 900 might be a little bit too much for them performance wise between the soft throttle setting and the traction control set really aggressively I think that riders can grow into this bike a little bit I'm not recommending it for somebody new but somebody who's on that cusp I think can really use the XS are 900 and work their way into the max power of this motorcycle so if you even figured out by now I really like riding the XS our 900 and in fact I'm going to ride it a little bit farther right now head to the bar catch up and see sporty alright LEM LEM so I know for a matter of fact that no matter how much you love any motorcycle there's me at least a dozen things that you're gonna change so late on me what are we changing on the XS are so we actually are gonna changed are near a dozen things on this in are part of a great video which we're shooting next but let's close this one out with the top three things I think the XS are needs to be a really competent motorcycle the first ones actually not a change is really more of an addition and that's gonna be some sort of auxilary fuel container we need to get more fuel on this bike as far as I'm concerned I was getting maybe tops 120 hundred 25 miles out of a tank I got real nervous - when I was getting to the gas station so I'd probably throw a fuel bottle as well as a fuel holster on there MSR and Optimus make some pretty cool fuel bottles Wolfman makes a bottle holster I think you've seen on just about every single one of my chopper and it's not just the range but did you notice think the gauge on this you get to that last bar and it's like do I have 20 miles left do I have 50 miles left you have no idea the demarcation is a really coarse it's hard to figure out exactly where you're at with it with the tank I totally agree next change again probably not gonna be a modification so much is it's going to be just a straight-up addition to the bike and that's an SW mo Tech Center stand I think we both agree upon the merits of center stands I mean they just make life so much easier on bikes think like just tire work it's so much easier to do when you have a Center stand chains I mean if you're if you're a trip right like if you take this out you're gonna maybe take a weekend trip or maybe a couple days where you know you're gonna be doing more than 500 miles it's so much easier to throw that up on the center stand and do your chain mate dudes there's nothing I hate worse than doing the dance where you move it down the driveway and you buy too old for that I don't do it and this isn't a sport bike right so it's not like it's detracting from the performance of the weight penalty just doesn't even exactly so the final modification I think is probably the big one so the MZ and FJ series as well as the XS are equipped with automatic cam chain tensioner now with the FZ and the FJ there have been some problems with that cam chain tensioner multiple revisions of the part we've also seen a lot of TS B's on that thing it's not working as design you know that it's going bad like what can you tell so it's a great question best-case scenario you're gonna hear a really loud ticking from the right side of the motor probably around 4,000 4,500 rpms worst case scenario that we're talking about permanent long-term engine damage in order to give myself a little peace of mind I'm what is otherwise an absolutely flawless powerplant I would probably just chuck in a manual cam chain tensioner a PE makes a really great cam chain tensioner made them for years even though we don't sell mattress illa that's still an item I would definitely bolt on to this motorcycle so timeout so you said manual tensioner so I grew up I'm assuming that most of our audience is grown up using bikes that have automatic tensioners on here so is this something that we could cover perhaps in that you know the modification in the video absolutely so you guys should subscribe to us so you can catch that parts upgrade video as well as some of the other cool content we're rolling out at revzilla.com if you're considering MX SR to make sure you check out my comment read article which is pretty in-depth between this bike and the one I wrote out in San Diego I've got about 3,000 miles down on these motorcycles and I formed some very definite opinions not me and spur G well we're gonna be here for just a little bit longer so I'm Lemmy and you're out of here you

Channel: RevZilla

Views: 576,234

Rating: 4.8732181 out of 5

Keywords: XSR900 Review, Yamaha XSR900 Review, review, revzilla, motorcycle, 2016 Yamaha XSR900 Review, Best Yamaha XSR900 Review, Yamaha XSR 900 Review, Best XSR900 Review, Best XSR 900 Review, XSR900 Video Review, XSR900 Full Review, XSR900, XSR 900, Yamaha XSR, Yamaha XSR Review, XSR900 Motorcycle Review, revzillatv, Lemmy

Id: hFm8cyxwN8U

Length: 16min 13sec (973 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 20 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/cantgrowneckbeardAMA]

The Lemmy and Spurgeon bromance is palpable man.

I love this bike, hoping to pick one up in a year or two.

[u/dunchooby]

Warning to short dudes, I went to go check this bike out at my yammy dealer and pictures somehow make the bike look smaller than it is. This is a big bike with a wide gas tank. The weight feels a little overwhelming at first. Very beautiful in person and the 60th anniversary livery model looks even better.

[u/MagicalSwagbat]

Really liked the style of this video good change

[u/[deleted]]

I have a soft spot for Yamaha but why are people still reviewing this bike? Isn't it more or less old news?

[u/akurt]

I'm riding an 82 XJ550 and can totally see where they got some of the styling cues. Love it.

[u/techietalk_ticktock]

That video just looks gorgeous...

[u/lawtechie]

It's hilarious to watch the scenery go by. Sardine bar is a cool place to hang out,too.

[u/RGA802]

I absolutely fucking love mine. Coming from a CBR500 and an R6 this bike is the exact machine I dreamed of. Powerful, beautiful and comfortable. Also wheelies.

[u/Rock3tPunch]

I want a T-shirt with Lemmy's face on it.