Yamaha’s Yard Built program has kicked out some truly fantastical machines over the years, but none have been anything other than one-offs meant to inspire Yamaha owners to customize their machines. The XR9 Carbona by Bottpower changes that. Yamaha has teamed with the crew at Bottpower to produce a limited run of body kits for the XSR900 that will transform the retroracer into the Pikes Peak-inspired weapon you see here.
The XR9 Carbona is a tribute to Bottpower’s 2017 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb-winning specials. To get the specials’ purposeful look dialed, the team centered the bike’s visual mass around the engine, which gives it a broad-shouldered, nose-down stance. Bottpower likens the look to a pitbull, and we’d say it’s not far off the mark.
The bodywork relies on 3-D printing, and sneaks in design elements from the YZF-R6 and YZF-R1, namely the miniature round headlights, to give the XSR a more modern, race-bred look. The kit includes a new fuel tank cover with molded-in air intakes; a carbon fiber seat and tailsection with a saddle trimmed in Alcantara; new taillights, turn signals, headlights, and marker lights; radiator covers with winglets; a new license plate holder; a new sprocket cover; and a new bellypan.
The best part is that the new bodywork requires no modifications to the XSR900′s frame to install, so if you hang on to the old stuff, it’s completely reversible. There’s no word yet on pricing or when the kit will be available, but we’ll keep you updated.
