It’s easy to look at a bike like the XSR900 and think of it as a design exercise and nothing else, more style over substance, form over function. That is very much not the case though. The 2022 XSR900 is extremely capable, very potent, and sweet to look at. And it still would have been all three of those things had Yamaha simply updated the styling and chucked in the 2021 MT-09 updates. After all, the MT-09 and especially its SP sibling is a bloody good machine. That fact makes it all the more impressive that Yamaha decided to push things ahead even further for the XSR900, not just to improve the model, but to give it its own, distinctive character.
Yes, the comfort for me is a little flawed, and I wish they’d just spent a bit more time (AKA money) on that dash. But these are very small gripes that most owners will ignore or learn to live with.
So, it’s better looking than the MT-09, just as much fun, just as quick, just as tasty sounding, and more composed. Add to that list the fact that it is only 800 quid more than stock MT-09, and now try and think up some reasons you aren’t tempted to find out a little more about it!
