One Mod I forgot to mention is a new set of tyres. I've got road 5s but any aftermarket tyre that isn't OEM really does make a big difference to the handling and feel of the bike.
@@teddingtonbear3265 yeah as I recall the other 5s were a step in the direction of trying to provide a bit more grip from the 4s. I've certainly not found the limits yet :).
@@teddingtonbear3265 I found the 4’s just as grippy to be honest. With the 5’s I get less squirm coming out of of corners, something which made the 4’s feel less grippy, but they never let go. Either way, as mr squid noted, any tyre is better than Oem. No feel, very wooden and poor in damp.
Love what you've done Simon all excellent mods. I used to have an XSR900 and I pretty much did the same mods. Handlebars I love, blipper I love, which are 2 things I didn't do to mine!!!! Stay safe Simon
There are different options in terms of drop length on the woodcrafts. I got the 1 inch drop. It's also possible to flip those and have it be 1 inch upwards which is a lot closer to the oem position but still slightly more focused. In the 1 inch down position it is absolutely more focused than oem and not as comfortable for long haul trips. Anything under an hour is no problem whatsoever. Riding for 2 hours plus without a break would be painful but to be fair I'd want to be taking breaks with those types of seat time even with the OEM setup. One thing I do recommend is getting some tank grips installed as this really helps to support your body rather than taking all the weight on your wrists.
@@SimonTheSquid thanks this is super helpful, I'll pick some up soon. Just swapped out my tank with the bunker fiberglass (has cutouts), so no issues with seat grip here. Looking forward to giving it a go on the track with some new bar ends. Thanks again, I love that your content is geared more toward some of us er.. performance and handling-oriented folks.
Thanks JG! It absolutely transforms the feel when on track imo. Just makes it easier to get your body out and over and also to really feel what the front end is doing. For performance type riding it's a great mod! Mind the routing of the clutch cable when you get them installed as it's a bit too long once you've lowered the bars. I've had to route mine around the head light housing to give it a bit of extra room so it doesn't get any sort of kinks in it.
Okay dude tell me more about the blipper please I need one I my life but why this one does it work with the stock slipper clutch? Great bike just bought one need an auto blipper Paul subbed liked
Hi Paul thanks for the comment! I've actually made a video about the woolich quickshifter here: th-cam.com/video/gsedcdSQpJM/w-d-xo.html it works with the stock slipper clutch just fine and yeah lots of fun!
Ouch! Best to get it out of the way early right? I very nearly came to dropping mine when I first got it. Just managed to catch it. Ended up lowsiding it in a parking lot anyway a few months later lol.
How to turn street bike into a race machine :) Do you think bike is adequate for the street use in its stock form, or you'd have these mods applied anyway, even if you weren't into track days?
That's a great question Bohdan, I'll be the first to admit that I am more focused on performance than your traditional rider of the xsr900. I think that if I was only interested in commuting and the occasional weekend blast I would probably still get the rear shock, the exhaust, heated grips, and brake pads done. These all translate well to the street and make for a more comfortable and enjoyable experience. The woodcrafts, forks, braided lines, and quickshifter aren't really needed in a street setting as much.
I have my brand new XSR900 for 2 weeks now, im not planning on "racing" with it mostly sportive touring. Im certainly planning on putting another exhaust on it. But the exhaust you have on it isnt allowed on the road here in the Netherlands because it doenst have a catalyst in it, doesnt mean im not thinking about putting it on it. doest the bike/engine needs to be tuned after putting the exhaust on it? for other mods i dont know yet need to ride more to have a better feeling for what i want better.
Yeah my exhaust technically isn't exactly road legal here either ;). The bike does need a tune to run properly after it's changed however you can still ride it. Just means that the fuel to air ratios will be off and this will mean the performance is not optimum. I'm not sure if this could contribute to wear in the long term or not but I would recommend the tune as it really livens up the bike!
Hi Douglas! I got the shock and forks done at the same time. Doing the rear only will def help as it's possible to balance things out with the stock forks but I knew I was going to be tracking the bike so went ahead and upgraded it all at once. The new pistons and springs help a lot in the hard braking zones on track.
@@SimonTheSquid Ta. Just did springs and different weight oil. Still get harshness over small rippley bumps, but when on the pace, an improvement. Rear shock was a big leap.
Hi Beny! Thanks for the support and the feedback. I've gone ahead and updated that description for you now and it should have a list of mods and a link to the original manufacture for those products. :)
@@SimonTheSquid this is a sad truth for XSR's that i just notice from existing owners. They mod and mod and mod. change change change. And just end up getting rid of the bike and getting a new one. Sorry I did not mean to be negative.
