2025 Yamaha XSR900 GP first ride review: Riding Rainey's replica in Japan

For many U.S. motorcyclists, it’s a date tinged in disappointment. I count myself among them.

It’s personal

Team Blue revved up the XSR900 GP hype machine when it debuted the DB40 concept at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed. A tribute to 40 years of Yamaha’s Deltabox frame, the DB married the XSR900’s newfound ‘80s styling with a fairing modeled after the two-stroke machines of Grand Prix lore. It wasn’t just a design exercise; it was a sign of things to come. It wasn’t just a concept; it was the prototype of the XSR900 GP. 

By that September, Japanese outlet Young Machine published renderings of Yamaha’s forthcoming retro racer — with one key difference. Out was the DB40’s stealthy finish. In was a white, red, and yellow livery reminiscent of the old Team Marlboro Yamaha days. It evoked images of Rainey, Lawson, and Kocinski. It recalled the years of U.S. dominance on the Grand Prix stage. It made me want to light up a Marlboro right then and there (and I don’t even smoke). At that moment, I knew the XSR900 GP would be my next bike. Or, at least, I hoped as much.

Weeks later, the Iwata factory officially announced the model, but only for Europe and Japan. I convinced myself that my dreams weren’t dashed. They were merely delayed. Yet, month after month passed, the GP never arrived stateside. I eventually purchased another bike, but an XSR900 GP-shaped hole remained in my heart and my garage. So when I booked an extended trip to Japan this past August, one bike topped my test-ride list. The only question was: Would it live up to my unreasonable expectations?

Lost its luster

The box truck’s liftgate lowers at an agonizing pace. The anticipation is downright tangible. Like a kid on Christmas Eve, the more I beg time to pass the slower it moves. I’ve waited two long years for this moment. I’m eager to see the Legend Red paint with my own eyes. I’m ready to admire the yellow number plates under the mid-day sun. I even curated my gear, nay, my outfit, to match. So you can only imagine my horror when the liftgate dropped to reveal the XSR900 GP in dark gray and black. You've got to be [expletive] kidding me.

I rarely address aesthetics in bike reviews. That’s because it’s a matter steeped in subjectivity. What looks gorgeous to me may look garish to you. That type of diplomacy won’t fly here. There’s only one paint job this model should come in, and it sure isn’t the one I’m riding. The XSR900 GP in Power Grey is comparable to a Ducati in orange. Close enough just isn’t enough. 

I’d be lying if I said my own vanity didn’t draw me to the 900 GP. Riding a show-stopping, jaw-dropping bike has its own allure. The GP’s black and gray paint just doesn’t inspire that same reaction. There is a silver lining, though (believe you me, I searched far and wide). With the Rainey replica’s intoxicating looks out of the picture, I could now judge the bike on its merits alone. I could focus on everything that’s under its attractive surface.

Don’t I know you from somewhere?

To a large degree, the XSR900 GP is a known entity. Its engine, an 890 cc inline triple cranking out a claimed 118 horsepower (at 10,000 rpm) and 68.6 foot-pounds of torque (at 7,000 rpm), also powers the MT-09 and YZF-R9. Its aluminum twin-spar frame, which shares its slightly longer swingarm with the Tracer 9, hails from the base model XSR900. Even its electronics package mimics those found elsewhere in the CP3 stable. 

What’s unique to the XSR GP is its rider triangle. In GP form, the XSR opts for clip-ons mounted just above its top clamp. Those new controls position the rider’s hands 114 mm (4.5 inches) lower and 93 mm (3.7 inches) further forward. That’s but one of Yamaha’s ergonomic revisions. The footpegs also shift 26 mm (1.0 inch) upward and aft. Not to be left out, the saddle scootches forward by 12 mm (0.5 inches) and lifts 27 mm (1.1 inches) in height, which boosts the standover to 835 mm (32.9 inches). 

Oftentimes, one change can lead to another. That’s the case with the GP’s geometry. Although its dimensions are closely related to the naked-variant XSR900, they aren’t entirely identical. The rake remains at 25.0 degrees, but the trail extends from 107 mm (4.2 inches) to 110 mm (4.3 inches). The wheelbase also grows, from 1,495 (58.9 inches) to 1,500 mm (59.1 inches), meaning the XSR GP carries the same wheelbase measurement as the Tracer 9. 

