It might seem like the Team Throttle editors have a soft spot for adventure bikes. But appearances can be deceiving because over the past few years, my personal preference has slowly started to shift. Why? Until 2020 I commuted 200 km by motorbike every day, rain or shine, summer or winter. Back then, a comfortable ride just made sense.

In recent years, however, I’ve been working much closer to home. Lane splitting seems useless because it hardly saves any time (though I must admit I still do a bit of it). The result? I’ve become a fair-weather rider, and a comfortable bike doesn’t feel quite so “essential” anymore. Fun and looks can carry a bit more weight now. Not that I find my Ténéré ugly – far from it – but a custom chopper or a cool naked is always welcome in my garage too.

Enter the Yamaha XSR900. Built around the well-known and widely praised CP3 engine. The XSR is part of Yamaha’s Sport Heritage line-up: modern tech wrapped in retro aesthetics. For the XSR900, Yamaha drew inspiration from the 1980s, more specifically from the Deltabox frame that it introduced on its sport bikes back then.

That doesn’t mean the XSR900 is a racing machine, but it definitely Continue reading →