It's def a bit of a popular project bike. Lots of happy owners though. I was doing a lot more track riding so wanted something more focused. Still it's an excellent street bike. I'd happily have mine back if I had the space!
Hi! These are actually Oxford lever guards. There is a space to attach mirrors on them. No mods needed to get the mirrors to fit but the inside spacer on the lever guards is a bit small for the woodcraft handlebars and needs a small sleave to make it fit nice and snug.
From what I've seen corbin probably makes the best after market seats for this bike. I've not tried them though. They are quite expensive. I've done a track day seat which is just a stock seat with a lot of the foam shaved down to help seat me "inside" the bike more. I quite like it but it's a personal preference thing.
One Mod I forgot to mention is a new set of tyres. I've got road 5s but any aftermarket tyre that isn't OEM really does make a big difference to the handling and feel of the bike.
yeah love road 5s they really lean over in the corners and really grippy. Got road 4s on the rear at the moment and I don't think they are as grippy.
@@teddingtonbear3265 yeah as I recall the other 5s were a step in the direction of trying to provide a bit more grip from the 4s. I've certainly not found the limits yet :).
@@teddingtonbear3265 I found the 4’s just as grippy to be honest. With the 5’s I get less squirm coming out of of corners, something which made the 4’s feel less grippy, but they never let go. Either way, as mr squid noted, any tyre is better than Oem. No feel, very wooden and poor in damp.
@@douglasalexander4348 you're making me feel old with the Mr squid 😂
@@SimonTheSquid It’s a thin veneer of trying to be polite. Normally lasts about 5 mins before it wears off....
Which Oxford grips is that?
...I also notice that you have the faster color :) I know the feeling!
I got the Oxford Heated Advanced Hot Grips - Sports Style. Pretty sure the yellow is the fastest but I like the stealthy black look :D
Love what you've done Simon all excellent mods. I used to have an XSR900 and I pretty much did the same mods. Handlebars I love, blipper I love, which are 2 things I didn't do to mine!!!!
Stay safe Simon
In regards to the woodcraft clip-ons, what was the comfort difference compared to the standards? Are you able to comfortably do a longish haul?
There are different options in terms of drop length on the woodcrafts. I got the 1 inch drop. It's also possible to flip those and have it be 1 inch upwards which is a lot closer to the oem position but still slightly more focused. In the 1 inch down position it is absolutely more focused than oem and not as comfortable for long haul trips. Anything under an hour is no problem whatsoever. Riding for 2 hours plus without a break would be painful but to be fair I'd want to be taking breaks with those types of seat time even with the OEM setup. One thing I do recommend is getting some tank grips installed as this really helps to support your body rather than taking all the weight on your wrists.
@@SimonTheSquid thanks this is super helpful, I'll pick some up soon. Just swapped out my tank with the bunker fiberglass (has cutouts), so no issues with seat grip here. Looking forward to giving it a go on the track with some new bar ends.
Thanks again, I love that your content is geared more toward some of us er.. performance and handling-oriented folks.
Thanks JG! It absolutely transforms the feel when on track imo. Just makes it easier to get your body out and over and also to really feel what the front end is doing. For performance type riding it's a great mod! Mind the routing of the clutch cable when you get them installed as it's a bit too long once you've lowered the bars. I've had to route mine around the head light housing to give it a bit of extra room so it doesn't get any sort of kinks in it.
Okay dude tell me more about the blipper please I need one I my life but why this one does it work with the stock slipper clutch?
Great bike just bought one need an auto blipper
Paul subbed liked
Hi Paul thanks for the comment! I've actually made a video about the woolich quickshifter here: th-cam.com/video/gsedcdSQpJM/w-d-xo.html it works with the stock slipper clutch just fine and yeah lots of fun!
Simon: Next time you buy a bike, consider buying an actual sport bike. You would find many of the things you've paid to have done come stock.
That's exactly what I ended up doing. Still don't regret the xsr though. It's an awesome cafe racer!
I just did a rear foot peg delete on mine. Looks much better!
Did you buy the black/white tank cover or did it come with it? Keep seeing it everywhere but can't seem to find it - want to throw it on my 2018 XSR!
Hi Josh! It came stock with those tank covers. Believe it was a 2019 livery they did.
@@SimonTheSquidThanks!
I bought highway 21 heated gloves. 200.00 but they work amazingly.
First day I got my XSR900 I dropped it 🤣
So my favourite mod was fitting some sliders.
Ouch! Best to get it out of the way early right? I very nearly came to dropping mine when I first got it. Just managed to catch it. Ended up lowsiding it in a parking lot anyway a few months later lol.
@@SimonTheSquid I saw your video when you came off. Those side bars saved the day!
