Thoughts after upgrading to a 2025 from a 2016 XSR900
I recently picked up a 2025 XSR900 with less than 2000 miles. I’ve put about 600 miles on the new bike and prior to this I put 10K miles on a 2016 XSR900 and prior to that put 6K miles on a 2015 FZ-09. For this comparison I’ll highlight the differences that I notice between the 2016 and 2025 XSR for riders that may be considering an upgrade or choosing between the new/old model. My go-to ride is tight bumpy twisties (Redwood Road in the East Bay area, CA).
Ergonomics: The ‘25 I feel like I’m sitting ‘in’ the bike, vs ‘on’ the bike for the ‘16. The ‘16 had a supermoto vibe where I would scootch up to the tank and ride over the front of the bike with the wide upright handlebars. On the ‘25 I’m leaned over more in a position that is slightly closer to a traditional sportbike. Both bikes being naked have significant wind blast on the freeway, but the forward lean of the ‘25 helps manage it a bit better.
Brakes: Both bikes had the stock pads replaced with EBC HH pads which are a significant improvement over stock IMO. The factory pads on the ‘16 would develop uneven pad deposits regularly which could be felt in deceleration pulsing when coming to a stop. The factory pads on the ‘25 were contaminated when I bought it and required too much force to stop and would howl/vibrate under hard braking so they were discarded. Both bikes have factory rubber lines. The ‘25 brakes are better overall with more firmness, more initial bike, and better modulation as braking force increases. I imagine the change is mostly due to the radial master cylinder since I believe the calipers are the same.
Suspension: The suspension is overall better on the ‘25, by a significant margin. It feels like the ‘25 also has a wider range of adjustment that would allow it to accommodate a wider range of rider weights. On both bikes I set sag and did back to back rides changing only one variable at a time until I reached my preferred settings. I would add a click of rebound to the ‘16 every couple years since it seemed like the rebound relaxed a bit over time. The ‘25 suspension wins hands down in being more adjustable, more composed on high speed impacts, keeping both wheels in contact with the ground over bad pavement, and allowing the front and back to operate better in unison. The suspension on the ‘16 always felt like the front and back were doing different things at the same time. I know it’s barely ever touched after initial setup, but having a preload knob on the ‘25 is so nice compared to using those crap preload wrenches!
Tune: On my ‘15 FZ-09 with no tune the bike was way too snatchy in A mode, still very snatchy in STD mode, and only smooth (but power neutered) in B mode. On my ‘16 with no tune the bike was very snatchy in A mode, but smooth in STD mode and the lower modes. I bought a vcyclenut tune for the ‘16 and I loved some aspects of the tune but actually found it less smooth for my riding style (3rd gear, 4K rpms, riding that sweet triple torque). I could ride around it and find the sweet smoothness higher in the rpm range but my preferred riding style is about the feeling when the line between the bike and myself blurs and the bike becomes an extension of myself and I’m not having to think about it so I reverted to the stock tune. On the ‘25 the fueling is smooth and all modes are usable… except that the power deficit in 1st and 2nd gears is awful l to the point I feel it is dangerous because the delivery is so bad and when you need power to pass or get out of the way it’s just not there. I’ll be getting a vcyclenut tune ASAP.
Electronics and Aids: The ABS on the ‘16 was pretty rudimentary and would kick the lever back out when it engaged. It would also engage regularly over stutter bumps when it was not needed. I haven’t triggered the ABS on the ‘25 yet, but it hasn’t triggered under conditions that the ‘16 would trigger so that is an improvement. On the ‘16 I had the TCS in mode 1 (least intrusive). On the ‘25 I ride in the default Sport mode but may switch to custom to relax/disable some of the aids to see if I can extract more character from the bike, but more on that later. The quickshifter is awesome and works well but I still like blipping most of my downshifts myself. The quickshifter upshift pops are awesome with an exhaust. Cruise control works well, but I don’t know if I’ll ever use it. The phone/nav apps are nice but also not sure if I will ever use them and they seem to require your phone to not go to sleep or it just stops reporting directions.
Character: The ‘16 has that grab it by the scruff of the neck and wring it out feeling where the front end dives into each corner before it gets light and shimmies a little as you power out and the whole bike bucks and hops over bumpy pavement making you shift your position and weight the pegs and lean back under braking and forward under throttle and it’s just very engaging. The ‘16 feels like it turns in faster but doesn’t hold as stable a line as the ‘25. The ‘25 feels way more composed and effortless and likely faster with less required of the rider. I’m sure some of the difference is due to the longer swingarm, but I’m hoping to find ways to extract more character from the ‘25.
Exhaust: I had a Hindle Megaphone EVO on the ‘16 and it was so loud even with earplugs that the DB killer was required for me. I just put a Dominator HP3 EX (extra muffler/resonator) Low on the ‘25 and I feel the included DB killer would be too quiet. The Dominator with no DB killer is quieter than the Hindle with a DB killer. If you want a non-stock exhaust option that has a good tone but is not overly loud I think the Dominator HP3 EX is a good option, especially for the price.
Styling: Both generations of XSR look incredible and if you don’t like the styling get the FZ/MT version.
Question: I did the preventative maintenance items on my ‘16 such as the manual cam chain tensioner and the valve adjustment at 10k miles (all exhaust valves were tighter than spec already). Are there any similar preventative items needed for long-term reliability from the newer XSR?
TL;DR: Gen 1 XSR900 has more rowdy hooligan character in a beautiful but unrefined package. Gen 2 XSR900 feels more capable, composed and refined while still looking great.