It is common for us to write about a motorcycle with a special story, and in a way, they are all very personal. Still, this might be the most special motorcycle we have covered to date. This is a story about a man that does not compromise.

Controversial Design

Let’s start with the bike we have at hand. It started out its life as a Ducati 999; a controversial motorcycle designed by the famous Pierre Terblanche and produced in the Ducati factory from 2003 till 2006. Why was it controversial? Well, first off, Terblanche superseded Massimo Tamburini, the man that designed the magnificent Ducati 916, among others. Tamburini designed motorcycles for Cagiva, Ducati, MV Agusta and even founded Bimota. All of his designs were basically iconic. Does are some pretty big shoes to fill for Terblanche.

Terblanche had his own style, which wasn’t always liked by everyone. Despite the odd looking double stacked headlight, and sharp lines of the original 999 and its smaller displaced 749 sibling, Terblanche’s design grew a cult following. Also because the 999 was an incredibly capable sport bike, with various victories in the Superbike World Championship. Compared to today’s figures one might not be impressed with the specs. However, nearly 20 years ago, it was a totally different story. So far the history lesson.

A man from Twello

So how did this Ducati 999 end up in the workshop of the dynamic Dutch duo Moto Adonis? Well, THAT’S an interesting story! This may sound like a story you would hear in a bar. Maybe one to take with a pinch of salt. Not this one. So here goes.

A few years ago, a man from Twello, a small town in the Eastern part of the Netherlands, had a traumatic accident. As a matter of fact, it was so bad, that he lost his left lower leg. Since then, he learned how to use a prosthetic leg and moved on with his life. This man had a vivid dream. He dreamt that one day he would be able to ride a sports bike. Not any sports bike, but a Ducati 999 nonetheless. He was so focused on achieving his dream, that he purchased a 999, bought a retro styled fairing kit, and tried to build the bike he had dreamt of. There was one major issue though: his leg. No matter how you look at it, a left leg and foot is needed to control the gearbox. Despite this setback, he kept moving forward, and found the boys of Moto Adonis. Together they came up with a plan.

Shifting Gears

We’ll cut straight to the chase. To deal with the gear shifting challenge, a pneumatically actuated manual shifter was created, which allows the rider to shift gears with the push of 2 buttons on the left clip-on. To give the prosthetic leg a safe place to rest, and to keep the motorcycle in balance, a modified floorboard was created from scratch. This is what engineering is about! To make the 999 look like a million bucks, the fairing kit got customized to suit and the side panels were ditched. The tank got modified to flow with the rest of the design, which as you can see, is heavily inspired by 1970’s race bikes. The subframe had to be modified and now houses the battery.

The seat was custom made and designed to look like a horse saddle; courtesy of Miller Kustom Upholstery. Looking closer and you will see an LED taillight, which is actually of a Yamaha XSR700. A round 7” headlight adds to the classic look, as well as the round Motogadget speedo. To custom paint job really pops when you see the Ducati, with a Moto Adonis unique twist to the Italian Tri-Colori. Not red, white and green, but red, gold and blue. Ohlins suspension ensure proper tractability, and the SC Project silencers add to the audible character of the liquid cooled L-twin from Bologna. Combined with the unique, classic Ducati logo on the tank, we think this is the best looking 999 in the world!

There’s more…

There is a little bit more to this story that we would like to share with you. The original prosthetic leg had to get irreversibly modified to allow the owner to sit properly on the motorcycle. This was a bit of a problem because he only had 1 prosthetic leg, and another one would cost a fortune. Also, not one single prosthetists was willing to modify a leg for motorcycle riding. Fortunately, the guys from Moto Adonis were willing to do the modification, provided a leg was available. When word got around, another motorcycle rider with a modified motorcycle and a prosthetic leg offered a spare prosthetic leg. Legend has it that both are now riding buddies and have become close friends. Now that is a story worth telling.

Builder details:
Moto Adonis
Website
Instagram
Facebook

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Back in 2020, BikeBrewers were invited to join the first edition of the Café Racer Fest in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. Unfortunately COVID had paralyzed the world and travel restrictions caused us to miss out on that event.

