VOL. 53 ISSUE 21 JUNE 1, 2016 P77
T
he retro scene is alive
and well at Yamaha.
The Tuning Fork brand
has done a better job than
most at maximizing the
value of its rich heritage
of late, releasing not just
bikes like this XSR900 but
sponsoring a number of
bike building competitions
that tap into the anti-
electronic movement that's
swept across the motorcy-
cle industry over the past
10 years or so.
And that makes the
XSR900 all the more
interesting. Because this
bike, whose style is not too
dissimilar to the analogue
Yamaha XJR1200 that sat
in my dad's garage for a
decade or so (unfortunate-
ly, the U.S. missed out on
that awesome four-cylinder
beast as it wasn't officially
imported here), is loaded
to the brim with the kind of
electronic gizmos hipsters,
eating gluten-free tacos,
would would cry into their
perfectly oiled beards over.
Stuff like fuel injection
and alternate riding maps,
ABS, traction control and
(shock!) a digital dash.
Has Yamaha already
made this retro theme un-
cool? I mean, once some-
thing's gone mainstream…
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J NELSON
RETRO.
NOT CLASSIC
Yamaha's new XSR900
is tugging on the retro
heartstrings while giving
us a solid dose of 21st
century riding
