Rumor Mill: Yamaha XSR GP

[advrider]

If you are a fan of the current trend back toward a single-headlight cone-nose fairing, we have the next addition to your holiday wish list. Back in the very early aughts, Ducati did it right with the MH900e. That bike is only increasing in value these days, so if you were lucky enough to buy one of that very limited run, hang onto it. If you weren’t, well…

Neo-Retro Is In

You may instead be eyeing the MV Agusta Superveloce. Or perhaps Triumph’s current Speed Triple RR, because you missed out on the limited-edition Thruxton TFC. Or maybe the new Honda Hawk 11 is catching your attention. If you’re on a budget the little half-caf SV650X could fit the bill.

If, instead, you’re a fan of the tuning forks, it looks like there’s a Yamaha coming down the line that fits the style needs of the cafe enthusiast.

Young Machine is usually right on its predictions for new Japanese machines. Here’s the cover of that magazine, showing predictions for the next two years. Check out that yellow-and-black Yamaha sportbike; that’s supposedly the new XSR GP. Image: Young Machine

An XSR Made Beautiful

We can tell from the XSR nomenclature what the platform is; Yamaha has been producing XSRs for a few years now. And so, if you haven’t already seen it all over the Internet, we give you: the XSR GP, a beautiful cone-nose cafe-style but fully-faired motorcycle. It’s even in traditional gold and black Yamaha livery.

There’s very little info about the new motorcycle yet. What we do have comes from Japanese publication Young Machine, which is apparently on the nose more often than not when it comes to leaks like this.

If the looks of this bike tickle your fancy, perhaps a test ride on an existing XSR are in order? We do not yet know if the underpinnings comprise the XSR 700 or 900, but my money (and the rest of the internet) is on Yamaha’s 890cc “CP3” inline-triple powerplant.

The current aesthetic trend seems to be tipping toward manufacturers draping their extant naked machines in neo-retro cafe-style fairings. It looks like a win-win from here: not much extra R&D for the marque but a whole new look for the consumer.

Specs (Maybe)

The XSR 900 specs out at around $10,000 USD which includes the aforementioned 890cc fuel-injected triple; a six-speed, multiplate assist-and-slipper wet clutch, chain final drive; 41mm adjustable USD forks; single adjustable rear shock; and dual front single rear hydraulic disc brakes with ABS standard. LED lighting abounds.

Naturally, when we know anything else about the bike, over and above all this, we’ll be on it. If Yamaha does it right, the bikes will be the same, but the GP will just be way prettier.

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