What’s one motorcycle you’ve been dreaming of owning for years?
For me, it's always been the Yamaha XSR900. I remember back in 2017, when this thing was first launched here in the Philippines, a buddy of mine who lived a few blocks away from me bought one and rode it to work every day.
It was quite slick, as he’d dressed it up with a bunch of upgrades like SW-Motech sliders, CRG bar-end mirrors, a full SC-Project exhaust system, Woodcraft clip-on bars, and a sleek NRC fender eliminator kit and integrated taillight. Needless to say, this bike turned heads no matter where it went.
Each and every morning, he’d pass by my house, intentionally giving it the beans just so I would hear that sweet triple exhaust note. He’d do the same thing as he returned home from work in the evening.
Back then, I was still pretty new to street riding, and was rocking a KTM 390 Duke—a very capable machine, but nowhere nearly as badass as the XSR900.
So what was it about the XSR900 that got me so hooked? Well, back then, I could only admire the thing from a distance, and so aesthetics were really all I could go by. Its muscular tank, retro styling, and sporty proportions ticked all the boxes for me. But at the time, I felt that I needed more practical machines—bikes that prioritized function rather than form.
And so in the next seven years or so, I’d go on to own ten more bikes, including a trio of Yamaha MT-07s, a Yamaha MT-10, a Kawasaki Ninja, and even a razor-sharp Triumph Street Triple RS (yeah, I hate naked sportbikes). But exactly zero of them were an XSR900. That is, until now.
I don’t know what exactly got into me, but I felt that I needed a bike that was a bit more “mature.” I just recently got married and I’m fully onboard with the whole adulting thing. So, why not get an adulting bike, too? Or at least, one that looks the part.
The bike I got came from a buddy of mine—not the same dude I was talking about earlier, as he eventually sold his XSR too, and now rocks a Ducati Sport Classic. My XSR900 is a much newer model and came with a bunch of goodies already installed.
It has the whole retro boi starter pack, with a fender eliminator, headlight guard, and bar-end mirrors. It even has a full Akrapovic carbon exhaust and Evotech parts all around. So yeah, I don’t need to change or add anything to this bike.
In the short time that I’ve owned this bike, I’ve realized that the XSR900’s retro styling is nothing more than a facade. It deceives you into thinking that it wants to chill, take things easy, and cruise to the next cafe and enjoy an iced caramel latte. But in reality, this thing’s got gallons of ristretto coursing through its veins. It's just an MT-09 in a suit.
And so wheelies come naturally and the zoomies are intense and unlimited.
But if you really, really wanted to, you could putter around town on this thing and look really good doing it. But while you’re at it, the XSR will let you know it’s not having a good time. It snorts, burbles, and lurches, making it clear that it wants you to open that damn throttle and let loose. I’d even go as far as saying that it’s more frantic than my MT-10 in the lower reaches of the rev range.
I’ve had this bike for two weeks now, and I’ve clocked in about 600 miles in that period. I still have quite a lot to learn about this bike, but one thing’s for sure: this thing’s a keeper, and I can’t wait to rack up the miles on it.