We followed the happening on social media while the enthusiasm of participants, visitors and bike builders vibrated through our screens. We knew we missed out on something special! We made a promise there and then, that we would do everything to make it to the 2021 edition. As we are always true to our word, there was no reason not to make the trip this time.

To team members Ron and Adnane it felt nearly as good as going on a road trip even though two flights, three cars but no bikes were involved in getting from Amsterdam to Kyustendil.

Arriving close to midnight, the organizer of the Café Racer Fest and spiritual father of the event, Ivan Mushev of Bull Moto Custom, had kindly arranged transportation from Sofia airport to the ski resort up in the mountains about half an hour up from town up a dark and twisty country road with al sort of wildlife crossing our headlights.

Early start
In order to make the most of the day breakfast was served early and we took off to the centre of town. The empty square would soon be the stage of an extraordinary event, attracting an sizable crowd of both participants and spectators. On the plaza of this nearly 40.000 inhabitant’s rich city, volunteers were busy setting the stage for things to come.

The Café Racer Fest harbours not only custom bikes but also offers a stage for vintage motorcycles and cars from all makes and years. There was quite a collection of incredibly beautiful Pre-Perestroika MZ’s, Jawa’s and Ural sidecars. Truly as if time stood still.

Talking about time, it is funny what the years do with your sense of beauty. Bikes that were considered hideous in the 60’s and 70’s Western Europeans are now considered attractive by the same crowd. Thanks to younger demographics, discovering the fun in riding, Eastern Bloc classic icons such as the 60’s MZ have now grown from being more hideous than the word itself to ultra-cool! We bet there will be quite some young urban riders who would not mind to be spotted on one of those former ‘monstrosities’, were it not that in most large European cities, those two-strokes will never be seen spewing their distinguishable blue exhaust plumes again.

Ride out
Prior to the start of the event, a number of bikers and bike builders met at the local gas station for a ride out to the venue. Little over 150 bikers, nearly of which were modified in one way or another, joined in this brotherly gathering. The atmosphere was incredible; there is something quite special about seeing cafe racers being used for they were built.

Choices, choices
There were three contemporary categories; Modern Classics, Scrambler & Brat, and Café Racers. BikeBrewers were given the task of selecting the Top 3 in the “Café Racer” category. We were given about twenty projects to choose from and had about an hour to finalize our task.

As we always do when judging bikes, we put together a matrix awarding points on a scale of 1-10 for elements such as the ‘Wow!’ factor, originality, quality of work & amp; paint, and craftsmanship and set out separately to do our first independent judging.

You’d expect this to be easy and give clear comparable results. No such thing! We had quite a hefty discussion and with the clock ticking away it required a final walk around to re-evaluate our choices. At the ‘strike of twelve’ we managed to come up with a Top 3 we could both fully subscribe to.

And the winner is…
A 1994 Yamaha XV1100 had scored high points on both our lists and was chosen ‘Best of show’ in this year’s Café Racer category. Its owner, Borislav Alexsov, has put quite a lot of hours in building this machine and is rightfully proud of the result. 2nd place went to Vencislav Angelov with his stunning 1984 Honda CBX 750, and 3rd place went to Kaloian Ivanchev Chekelev with his very cool BMW R75 which saw daylight in 1982.

All top 3 finalists were showered with gifts from local sponsors. To top it off BikeBrewers’ came bearing gifts from our partners Felix Auto Moto and SA1NT! adding a helmet and a sought after twill trucker cap to the basket of each of the category winners!

Come rain come shine
Bulgarians have been spoiled with loads of sunshine over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, rain was predicted during the hours of the event. The start of the award ceremony for the café racer category was launched with a clap of thunder followed by a slight drizzle. That made us feel like home instantly.

Luckily the audience was not scared away that easily, and there was quite a cheer from the several hundred people on the square. According to the organizers, the total attendance during this year’s edition the audience grew with 20% to around 2.500 visitors who meandered amongst all the beauty displayed on the town square this morning.

The next edition
Writing this post just before the party organized by the Cafe Racer Club Bulgaria, we are already spoiled by the kindness of the Bulgarians we met on the way, especially by the members of the café racer community.

As much as we love attending established events in Western European countries, we are always on the lookout for new, exciting and more grass roots experiences. This scene is way bigger and vibrant than you would ever dare to imagine. Everyone we met was proud of the results of their labour and insights are shared freely among this close-knit society.