Yes! I'm going to do a video on good protection mods soon :). They certainly saved my bacon hehe.
For my the best modification is Brembo rsc corsa corta anb heal braided brike lines :)
The pronunciation on akrapović broo😅😅
🤣🤣🤣🙈
How to turn street bike into a race machine :)
Do you think bike is adequate for the street use in its stock form, or you'd have these mods applied anyway, even if you weren't into track days?
That's a great question Bohdan, I'll be the first to admit that I am more focused on performance than your traditional rider of the xsr900. I think that if I was only interested in commuting and the occasional weekend blast I would probably still get the rear shock, the exhaust, heated grips, and brake pads done. These all translate well to the street and make for a more comfortable and enjoyable experience. The woodcrafts, forks, braided lines, and quickshifter aren't really needed in a street setting as much.
The rear suspension is garbage and the fronts practically use the spring from a Bic clicker pen!
@@infantrymatt83 that's weird. Why would Yamaha put such inferior components on a quite expensive machine like this?
Bohdan Herasymenko That's his opinion the suspension is fine for general use
@@boomerhgt Yep, bought the bike, can confirm, perfectly happy with the stock one
I have my brand new XSR900 for 2 weeks now, im not planning on "racing" with it mostly sportive touring. Im certainly planning on putting another exhaust on it. But the exhaust you have on it isnt allowed on the road here in the Netherlands because it doenst have a catalyst in it, doesnt mean im not thinking about putting it on it. doest the bike/engine needs to be tuned after putting the exhaust on it? for other mods i dont know yet need to ride more to have a better feeling for what i want better.
Yeah my exhaust technically isn't exactly road legal here either ;). The bike does need a tune to run properly after it's changed however you can still ride it. Just means that the fuel to air ratios will be off and this will mean the performance is not optimum. I'm not sure if this could contribute to wear in the long term or not but I would recommend the tune as it really livens up the bike!
Did you fit k tech cartridges at a different time to Nitron ? I found shock replacement (Black spring Nitron) really helped the front out as well.
Hi Douglas! I got the shock and forks done at the same time. Doing the rear only will def help as it's possible to balance things out with the stock forks but I knew I was going to be tracking the bike so went ahead and upgraded it all at once. The new pistons and springs help a lot in the hard braking zones on track.
@@SimonTheSquid Ta. Just did springs and different weight oil. Still get harshness over small rippley bumps, but when on the pace, an improvement. Rear shock was a big leap.
Hi there, could you put the list of you mods in the description? Would be very helpfull I guess. I think I will change the suspensions on mine aswell.
Hi Beny! Thanks for the support and the feedback. I've gone ahead and updated that description for you now and it should have a list of mods and a link to the original manufacture for those products. :)
@@SimonTheSquid Tank you Simon !
Great video and do a video telling people about your helite if you haven’t yet! Love the hat by the way
Thanks Matt! The hat is just to hide helmet hair hehe.
The best mod is removing the stock front wheel reflectors. Lmao
Hahaha love it. 😂
Why would you...its a safety feature
do you still have this XSR today?
Sadly not! I'm on the Gsxr1000r now.
@@SimonTheSquid this is a sad truth for XSR's that i just notice from existing owners. They mod and mod and mod. change change change. And just end up getting rid of the bike and getting a new one. Sorry I did not mean to be negative.
It's def a bit of a popular project bike. Lots of happy owners though. I was doing a lot more track riding so wanted something more focused. Still it's an excellent street bike. I'd happily have mine back if I had the space!
What bar end sliders are those and did you modify them to get the mirrors to fit?
Hi! These are actually Oxford lever guards. There is a space to attach mirrors on them. No mods needed to get the mirrors to fit but the inside spacer on the lever guards is a bit small for the woodcraft handlebars and needs a small sleave to make it fit nice and snug.
@@SimonTheSquid Thanks!
where did you the woodcraft clip ons?
Hi Raul thanks for the question. I bought them from revzilla and had them shipped over to the UK.
@@SimonTheSquid Thanks, always wondered if they were worth the investment but your review convinced me.
What about the seat who makes a good seat?
From what I've seen corbin probably makes the best after market seats for this bike. I've not tried them though. They are quite expensive. I've done a track day seat which is just a stock seat with a lot of the foam shaved down to help seat me "inside" the bike more. I quite like it but it's a personal preference thing.
@@SimonTheSquid Ithank you. I wanted to go to Daytona bike week to see the venders and visit the Corbin tent but but to busy.
English or Dutch roads? 😅
English :)
@@SimonTheSquid thought you’re in The Netherlands during filming 👍🏻
No just a random quiet(ish) street in England hehe.