Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1472533
RIDE REVIEW I 2022 YAMAHA XSR900 P98 original homes. That long swingarm? All signs point to it being yanked straight off the Tracer. And you notice the thing when you're going slow. A smidge of extra lock would go a long way toward making the XSR900 a little more nimble when haunt- ing parking lots rather than foothills. It's just little stuff. If this is the extent of the compromise we must tolerate, con- sider us sold on Yamaha's choices when rummaging around the parts bin. Mostly because the great details in the design far surpass a little savings here and there. Take the passenger pegs, for instance. Back seat accommodations have counted on the peg itself to tuck away for generations. That typically means an ungainly dangling mounting point. On the XSR900, the passenger peg is one long, elegant arm that folds up and out of the way on each side of the bike. When needed, the entire assembly rotates into place, landing with a satisfying mechani- cal snick. Somewhere, right this instant, a motorcycle designer is looking at them and smacking themselves in the forehead wondering why they didn't think of Yama- ha's solution first. The result is the machine it always should have been. The XSR900 was a classic. Almost. It was almost a perfect combination of style and sportiness. Al- most the better, more refined alternative to its wildly exciting yahoo of a platform-mate, the MT-09. Almost one of the easiest bikes to recommend to any enthusiastic road rider. But the XSR always lived in the shadow of its showy, wheelie-happy family, while suffering from the same niggling irritations: the famously frustrating throttle control on early machines, the weirdly apparent cost cutting on later bikes. And because of that, it was the odd one out, the black sheep. Until now. CN SPECIFICATIONS 2022 YAMAHA XSR900 ($9399) ENGINE Inline three-cylinder VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder COOLING SYSTEM Liquid DISPLACEMENT 890cc BORE X STROKE 78 x 62.1mm COMPRESSION RATIO 11.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection EXHAUST 3-1 CLUTCH Wet, multi-plate TRANSMISSION 6-speed FRAME Die-cast aluminum FRONT SUSPENSION 41mm fork, USD, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION Single shock, spring preload, rebound damping adj. FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL 5.1 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 5.4 in. FRONT WHEEL 17 x 3.5 in. REAR WHEEL 17 x 5.5 in. FRONT TIRE 120/70 ZR17 in. REAR TIRE 180/55 ZR17 in. FRONT BRAKE Twin 298mm floating discs, 4-piston radial-mount calipers, cornering ABS REAR BRAKE Single 245mm disc, 2-piston sliding caliper, cornering ABS RAKE 25° TRAIL 4.3 in. SEAT HEIGHT 31.9 in. WHEELBASE 58.9 in. WEIGHT (WET, CLAIMED) 425 lbs. FUEL CAPACITY 3.7 gal. COLORS Legend Blue, Raven