Hello everyone and welcome to Motos and Friends, a weekly Podcast from Ultimate Motorcycling.

This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Filling the gap between the entry-level R3, and the flagship superbike R1, Yamaha’s YZF-R7 is a great supersport machine that perfectly balances real performance with rider comfort. Check it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or of course you can see it for yourself at your local Yamaha dealer.

This Podcast is also brought to you by the new, state-of-the-art Schuberth C5. The modular C5 is a flip up design that blends safety with amazing quietness within its compact, light weight design. Visit Schuberth.com for more information.

This week, Senior Editor Nic de Sena talks to us about the uber-cool new Yamaha XSR 900. This gorgeous, retro-styled machine is another take on the awesome MT-09. There are some differences other than styling though, so it’s interesting to hear Nic’s thoughts on how this version of the three-cylinder 900 from Yamaha fits within the model range.  

In the second segment, Editor-at-Large Neale Bayly talks with a true racing icon, Mr Daytona himself—Scott Russell. Hailing from Georgia in the deep South, the former World Superbike and AMA Superbike Champion won the Daytona 200 a record five times, and also the Suzuka 8 Hours in 1993. Scott is the all-time leader in 750 cc AMA Supersport wins, and in 2005 he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.  

This is Part 1 of 2, where Scott takes us from his humble beginnings on the back roads of Georgia and the start of his racing career, through to the massive crash at Daytona that ended that chapter of his life. A notorious bad-boy off track as well as shockingly naturally talented on track, Scott’s raw telling in his signature southern drawl of how things unfolded for him, is an absolute must listen.  

From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!

2022 Yamaha XSR900 First Rise Review