We will be back for sure and hope the organizers can look forward to an even bigger crowd in 2022. Being the only international visitors this year, we share our experience with the knowledge that this is likely to be the last time we enjoyed this exclusivity.

Given the fact that there is a very lively local scene and magnificent twisty country roads and awesome virgin off road tracks to be travelled freely, it is likely many adventurous bikers from the West will be heading East next year.

Photos by:
Georgi Georgiev Photography
Kalina Kalcheva
BikeBrewers

The post REPORT: Café Racer Fest 2021 by Café Racer Club Bulgaria appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

1. BMW R nineT Café Racer by K-Speed
In 2018 K-Speed broke the internet with their incredibly elegant yet mean looking BMW R nineT Café Racer. It is safe to say that since then the Thailand based outfit K-Speed has grown out to be one of the industry top-tier bike builders.

The BMW R nineT is one of those machines that can be put under the famous words “Veni, Vidi, Vici”. Right from the introduction back in 2014, it was clear that BMW aimed at a big piece of the retro bike scene as we know it today. Next to an impressive catalog of custom parts, big brands started created complete lines of parts, especially for the R nineT. And BMW bootstrapped different editions of the Beemer, like the Racer and Scrambler. Nevertheless, I think we’ll be stuck to this popular boxer the next couple of years (probably decades). But is that a problem? Of course not! It’s a very good bike and I love to see them getting customized.

2. BMW K100 Cafe Racer by Retrorides
Another oldie but goldie: a BMW K100 Café Racer by Retrorides. With this bike, the Brazilian brothers Gustavo and Rodrigo Lourenço showed what they are capable of and that they were able to redefine the standards for building cafe racer, still the #1 bike for cafe racer projects. With so many unique creations it’s hard to stand out, but the K100 simply hit a sweet spot. While Gustavo and Rodrigo have a long-time history in building hot rods, they sure know how to make something special out of a two-wheeled machine.

3. YAMAHA TRX850 Café Racer by Seb Hipperson
It was no secret that the Yamaha TRX850 was meant as a direct competitor of the Ducati 900SS. Just like the Duc, the TRX850 had a 2 cylinder engine in a tube frame, a sporty riding position and a bikini fairing. The most exciting about the TRX was its engine. It was based on the Yamaha TDM850 and had 5 valves per cylinder (3 in and 2 out) but the TRX was the first production motorcycle with a 270°  crank (or 90° if you prefer) with the so called “crossplane” technology. With this the parallel twin produced sound and feeling of a V-twin. A technology Yamaha also used for the Yamaha XSR700 which results in a great power band. The 80hp and 85Nm are available at very low RPM’s.

Unlike the 900SS, the TRX was not a big sales hit, but amongst motorcycle lovers the bike is called one of the “best kept secrets” and a “forgotten gem”. Bespoke furniture maker Seb Hipperson from Londen had that same love for the TRX and decided to build his own TRX850 Cafe Racer. Watch and enjoy! The bike was showed to the public at the Bike Shed London back in 2015.

4. Honda CB250 Café Racer by Black Bean Motorcycles
The Honda CB is and always will be a great base bike for a café racer. Especially the 4 cylinder bikes with the CB750 and CB550 being dominant. Pretty obvious, since these were real sales canons in the 70s, 80s and even 90s. But Honda also produced CB’s with a parallel twin cylinder like the CB500(t), CB400 and CB360. The small Honda CB250G, which you see below, was mainly produced for the European market and is only produced between 1974 and 1976. This little machine puts out 30hp and had a six-speed gearbox, which was pretty odd those days. Honda claimed it to be “one of the finest sport-touring motorcycles available”. 

The Honda CB250 Cafe Racer you see here is built by Blackbean Motorcycles, a German workshop in the heart of Munich.

