Minus the mid-century innovations by Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki, one could argue that motorcycling might be a lost art today. With their small engines, low profiles, and street-rider stances, these lightweight hallmarks of design give new riders all over the world a way into the fray, and experienced riders the perfect minimal ride.
These days, Yamaha motorcycles are at the core of the custom scene. They offer the perfect platforms for stylish urban rides with cheap price tags.
Models like the Yamaha XS650, SR400, XSR700 and XSR900 are among a legendary line of Yamaha motorcycles that beg to be turned into café racers, bobbers and trackers—and they fill our galleries of great builds.
There was a subtle takeaway from this year’s EICMA show: adventure motorcycles are more popular than ever. As well as the regular slew of new model upgrades, we saw a hefty dose of nostalgia in concepts like the Husqvarna Norden 901 and Scrambler Ducati Desert X. While modern dual-sports have become angular and over-designed, those…
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We’ve got used to heavy motorcycles. These days, anything around 450 pounds or 200 kilos is regarded as light. And most of the bestselling bikes in the USA weight 600 pounds or more. In the days before emissions controls, fuel injection systems and electronic aids, bikes were smaller and lighter. And in Europe especially, compact…
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We’re huge fans of the Japanese custom scene. But it’s not just the motorcycles that captivate us: we’re also conscious of how Japanese creativity influences the custom scene around the globe. Many elements of the universal flat-seated cafe racer genre originate in Japan—whether builders realize it or not. But this tasty Yamaha SR400 takes more…
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It’s an eclectic pick this week—from a Honda Monkey chopper to a one-off Triumph prototype from the 80s. We’ve also got a subtly tweaked Yamaha XSR, a hopped-up BMW, and a classy XS650 scrambler.
Read more »We don’t see many Yamaha XS1100s around these days, which is a shame—it was an absolute beast of a machine. It was…
Read more »Based in a country where sub-250cc bikes rule, it’s no surprise that K-Speed has a serious knack for transforming small-displacement models into…
Read more »Bad Winners is one of those shops that consistently do good work. It’s owned by Frenchman Walid Ben Lamine, who has an…
Read more »Yamaha’s latest push into the European custom scene has yielded some of the best XSR builds yet. The most recent Yard Built…
Read more »After an incredible seven years, Yamaha’s Yard Built custom program is still firing on all cylinders. In 2012 it kicked off with…
Read more »Any custom Yamaha XSR700 we feature is sure to spark discussion about the base bike’s design. The XSR700 draws criticism for its…
Read more »If you live in the USA, you probably won’t have seen the Yamaha MT-125. But the mini ‘hyper naked’ is popular in…
Read more »Every time Maarten Poodt completes another project, we feel like we’re looking at some obscure, classic Yamaha that we’ve never heard of.…
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