Blog — xsr900

Yamaha XSR900 Abarth

Growing up I was obsessed with the exploits of the heroic drivers who pedalled featherlight, rocket propelled coffins around the public roads of Sicily and mainland Italy to compete in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia races. The underfunded garagista Abarth team fielded some of the most fabulously uncompromised machinery which, to a school boy, looked like they were travelling at warp speed at all times. But Karl Abarth started out life as a motorcycle frame designer and racer, a quick one too, whooping the factory rider's arses, aged just 16. The 1970s saw Fiat take hold of Abarth's reigns...