Are we still a little bit salty that the gorgeous-looking Yamaha XSR900 GP wasn't announced for the US market in 2024? I mean, probably. But I ask you, if you've seen it, can you really blame us? I think not.
Someone at Yamaha clearly designed it to tap into the same sort of wistful nostalgia already thoroughly mined by vaporwave. Whether or not you were actually alive (and/or much more than a zygote) in the '80s doesn't really matter. Design (both industrial and clothing) goes in cycles for a reason, and it's clear that this type of design appeals both to folks who lived it and those who only wish they did.
In almost equal measure, too. It's kind of astonishing.
What do you do next if you're Yamaha? That's not as difficult a question to answer as you might expect. If there's one thing that Yamaha has absolute buckets full of, it's a fantastic design history. That's undoubtedly why it dusted off its graphics for the RZV500R and FZ500R and opted to give them the XSR900 GP treatment next.
Gallery: Yamaha XSR900 GP Gets Even More Nostalgic With These 80s-Inspired Fairings
I mean, it's just so good. Isn't it?
Now for the bad news, which you probably already sensed was coming. If you're in the US, as you already know, we don't currently get the XSR900 GP here in the first place. At least, not yet, although I personally hold out a small amount of hope for the future, based on nothing other than my previous years of observation about how new bike releases often start in other markets before heading to the US in the following months and years.
Therefore, it probably won't surprise you to learn that these two special Yamaha fairing sets seem to both only be set for release in Japan at this time. They're currently shown in Yamaha's Y's Gear online shop in Japan, to be sold only at Yamaha dealers in the country.
Interested Yamaha XSR900 GP owners in Japan can place a reservation for either fairing set between April 19, 2024 and May 10, 2024 only. They're not scheduled to be available until September 2024, so this is very much a preorder situation. The cost including tax is ¥330,000, which works out to about US $2,125 at the time of writing.
Would you buy either fairing set if you could? (Well, assuming that you could also get yourself an XSR900 GP in the first place?) Let us know in the comments!
