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.
We’re always curious about where custom motorcycle builders find their inspiration. But the creator of this aggressive Yamaha R1 cites an unlikely source: the beloved 80s arcade game, Pac-Man. More specifically, Inky—the blue ghost that chases the game’s eponymous hero. This is the personal ride of Ted Lee, who runs Pit Works Design in Taipei,…
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We’re pushing the extremes this week: a BMW R18 with air suspension, a land speed project powered by a radial engine, and news of Kawasaki’s all-in move to electric. But if that fare is a little too rich for you, we’ve also got a beautifully understated custom Fazer 600.
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For nine years now, Yamaha’s ‘Yard Built’ program has set the benchmark for manufacturer-sponsored custom projects. We’ve covered it right from the beginning, since the reveal of the Wrenchmonkees’ MonkeeFist XJR1300. There must be some 50 or more builds since, but it wasn’t until the XSR155 was released that Yamaha opened up the program to…
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The Yamaha XJR1300 is a relic from a bygone age, and we say that with a tinge of regret. It’s a big, brutal muscle bike that unfortunately has no place in today’s highly regulated market. The hefty, air-cooled inline four still has an ardent fan base in Europe though, despite the engine being a rejigged…
Read more »Some custom builders work to a strict formula, while others have a signature that shines through in the details, regardless of the…
Read more »It’s an outdoorsy week, with a 1970s Harley Sportster equipped for the Vintage 1000 rally, another Husqvarna Norden 901 teaser, and an…
Read more »By all accounts, the new Yamaha Ténéré 700 is a smash hit. Its 689 cc parallel twin motor is a total peach,…
Read more »It’s getting hard these days to tell if a custom comes from an amateur or professional workshop; the part-timers are really leveling…
Read more »Back in the 90s, the Japanese manufacturers went through a phase of building Italian-style sportbikes. Honda had the SuperHawk, and Suzuki the…
Read more »The garage tools and techniques might be the same, but there’s not a lot of overlap between race and custom bike building.…
Read more »This brutal-looking Yamaha RD350 is nearly fifty years old, but when the lights turn green, not much will be able to keep…
Read more »The Yamaha Virago is one of those bikes that just keep on giving. Yamaha’s V-twin cruiser first popped up in the early…
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