Review: Yamaha XSR 155 | RX-100, is that YOU?

A few years ago, in a biker-to-biker in-person conversation with two senior officials from Yamaha Japan, I asked them if at all Yamaha will ever bring the RX-100 back.

- SYED SHIRAZ SHAH

Photos: Arina Haider

I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear from them. As I had expected, they said that recreating the RX-100's magic in a four-stroke format would be next to impossible. They further elaborated that first of all, the bike would need to be at least 200 cc, and making it a featherweight would require exotic materials which would shoot up the price significantly. If they can’t do that, they concluded, then they would refrain from taking any halfhearted measures because they would never want to dilute the legacy of the RX-100.Therefore, like I have been saying for years, the RX-100 isn’t coming back. The RD350 isn't either, obviously. That should also make it clear to you that the XSR 155 isn’t a four-stroke RX-100. It doesn’t have to be. However, will it appeal to those brought up on the RX series of motorcycles in the eighties and nineties? Well, you'll get to know that in this story for sure, in addition to the regular stuff that comprises a review.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

This is a gorgeous motorcycle, ladies and gentlemen. It doesn’t have the slim demeanour of the RX-100, and like I said just a while ago that it doesn’t have to either, but it still does proper justice to the term “modern-retro” from all angles. Surprisingly, the oval indicators and mirrors don’t look out of place on the XSR, which otherwise has a predominantly “true-to-a-retro” circular design theme. Plus, those mirrors are actually useful, which is something circular units can only dream of.