Yamaha into RETRO?

[wiredgeorge_imp]

http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/models/xsr900

I kind of like the bumblebee striped version! Had an 84 RZ350 KR Replica many years ago... same colors/graphics.

 

[Chapomis_imp]

Looks sharp, I thought the Ducati Scrambler looked great with the yellow tank too. But I think the gold anodized forks are unnecessary.

 

[Capo]

Saw this at the NYC bike show, and was very impressed. Looks great in the metal. My group voted it most surprising bike of the show. I like how the new wave of retro is more modern and inspired by the old bikes rather than retro for retro sake. This one is a winner IMHO

 

[jmc1100_imp]

Nice! I would love to demo that...

 

[Firstfour_imp]

Well, I like the upright seating position, and the round headlight.

Otherwise, I'll go the other way. I'm not a fan of "modern" styling with all the lines going every which way and an overall unfinished look. For instance, where are the side covers? What is that box hanging below the steering head? Like most of the "nakeds" it looks like a sportbike with the plastic removed, revealing mechanicals that were not particularly designed to be seen.

I bought a CB1100 because of it's looks, which are, to me, beautiful. Not because it was "retro" per se. And, of course, just my .02 and probably worth less...

 

[Paulb_imp]

I bet Kenny Roberts won't appreciate his famous racing block colours being described as 'Bumblebee'! I saw this bike and a couple of others in the same colour scheme on the Yamaha stand at the NEC show last month (UK) and they looked terrific. I think Yamaha have really got it together design wise, I believe they are using a German design studio for fresh ideas.

 

[Papa Weeley_imp]

I bet Kenny Roberts won't appreciate his famous racing block colours being described as 'Bumblebee'! I saw this bike and a couple of others in the same colour scheme on the Yamaha stand at the NEC show last month (UK) and they looked terrific. I think Yamaha have really got it together design wise, I believe they are using a German design studio for fresh ideas.

Funny, I had the same reaction back when I had a Yamaha FZ-1. One of the early models (I think 2003?) came in these colors, and it was always referred to as the "Bumblebee" model. Always rubbed me wrong, for some reason. Maybe because I'm old enough to have had King Kenny as one of my personal heroes, and it just seems almost disrespectful to call all of those great old, completely insane Yamaha race bikes like the TZ750 "bumblebees".
Back on topic, these new bikes look great - not sure if at this point in my life that I'd want one of those paint jobs myself, but still kind of a cool homage to Yamaha's awesome racing history.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Firstfour, I couldn't agree with you more. The Ducati Scrambler is another one that baffles me from a styling standpoint. Guess I'm just getting old.

 

[redbirds_imp]

I think it looks great.



Roberts in the infield section of Daytona, 1974 200.

 

[Bob Sdaman_imp]

I do like this, and Yamaha is finding all sorts of uses for that new inline-3. But this isn't what I'd call retro. That there is a modern-looking bike, no matter how you slice it.
Reading through, I see they use the term "neo-retro", so maybe that hits the nail on the head, "new retro". At it's core, this is an FZ-09 with a round headlight, different fuel tank, and a different seat. The ergonomics look side-by-side the same. If they price it the same, in the early 8's, I think it'll do alright. It's not quite flooding their own market, but it sure is close.

 

[wiredgeorge_imp]

To the folks offended by my use of the term "bumblebee", that is what the color scheme has been called for the past 30 years. Didn't mean to offend anyone. The looks of this new Yamaha model are not terrible but there is too much unfinished and angular to get me interested. Just like cars that have been considered classics, the best looking ones look good 25 years after they are made. None of the cars made today get into the future-classic category in my humble opinion. It looks like most were designed by the same little foreign design engineer. You can't tell a Toyota from a Ford. There may be great looking cars out there but the ones I see on the road are mostly all forgetable and cookie cutter. For the past few years, bike designers have decided tehat bikes should look like transformer clones. Overly angular lines and ugle exhausts and seats that slope towards the tank at a 30 degree angle and are 1/2" thick do not make for classics. The CB1100 will still look classy 30 years from now just like the CB750 still looks pretty classy today.

