Learner-legal fun! New Yamaha XSR125 Legacy

Seems like it wasn’t that long ago we were complaining that European riders got the Yamaha XSR125 and we didn’t! Well—as it turns out, that was almost exactly a year ago, and we can start complaining all over again, since Euros now get the cool XSR125 Legacy, and we don’t.

The Legacy is an up-spec’d version of the XSR125, but the changes are mostly cosmetic. In today’s world of emissions regulations and other rules, it would be too hard to justify hot-rodding the engine—not that you can hot-rod this engine much more anyway. It’s the same liquid-cooled four-valve single that Yamaha uses in the MT125 and R125, with a variable valve timing system that adds a little more low-end punch while also allowing the bike to rev up to 15 hp at 10,000 rpm—certainly a respectable figure for a 125.

The XSR 125 Legacy has similar paint to some of those old Midnight Special models from Yamaha. Photo: Yamaha

With that in mind, the bike gets a new retro paint scheme: Lots of gold and silver, and aluminum trim (including a new cover for the exhaust system). Squinting at the photo, there’s a lot of colour similarities to Yamaha’s old Midnight Special series from the early 1980s, but in a machine that’s sized much closer to an RD or one of Yamaha’s other small-cc bikes from that era (many of which never came to Canada).

You can see one mechanical change-up to the bike in the photos: Instead of cast wheels, Yamaha went with spoked 17-inch rims, with a coating of gold paint. They’re mounted with Metzeler Karoo tires.

UK out-the-door pricing is £4,950, which is roughly $8,100 CAD.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Yep,that retail price plus all the dealer rip off add-ons ( documentation fee….YEAH,Right ! ) tire levy (in BC)
    plus freight/PDI,sales taxes….I say send the kinder to the nearest electric bicycle dealer and forget about
    an “entry level” motorcycle that can ever succeed. This dilemma existed 20 years ago when a kid could buy
    a used 5.0 litre Mustang for less than an entry level Japanese bike. Rotsa Ruck !

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