5. Moto Guzzi California Café Racer by Radical Guzzi
Born on the drawing table of Sylvain Berneron, better known as the Holographic Hammer and executed by Radical Guzzi from Germany: a real muscle bike café racer based on the extremely bulky Moto Guzzi California 1400 8v.The plan was to create a high torque café racer, so the idea was to use the massive 1400cc engine of the California. But to lose the bulky character, they had to strip down the weight of this machine, which originally is 322kg (dry). They’ve managed to reduce that fat to 195kg! A lot of high end parts and custom parts where uses like: seat and frame, wheel hubs, triple clamps for the 58mm Marzocchi front suspension, Brembo brakes, Öhlins rear shocks, custom exhaust etc. The standard power outpot and torque of 96hp and 120Nm were tuned to 105hp and 138Nm, thanks to Keihin FCR 41 carbs and custom exhaust system.

The post Top 10 BikeBrewers Café Racers Hall of Fame: Part 1 appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Long run
Some of the happiest people on the planet live and work in Hamamatsu, Japan. Yamaha introduced the XJR 1200 in Europe in 1995 and has continued to sell the XJR in Europe until 2016, but not without a few changes throughout the years. Most notably, the XJR got a 100CC more lung capacity, boasting a healthy 100 hp and 108 Nm of torque. Not bad considering that the engine is an air/oil-cooled unit. Overengineered even, some might say. In a similar way to Moto Guzzi, the XJR really started to become cool again around 2015, right near the end of its life cycle. There where Moto Guzzi decided to go full throttle with their retro bikes, Yamaha pulled out the plug of the XJR model to make room for the Faster Sons-series XSR and SCR. And to be honest, the XJR wouldn’t have survived the ever-stricter emission regulations without some serious R&D money being thrown at it. Which brings me back to that very first sentence. A run of 21 years is incredible and a remarkable achievement. Yamaha’s R&D-department can be proud of itself, because we feel that the XJR has become an iconic powerhouse.

Sculpture
Being an iconic motorcycle almost automatically means that inspiration is drawn from it. And that is exactly the story behind Sergey Smirnov’s Sculpt Moto built XJR 1300, dubbed the Kintaro. Specialized in Café Racers exclusively, the Latvian based craftsman considers each of his builds as a sculpture, hence the name “Sculpt Moto”. This means that in reality, they aren’t bike-builders but artists. We dig that. So, why choose an XJR 1300? The answer is simple. The XJR is a timeless classic that carries some really nice lines already. On top of that, XJR owners usually ride their bikes for many years. This makes it a popular motorcycle that still satisfies the needs of its owners.

Samurai!
The bike we see here today is a 2001 Yamaha XJR 1300SP full fat version, sourced in Germany. The SP-models come with Ohlins suspension as standard. Being a Japanese motorcycle, inspiration for this build was drawn from legendary Kintaro samurai. This Yamaha stands for the embodiment of the ancient legend of the samurai Kintarō and the power of the mysterious mask Hannya, which is considered a strong amulet for samurai.

Overhauling
A lot of work has been done in this build. The list of modifications is extensive, given the large number of details that have gone into this project. The process began with complete disassembly of the donor bike. The sub-frame was modified, and the frame got powder coated, as well as the swing arm and forks.  The forks were upgraded with new Wirth springs, oil seals, bearings replaced, and oil. The engine was rebuilt and repainted, and the carbs received an upgrade with a DynoJet Stage-3 kit.

But there is more:

• Metal parts chrome plated
• Detachable seat cowl with handmade black leather seat – “Fish Scales”
• Exclusive custom paint in Candy-Tangerine-sandpearl-metal flake
• KINEO spoked wheels
• Adjustable ABM clip-on set
• Rizoma Mirrors
• AceWell speedo/tacho with custom bracket
• LED Headlight 7” with CNC headlight brackets
• License plate bracket
• Fork gaiters
• Custom made radiator grille
• Custom made metal side covers
• K&N Air Filters
• LSL adjustable footrest
• Chrome Dina mufflers, new exhaust gaskets
• Custom made connecting pipes and custom made exhaust brackets
• Front bikini fairing and aluminium handmade Club-Style “87” side plates

The result of Sculpt Moto’s work speaks for itself. The combination of airbrush and the colors gives this XJR 1300 a very classy look. Not only that, but the quality of this build comes near a factory finish, giving the XJR a new lease on life. The question we always ask is: how does it ride? Apparently, it rides like a powerful sports car. Sergey Smirnov, we salute you sir!