 

[curlyjoe]

I like this version a bit better with the brushed aluminum tank and black forks.

 

[the Ferret]

Technically the Yamaha racing pattern in Yellow/Black/White or European version Red/Black/White was called Speed Blocks, but on the street they were referred to as Bumblebees for the yellow and blacks. Never heard the red and blacks called anything but Euro or European.

Yamaha had a Yellow/Black scheme on a Gen 1 FZ and also had a Black/Grey combo on their Gen 1 FZ's that were referred to on the streets as Skunks. If fact the Bumblebees and the Skunks are highly sought after as they are rare compared to the plain Yamaha blue models.

 

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I am allergic to stings from bumble bees. I swell up tremendously from a single sting. As a kid, I used to have medicine at the nurse's office at school in case of a sting. Still, one of our favorite past times was catching bees as they buried their faces into the petals of a honeysuckle by gently pinching their wings together and pulling them from the flower. We'd put the bees into jars, sometimes with spiders where we imagined an epic battle would ensue. It never did. The bee would flutter around trying to escape and the spider would remain motionless on the sticks we had thrown into the jar. We'd eventually release them both. I always rooted for the spider.

I really like this Yamaha. Even the bumble bee design. In fact, especially the bumble bee design. I don't understand the offense associated with the "bumble bee" reference. Skunk on the other hand ...

 

[jazzmans_imp]

I love the XSR900, especially in its bumblebee makeup. Were I not already the very happy owner of a FZ-09, I'd definitely be buying one, but can't stomach the hit I'll take selling my FZ to buy the same bike, that looks better.

 

[Frulk_imp]

Did we not beat this Yamaha styling horse to death in another thread just recently? Styling is so very personal and subjective but beyond the round headlight there is nothing retro, neo-retro, post-modern retro or any other retro you want to use as a descriptor in regards to this bike. If anything (in my opinion of course) it looks very "industrial". Which isn't meant to be bad, just not retro.

 

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Did we not beat this Yamaha styling horse to death in another thread just recently? Styling is so very personal and subjective but beyond the round headlight there is nothing retro, neo-retro, post-modern retro or any other retro you want to use as a descriptor in regards to this bike. If anything (in my opinion of course) it looks very "industrial". Which isn't meant to be bad, just not retro.

I've found that when it comes to motorcycle forum topics, horses have much in common with Buddhists and cats.

 

[Chapomis_imp]

I think the bikes look great in both colors, very industrial/retro. But I just can't get past looking at the radiators, best being covered with fairings. IMO naked bikes should be air cooled

 

[Cormanus]

Did we not beat this Yamaha styling horse to death in another thread just recently? Styling is so very personal and subjective but beyond the round headlight there is nothing retro, neo-retro, post-modern retro or any other retro you want to use as a descriptor in regards to this bike. If anything (in my opinion of course) it looks very "industrial". Which isn't meant to be bad, just not retro.

I've found that when it comes to motorcycle forum topics, horses have much in common with Buddhists and cats.

I've found that when it comes to motorcycle forum topics, horses have much in common with Buddhists and cats.
An elegant way of oiling the conversation, MG. The score is now 20W 50.

 

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Did we not beat this Yamaha styling horse to death in another thread just recently? Styling is so very personal and subjective but beyond the round headlight there is nothing retro, neo-retro, post-modern retro or any other retro you want to use as a descriptor in regards to this bike. If anything (in my opinion of course) it looks very "industrial". Which isn't meant to be bad, just not retro.

I've found that when it comes to motorcycle forum topics, horses have much in common with Buddhists and cats.

I've found that when it comes to motorcycle forum topics, horses have much in common with Buddhists and cats.
An elegant way of oiling the conversation, MG. The score is now 20W 50.

I've found that when it comes to motorcycle forum topics, horses have much in common with Buddhists and cats.
An elegant way of oiling the conversation, MG. The score is now 20W 50.
A perfect example of why I am such a big fan of yours. (I've been wanting a signature line for some time now. I've decided to go with my quip on horses, Buddhists and cats.)