XSR 700

[the Ferret]

At my weekly stop at the local Honda/Yamaha dealer today, I got to see and sit on the new Yamaha XSR 700. Looks just like the XSR 900. There was what looked like a silver/ aluminum tanked one, and a red/ maroon with white striped one. Seemed to me about a 32" seat height. Had to tip toe to reach the geound on both sides. The dealer lamented that it wasn't an adv type bike. He has only sold one of the XSR900's and it was a special order in the yellow black speed block pattern.

He also got in his demo model of the new V twin Venture (?) touring bike. He offered to let me take it out, and although tempted, I declined for today, but will take it out later. It's a huge thing. I was able to get both feet on the ground alright, but hefting it off the side stand was a bit of a chore for this munchkin.

About another week before the new Goldwing comes in, which is something I am looking forward to checking out and riding.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Oooooh, can’t wait to hear about the new Goldwing ride!!

 

[VLJ_imp]

mickey, the XSR700's seat is nearly 33": 32.9". It's even taller than my XSR900's seat, unless I use the optional "comfort seat," which is slightly thicker than the stocker.

The XSR700 and the Z900RS have the same seat height, but the Kawi's seat and tank are wider so they take up more of your legs, further increasing the effective seat height.

 

[the Ferret]

Yea, it was tall, and the seat was like a brick. I never really cared for the FZ-07. Test rode one twice. Didn't care for the vibes, or the ergos, or the instuments/switches or mirrors lol....but I like checking out all the bikes.

Maybe next week I will ride up to the Kawi dealer and see if they have the 900rs for a test sit.

 

[VLJ_imp]

You'll hate how tall it is, and how much that wide tank splays your knees out. You will much prefer the seat height of the basic Z900, except the seat is a brick, the ergos are more aggressive, and you'll loathe the looks of the thing.

That's still the one I'd buy, though, of the two Kawi 900s. Faster, much more affordable, way lower seat, better fueling, and no fake crap.

 

[the Ferret]

I sat on the 900 sport tourer maybe 3 years ago. Thought ergos were too agressive, thought the windshield was weird and thought the bags were oddly shaped. Liked all the specs and price on it, but couldn't see myself living with one.

 

[VLJ_imp]

900 sport-tourer, from Kawi? Or do you mean the Versys 1000, which is 1043cc, the same as the Ninja 1000 and Z1000. I'm sure you don't mean the FJ-09.

 

[the Ferret]

Ninja 1000 (not 900) my bad.

No I'm real familiar with the FJ-09, my son rides one.

 

[VLJ_imp]

I really disliked the FJ-09 I was given as a loaner by the dealer, but the new 2018 Tracer 900GT looks like a very different proposition. It's not going to be cheap, though.

 

[the Ferret]

My son liked the specs on it when it was first announced as an FZ09 and liked that they made it into a tourer as the FJ09, and sort of liked his test rides before he bought one. I was not as pleased with my test rides as he was, but I wasn't buying one. It was ok, but I thought it was still too twitchy in A mode. He rides his in std mode mostly I think. He uses it for touring and commuting back and forth to work. It has been reliable so far. He has 11,000 miles on it now, and like his father rides about every day, all year round. As a matter of fact some times I have to talk him out of riding because conditions are iffy. The kid likes to ride. Not sure where that came from lol. Maybe it was the Z50 I got him when he was 5. Or the GS1100E I gave him when he was 19. Or the Gen 1 FZ-1 I helped him buy when he was 27 lol.

the kid

 

[VLJ_imp]

I hated the FJ-09's throttle response, compared to my XSR's perfectly fine fueling. I hated the skyscraper seat height. I hated its ugly instruments. I hated how slow it was compared to my bike. I thought the entire bike was fairly ugly. Most of all, though, I hated the crazily loud, turbulent windflow crashing down from that homely windshield.

There wasn't a single thing about it that I preferred to my XSR900. I was so glad to get my bike back and get off of that FJ-09.

Edit: You know, your son's bike actually looks better as a result of the three bags. Instead of looking like a praying mantis, it looks like a small sport-tourer. Not bad at all.

 

[the Ferret]

We both felt after test rides that the XSR was the best running iteration of the 900 triple series, but as a touring rider, he went with the FJ due to the factory bags and trunk.

We have been taking yearly trips with some of the other men in the family since 2006 I think.. THe BRP, the Dragon, The UP of Michigan, Central Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, SE Ohio, are some of the places we have taken the " Fall Men's Trip" and there are ride reports in the Seat Time forum. THis year we are headed back to the curves and mountains of West Virginia.

Edit: he also cut off the stock shield for summer riding and got a wider, taller shield for winter riding.

 

[johnf514_imp]

I stopped by a Yami/Kawi dealer this past Saturday to check out the Z900RS. I also got the chance to see the XSR700. Sat on both and had similar impressions as you did. The 700 is a visual improvement over the 900, hiding that ugly electronics box on the front right and cleaning up a few other loose ends. I've also heard that while the 900 is a hooligan bike and struggles to keep both wheels on the road, which is loads of fun, the 700 is much more streetable and fun to wring out.

I never liked the cheap, Transformer-esque looks of the FZ07/09, but the XSR did tempt me for a while. In the end, I decided the neo-retro attempt at a throwback and the price were too much of a hurdle to jump over. The Z900RS is as close as another bike has come to clawing the CB1100 out of my hands, and even then, I've got other things I'd rather spend my money on (hello new used car in 2019, my 2006 Mazda3 has seen better days).

 

[ujm_imp]

I was really excited about the XSR700 when it first was announced for the rest of the world. Probably would have bought it if available in the US since it lists for 8,499 and picked up the 14 CB11 for a little under 8k. The xsr900 and T120 were out already but they were way more expensive. Now the only other bike I want is the Z900RS.

 

[the Ferret]

Well my kid got it all today, was 42 and dry when he left for work on his FJ-09 at 6:30 am, about 10:30 am when I took off for my ride it was raining, when he left work at 4:00 pm it was still raining but the temp had dropped to 34 and by 4:15 it had dropped to 32 and was snowing. It snowed the rest of his way home until he got home at 5 PM

and that's how you gain experience riding! :rofl:

 

[nhawk7504_imp]

The nice thing about the XSR700 is that higher flatter seat. Leans in the direction of the old XS650 which I had the vibrating pleasure of riding one day. I like the FZ09 as well. Better tourer for sure.

 

[the Ferret]

The nice thing about the XSR700 is that higher flatter seat. Leans in the direction of the old XS650 which I had the vibrating pleasure of riding one day. I like the FZ09 as well. Better tourer for sure.

I had 3 650 Yamaha twins. 73 TX I bought new, and 79 XS and 81 XS Special I bought used. Yep they were vibrating son of a guns. You could rev them up and walk them across the floor on the centerstands lol. Seat heights were a lot lower than the FZ-07's.

Just saw one of the new MT (FZ) -09's today. Real pretty red one with white on the tank. Looked nice. Goofy tail light coming off the rear wheel though.