While some of those adjustments (the ergonomics, specifically) may look significant on paper, motorcycles aren’t ridden on paper. What really matters is how the bike’s dimensions suit my dimensions. The only way to test that was on Tokyo’s roads.

Cooler heads prevail

I’ll admit, I wanted a reason to dislike the 900 GP. Finding some fatal flaw might just extinguish my last desire to own one. (If I no longer want one, it doesn’t matter that I can’t buy one.) The lowest-hanging fruit was the model’s riding position. Clip-ons tend to improve a bike’s front-end feel and curb appeal, but they can compromise comfort in the process. There’s give and there’s take. That’s what I expected when I first mounted the XSR GP. The bike was happy to disappoint me.

Sure, the sportier ergos pulled me further over the tank, but not to a disagreeable degree. The clip-ons may feature more drop than forward pull (compared to the XSR900’s handlebars), but I felt further stretched forward than downward. Placed somewhere between neutral and committed, I wasn’t fully upright, but I wasn’t bearing down on my wrists, either. The footpeg position was even friendlier. 

I previously called the MT-09’s legroom abundant. My knee bend aboard the XSR900 GP was nearly as generous, skewing marginally on the acute side of 90 degrees. Much of that has to do with the model’s taller seat, which helps preserve legroom despite the raised pegs. The best part is that the bike’s narrow waist (and my 32-inch inseam) still allowed my heels to reach the tarmac at a stop. That was an invaluable asset when navigating the urban maze that is Tokyo.

I wouldn’t characterize Tokyo as a car-heavy city, but the sheer number of intersections and pedestrians keeps the flow of traffic slow and steady. That was a cause for concern aboard the GP, especially with a forecasted daytime high of 85 degrees (F). Lady Luck wasn’t on my side, either. If I caught a red light here, I probably caught another one there. At that stop-and-go pace, I fully expected the CP3 to start heaving heat onto my calves. Yet, that unwelcome warmth never materialized. Whether I was stuck behind a truck or sitting at another traffic light, the three-pot powerhouse hardly contributed to the cockpit's ambiance. That’s just one of the engine’s compliant qualities. 

What can I say about Yamaha’s triple that hasn’t already been said? It’s still as punchy, raucous, and sporty as ever. So often it’s lauded for that thrilling nature. What’s rarely mentioned is its more amenable side. That’s the side that was on display in Central Tokyo. Power and torque remained at my beck and call, but the GP never goaded me into hooliganry. Not once did it press the issue. It took its orders and executed them. That’s why riding the 900 GP in densely populated environs felt like owning a Border Collie in a studio apartment. It remained obedient, but I knew it deserved space to run. So that’s where I went.

Stride for stride

My favorite type of running shoes are the ones that seem to disappear on my feet. The ones that feel like it’s just me and the road. I’d argue that touring on a motorcycle should provide a similar experience. While the XSR900 GP doesn’t rank as one of my top road trip candidates, it sure comes closer than I assumed.

The elevated expressways in and out of Tokyo are far more congested than its surface streets. I mention that because the GP didn’t hit the open road running. It first crawled through gridlock and scampered past toll booths before finding its stride well out of the city. That’s when the kilometers finally started clicking away on the dash. Before I knew it, I was veering onto the exit ramp. Only after turning onto the overpass did I realize I’d forgotten to assess the wind protection and seat comfort. In a way, that’s a review in itself. 

Most riders only notice the saddle when it’s uncomfortable. The same goes for wind protection. You might say that you forget when a good fairing and a good seat are there, like a good pair of running shoes. My trip back to Tokyo supported that theory. Unless I balled myself into a full tuck, I was taking on wind. The thing is, it was never turbulent wind. The oncoming air simply streamed past the fairing and washed over my shoulders and helmet. Barring a rogue gust or sidewind, there was no buffeting or tugging to speak of. 