Builder details:
Sculpt Moto
Website
Instagram
Facebook

The post Yamaha XJR1300 Café Racer “Kintaro” by SCULPT Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Oh, and we didn’t number them from 1 to 21, this was totally impossible for us and kept us arguing. And next to that: we didn’t want to place one custom bike above the other. So if you don’t mind: find the best one for yourself!

BMW R168 by Kacerwagen

[more info]

BMW “Alpha” by Mark Atkinson and Mehmet Doruk Erdem.

[more info]

Honda Rebel 300 by Zeus Custom

[more info]

BMW K100 by Retrorides

[more info]

Ducati 848 Evo Racer by NCT

[more info]

Moto Guzzi “Dustbin” by Craigh Rodsmith

[more info]

Yamaha XSR700 by Ironwood

[more info]

Yamaha XV920 by Ugly Motors

[more info]

Ducati 900SS by Deep Creek

[more info]

Yamaha TR1 by Moto Adonis

[more info]

Honda CR500 by C’s Garage

[more info]

“Fusqvarna” FX650 by Le Garage Felix

[more info]

Honda CB750 by Ace Custom Shop

[more info]

Moto Guzzi 950 by Stile Italiano

[more info]

Honda CBX1000 by Michael Kopec

[more info]

Yamaha XSR700 by Motomax Metz

[more info]

Honda CB750 by Wrench Kings

[more info]

Yamaha DT125 Scrambler by Ranger Korat

[more info]

Honda GL500 Silverwing by Motoism

[more info]

Yamaha WR400 by Meccanica Serrao d’Aquino

[more info]

Kawasaki Ninja 250 by Mr. Ride

[more info]

The post 21 Best Custom Motorcycles of 2017 appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

The apple does not fall far from the tree

We recently came across 29-year-old Anton Knutsson From Sweden on Instagram. This being his primary communication channel for the bikes he produces under his company name ‘Injustice Customs’. The bike that caught our attention was quite a stunner and within the hour we were online with our new friend from Stockholm. This son of a former European motocross champion was born with petrol in his veins and literally grew up riding bikes, the first one being a Yamaha P50 which he got for his second birthday (..). It has been bikes ever since, although he took a year off in 2008 after a bad motocross accident, which left him with a broken hip and two broken arms simultaneously. It already hurts just writing about it.

Riding & designing

But, with a 24/7 focus on bikes, it is no wonder he bounced back after seeing all his friends starting to ride street bikes.  He started off on a Ducati 1200 Monster, but it was not entirely to his liking. Anton was convinced he could improve on the looks as well on-road handling and got to work on the Italian. The bike attracted attention and was soon sold to a guy who came up to our rider and said he wanted to buy the Ducati. Having tasted the thrill of customizing, the designer had a mind full of ideas what to do with his next project and now had the cash to start his next project. The sale really jumpstarted his hobby and the rider turned wrencher.

Turning pro

It took a few years for him to grow it from hobby to business, but our man from Stockholm has been a pro builder since 2016. When asked about his preference, he demurely responded ‘wrenching’ being his favorite. He would have loved to say ‘riding’, but the weather up North often is not very inviting to take the bike out to ride in the rain and/or cold.

A few things he shared with us about riding are his antics when the weather permits him to ride. Signalling where is about to go is not one of his strong points, although it irritates him when others show similar behavior. Speeding is another, which could be hazardous to your wallet as fines in Sweden are notoriously high. The best, however, originates from his background in motocross. He recently jumped a brand new Harley Davidson Roadster. We would have loved to witness that!

His best ride so far? From Vancouver (Canada) down south to San Francisco. As the Swede describes it “the sceneries make you feel you are riding in a car commercial”.  Dreaming about great rides he muses that riding in Australia or South America would be kind of cool too. His reaction to a curvy road? “Fun”!

Using technology

When our bearded friends decide it is time to take things seriously, all other things become side-issues. As a result of Anton already has a full order book for the first part of 2018 not even having celebrated his first anniversary as a pro-builder. Quite a feat. Building iconic bikes with an instantly recognizable signature is what he wants to achieve. When you see an ‘Injustice’ bike on the road there will be no mistaking it for another brand.

