Yamaha has taken 2024 to drop one of the best-looking bikes it has created in probably the last 15 years - the 2024 XSR900 GP.
And we kind of thought that was going to be it for a while, but no, as retro race fans and bikers in Japan can also deck their XSR900 GPs out in two extra, retro throwback liveries. The two extra colours are, it seems, only available in the Japanese market (boooo) and they replicate two other famous models from the Yamaha back catalogue.
The rest of the bike is inspired by famous race bikes from Yamaha’s long and illustrious racing history, with elements of the TZ250 and YZR500 race bikes helping to shape the tail, front fairing and screen. The colour scheme we get in the UK and Europe is also racebike-inspired, being the famous red and white Marlboro look that has been so famous across many two and four-wheeled motorsports.
These two new colours though seem to be inspired by road bikes, at least road bikes that also had some racing success. They are the RD500 and FZ series models. Specifically it is the FZ models (including FZ400, FZ600, and FZ-R1000) and RD500 models of the 1980s that Yamaha has looked to replicate.
This, as I said in my review of the XSR900 GP, really is the tip of the iceberg with where Yamaha could go with this. And aside from the options already available they could look at Yamaha speed block, Kenny Robert style, Gauloises blue (which was a colour selected for the naked XSR900), and even a nod to the Lucky Strike sponsorship of the YZR500.
We just hope that when/if some new colours come to market, those of us living in Europe get a chance to snag one up too!
You can check out the kits over on the Y'S Gear website.