While the seat fared just as well on the hour-plus highway ride back into the city, its fortitude wasn’t truly tested until my trip to Motegi over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. That nearly five-hour round trip called for regular shifting in the saddle, as pressure points naturally developed over time. In those instances, scooting fore and aft redistributed my weight accordingly. Fortunately, the long seat accommodated such adjustments. 

When it comes to comfort, the XSR900 GP is far from luxurious. At the same time, it isn’t averse to travel, either. Yes, the racy retro can tour, but that isn’t its specialty. Such a distinction lies with the GP’s sportier endeavors.

Podium pace

Take one look at the XSR GP, and its corner-hunting ability is immediately apparent. The model lives up to that image when it's on a curvy strip of pavement. The roads along Tokyo Prefecture’s western mountains aren’t just winding, they’re narrow; they aren’t just twisty, they’re technical. Given the GP’s wheelbase, one might think that it’s partial to long, flowing sweepers. That’s an assumption the XSR quickly dispelled. Be it downhill switchbacks, corkscrewing S-curves, or fast bends, the Yamaha dispatched each corner with equal efficacy. 

Without riding the GP back-to-back with the base trim XSR900, I can’t say whether the clip-on controls and sporty ergos yield much more front-end feel. All I can say is that the chassis felt balanced and planted from entry to apex to exit. The brakes are responsive, the steering is precise, and the inline triple keeps firing you from one corner to the next. Even when the road presented a kicker before turn-in, the GP remained composed, flip-flopping from side to side with effortless fluidity.

It was one of those rides that remind me why I ride. One of those rides when I have equal confidence in the bike’s abilities and my abilities. That’s the kind of experience I expected from the XSR900 GP when it broke cover in 2023. Unfortunately for this gaijin, Yamaha isn’t offering that experience in the United States.

Exclusions apply

Smokey Robinson once sang, “A taste of honey is worse than none at all.” In other words, getting what you want, losing it, and longing for it thereafter is worse than never having it in the first place. I expected to live those lyrics when returning the XSR900 GP to Yamaha. I expected a bittersweet romcom-esque montage to flash through my head as I bid it a tearful goodbye. To my surprise, I watched the bike roll into the very box truck it arrived in without a hint of regret. 

I don’t want to send mixed messages. If Yamaha released the GP in the States today, one would be in my garage tomorrow. (In its rightful place, I might add.) However, riding the bike removed much of its mystique. The XSR900 GP was once a unicorn in my book. It balanced performance and practicality, all in a pretty package. After living with it for a week, I realized that's its main draw. It’s not any faster than the XSR900. It’s not as comfortable as the MT-09. It’s not as agile as the YZF-R9, either. It’s just more handsome than them all.

I’m still disappointed that the XSR900 GP isn’t available in the United States — just less so than before. If Yamaha didn’t offer the model in its Legend Red livery (and only in the Power Grey color option), I doubt I’d lust after it at all. I’m probably not alone, either. Still, the calls for Team Blue to send its vintage-styled sport bike to our shores remain unanswered. Until then, I bid farewell, so long, saraba to the XSR900 GP.

2025 Yamaha XSR900 GP
Price (MSRP)	¥1,430,000 ($9,365)
Engine	890 cc, liquid-cooled, 12-valve, inline triple
Transmission, final drive	Six-speed, chain
Claimed horsepower	118 @ 10,000 rpm
Claimed torque	68.6 foot-pounds @ 7,000 rpm
Frame	Aluminum twin-spar
Front suspension	KYB 41 mm fork, adjustable for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping; 5.1 inches of travel
Rear suspension	KYB shock, adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping; 5.2 inches of travel
Front brake	Dual four-piston calipers, 298 mm discs with ABS
Rear brake	Single-piston caliper, 245 mm disc with ABS
Rake, trail	25.0 degrees, 110 mm (4.3 inches)
Wheelbase	1,500 mm (59.1 inches)
Seat height	835 mm (32.9 inches)
Fuel capacity	14 liters (3.7 gallons)
Tires	Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23, 120/70ZR17 front, 180/55ZR17 rear
Measured weight	441 pounds
Available	N/A
Warranty	12 months
More info	yamaha-motor.jp