L
ady Caroline Lamb described
Lord Byron as “Mad, bad and
dangerous to know.” She might have
said the same about this bike...
Based on the insane Yamaha MT-09 the
release of the retro XSR900 makes it a
‘psychodelic’ ride, man! Psychotic power,
combined with improved handling and
retro and customisable looks is just what
the spin doctor ordered. It’s also a bike I’ve
longed for – an understated powerhouse
that makes me giggle (uh oh – the sub)
when I just sit on it!
On top of the equipment of the MT-09
which it’s based, the XSR900 has been
given traction control and ABS. To behonest, I don’t like either of them on this
bike, they can spoil the insane fun that can
be had. Luckily you can turn the traction
control off, but you can’t disable the ABS
and the front cuts in too early for the super
powerful radial mount package the bike
wears. Not to worry; there’s always a way of
disabling the ABS (not that you should! –
I’m not suggesting that!)
If you want the added safety of the
traction control there are two settings
and off, and both work well if you
do switch it on.
The MT-09 has been in desperate need
for better suspension, and this bike has it in
what Yamaha describes as “XSR dedicatedYAMAHA XSR900
PSYCHODELIA WORDS STUART PHOTOS NICK WOOD