Being a ‘Millennial’ means using technology as a base. At ‘Injustice’ our designer uses CAD-programs to get started. A CNC tops his wish list, with Anton looking forward to being able to manufacture parts straight from the computer. By doing so, he would also go straight for the title “Master of exhaust manufacturing”.

We asked Anton how he managed to get a full order book. His response is simple: “Stockholm is not exactly a gigantic city. People come up to me in the street and word gets around quickly. To generate international  attention I use Instagram.” As far as he is concerned the customer is not always King. When someone comes up with suggestions for a build that the Swede does not agree with, he will certainly try to convince them to choose an alternative. Thus making sure the end product deserves the Injustice branding.

Inspiring heroes

When we ask builders about their source of inspiration they often come up with intriguing names. Anton’s hero Alec Monopoly is no exception. This contemporary artist is known for his provocative designs and we can’t wait for an Injustice bike based on his art.

As a matter of fact, this Stockholm wrencher would love to sink his teeth into a custom build for Alec himself. Would be interesting to see what happens when these two creative minds get together. Closer to home, there is London based Charlie Stockwell, the “Mastermind of custom and design at  Warr’s Harley Davidson” whose influence has also permeated the Scandinavian. “This guy never misses a detail in his designs” Anton explains. “He has the highest quality in the business which sets a great example for me. I have my own creative views on where to take a project and my background in motocross gives me a very good feeling when it comes to minute changes in settings which make a major difference in the riding experience also.”

2014 Triumph Scrambler

The featured bike in this article is based on a 2014 Triumph Scrambler. “The bike is a great base for custom projects. It has a great classic look, is modern, reliable and does not have tremendously complicated systems” the builder shares. Its owner is a fast-paced big city tech entrepreneur during weekdays. Over the weekend this guy turns into a wild adrenalin pumping junkie and Anton wanted to reflect this in the design of the bike. BikeBrewers agree he has managed to do just that.

While the Stockholmer concentrated on designing the Triumph, he got help from outside with some of the specialist’s jobs. With clear instructions what to do, the painter delivered an outstanding job doing justice to the overall composition. With some assistance from the UK, the ECU was reset to maximize the results of the changes made to the bike’s inner being.

A very nice color scheme completes the picture. Not too flashy (except for the lightning – joke) and tasteful. The choice for the handlebars and the simple Motogadget clockwork give the Scrambler a beautiful very clean look.

We love what this Scandinavian magician has done to the bike. Currently, he is riding a HD Sportster which will make a transformation to ‘tracker’ this winter. We already look forward to seeing this project when completed and promise to share this with our fans.

Modifications and new parts:

• Motogadget Speedometer
• JVB front and rear fender, seat and headlight
• Renthal handlebar and handlebar mounts
• LSL brake and clutch grip
• Tech rear shocks
• Progressive front springs
• LED indicators
• K&N air and oil filter
• TriumphTwinPower breather and ECU-mapping
• Continental TK8 Tires
• SC-Project exhaust

The post Triumph Scrambler by Injustice Customs appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

My friend Pepo Rosell from XTR Pepo is one of those builders that simply keeps on going and going. You can almost set a timer on it to expect a new build from him. While he has a strong legacy with Ducati’s, he’s never afraid to take on a non-mainstream base bike to turn into something special. Today he surprised me with this awesome Suzuki Bandit Cafe Racer called “Grey Flash”. Unlike a lot of XTR’s builds, it’s has a more classic and less race look, but as you may expect, the modification list is pretty extensive. He took a ’98 Suzuki Bandit 600 and turned this rather boring forensic machine into a real desirable bike with up to date specs.

The bike was completely stripped and a lot of parts from a ’92 GXSR750 were used like the USD fork, brakes, front and rear wheel, front mudguard, swingarm,  and rear sets. Of course, he ditched the subframe and created a new one to fit the beautiful custom (Italian) leather seat with a nice “caferacerish” rear hump. The GSXR swingarm was a bit modified to fit a CBR600 rear shock. This will give the machine a way better handling and more serious braking performance. The original gas tank was kept in place and got a nice raw steel finish, which perfectly suits the brown leather seat.

