Yamaha XSR900 Gets XR9 Carbona Pikes Peak Racing Treatment

Yard Built Yamaha XSR900 is ready to race up the mountain.

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.

Bottpower’s Carbona kit takes the XSR900 from retro throwback to space-age racer without any frame modifications.Aaron Richardson

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 Yard Built kit apes the specials that Bottpower built to dominate the 2017 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.Aaron Richardson

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.

The XR9 Carbona takes cues from the Yamaha R1 and R6, working in the sportbikes’ round LED marker lights and a number plate in a nod to Yamaha’s racing heritage.Aaron Richardson
Bottpower’s goal was to focus the visual mass around the engine, giving the bike the appearance of a muscular, nose-down stance.Aaron Richardson
The kit is being sold to retail customers, but even on the street it looks like it just rolled off paddock stands.Aaron Richardson
The kit includes a new fuel tank cover and a carbon fiber tailsection. All those pieces can be added and removed to the stock mounting points, so it’s possible to revert to the stock bike if you want.Aaron Richardson
The Carbona kit is just for the visuals; the running gear and suspension are unchanged.Aaron Richardson
The long, thin, LED headlights in the Carbona kit give off a very Tron vibe.Aaron Richardson
New air intakes are carbon fiber and molded into the front number plate.Aaron Richardson
From the back three-quarter, you get a great sense of just how much carbon fiber Bottpower worked into the XR9 build.Aaron Richardson