And of course, Pepo used his usual list of mods like:

• Frentubo brake lines
• Custom brake and clutch levers
• Custom clip ons
• LIPO battery
• Spark megaphone muffler
• K&N filters
• NG brake rotors
• MASH headlight on custom bracket
• Vicma LED indicators
• T&T speedo and control lights
• Tsubaki gold chain
• Montesa rear light
• And a lot of custom brackets…

The post Suzuki Bandit Cafe Racer by XTR appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Another custom XSR700?!? Yes…

Since the introduction of the Yamaha XSR700 back in 2016, I predicted that we could a lot of customized versions. With the XSR-series, Yamaha openly aimed at an audience that wants to distinguish themselves with their motorcycles. For this, they offer a complete range of custom, bolt-on parts to personalize the ride. Next to that, Yamaha launched their “Faster Son” campaign and the Yamaha Yard Built program, challenging builders all over the world to customize their Yamaha’s. So it was to be expected that Yamaha is heavily involved in the custom motorcycle scene. And this is already the fourth custom XSR700 on BikeBrewers.com this month…! Maybe this is “XSR700 month?”. Well, I just didn’t want to keep this one for myself.

This XSR700 Tracker right here is submitted by John Hand of Wasp Motorcycles. John in a big fan of the brand new parallel twin. And if you’ve ever ridden one, you know why. The liquid cooled engine puts out 75hp, but more important: 68Nm of torque and delivers the power all over the RPM-range. Combine this with a pretty light weight and there’s one word that pops up: FUN! And John just wanted to extrapolate that big fun-factor and decided to create a XSR700 Tracker with some really cool upgrades.

He took a big fat WP USD fork from a KTM and a radial, single Brembo braking setup to make clear that he was pretty serious with this bike. Using this fork opened up the possibility to use a Talon hub together with SM pro rims, for a set of laced wheels. The last three custom XSR’s also ditched the cast wheels and I just love it (Yamaha: maybe you should put this option in your catalog…). He placed a pretty high and wide handlebar to give the rider full control when racing the dirt track. The aluminum gas tank and custom radiator housing are custom-made by Lamb Engineering. For a more classic look, John made a pretty odd modification on the rear: he converted the bike from a monoshock setup into a dual shock setup. For this, he fabricated a complete new frame and swingarm out of lightweight tubular steel to get two YSS shocks in place, making the new frame meant saving weight, in comparison to the frame and swing arm on the standard XSR, John managed to shave over 10kg just on his new lightweight frame. The frame was welded using oxygen / accetaline torch and bronze welding rods, reason for this is unlike MIG or TIG welding, bronze welding adds some more flexibility, it’s not so stiff, so is has less chance of cracking or breaking in an accident. John has been working at Wasp Motorcycles for nearly 7 years his job is building frames and bronze welding, he says “bronze welding is the best, can’t beat it, it’s a shame because it’s a dying art. I’m only 22 years old , so I want to keep this old school way of making frames going”.

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I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but this is already the third custom Yamaha XSR700 this month. They just come in from all different angles and in all kinds of categories. This XSR700 was introduced last week at the Wheels & Waves festival in Biarritz. It’s a commissioned build for the Yamaha Yard Built project and is built by Marcus Walz of Walzwerk Racing (which you may know from this Triumph or this Ducati). It’s called “Apex Ruler” and it’s pretty clear that this machine is ready to race…

It’s not easy to place this machine in a box, let’s just say that it’s a mix between a tracker and a street fighter. This radical machine is equipped with some pretty badass upgrades like Wilbers suspension (front + rear), an adjustable LSL-handlebar, steel brake lines and adjustable levers. It’s pretty clear that Marcus aimed to create a serious track weapon, so he also reduced the weight to just under 150kg. Most weight is saved by swapping the stock wheels for RotoBox carbon wheels, placing a lightweight SC-Project exhaust system and new bodywork made from 2mm plated aluminum. The bike also got a DNA Racing airbox, a Power Commander V. To put the power more efficiently to the rear wheel, a 520 racing chain conversion took place. The electrical system is built around the MotoGadget M-Unit. To keep the bike stuck to the track, it wears a set of Pirelli Supercorsa racing tires. To wink back to the old days of Yamaha, it got a beautiful block pattern striping from the old 2-stroke RD’s.

Unless the fact that this was a one-time project, Marcus already got four (!) orders to build an identical machine during Wheels & Waves…

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