Yamaha’s SR400 is a madly popular platform, especially in the café racer, scrambler, and tracker departments. No bike represents the minimalist, lightweight aesthetic so well as the SR400, no matter what style is applied to it.
First put out in 1978, this air-cooled single-cylinder earned the nickname ‘thumper’ thanks to its distinctive sound. Dead simple mechanically and structurally, this gem can be left dirty, polished up, or stripped to its bones and left to shine under any light. Old ones are getting tougher to find, but don’t worry: Yamaha restarted factory production of the SR400 in 2015, and you can now find a brand new one at a dealer near you.
Two Yamaha singles book-end our selection this week. We kick off with a sharp custom Yamaha XT600 street tracker, then profile a BMW R100RT café racer and a gorgeous 1952 Vincent Comet. A Yamaha SR400 from Deus Ex Machina in Japan brings us home.
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We’re feeling both retro and futuristic this week, so we’ve rounded up bikes that cover the full spectrum. Leading the charge is Verge’s new Mika Häkkinen edition electric bike, followed by the new Fantic Caballero 700 scrambler. We then profile a Yamaha SR400 from Australia, before coming in to land with a fetching Triton from…
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The venerable Yamaha SR400 has been customized in every way imaginable—which is a testament to both the plucky little single’s longevity and its versatility. This 1988-model comes from Ken Ken Motorcycles in Taiwan, and it’s the perfect example of this. It combines the stance of a street tracker with the sensibilities of a chopper, to…
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Takashi Nihira has won awards and taken commissions from major OEMs. But the man behind Tokyo’s Wedge Motorcycle also knows how to tone it down, when the brief calls for it. And whether he’s building an all-out showpiece, or a humble commuter like this tidy Yamaha SR400, his work always shines. With factory-level finishes and…
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Today’s custom motorcycle scene is a melting pot of old and new techniques. Traditional handcrafting methods coexist with software-based design and modern…
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Just over a year ago, the last SR400 rolled off the production line in Yamaha’s Iwata factory, marking the end of an…
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The custom scene has changed a lot over the past decade, but the venerable chopper still has an enduring appeal. And when…
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MV Agusta updates the Superveloce, while Ironwood Custom Motorcycles partners with a US-based shop. Plus we’ve got a handsome Yamaha SR400 from…
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It’s a newsier mix than usual this week, with the Yamaha SR400 finally down for the count, and a top European motorcycle…
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Like all good artists, the best custom builders have a handful of regular customers. They’re usually folks with an eye for quality…
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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…
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War-themed bikes usually go one of two ways. They’re either vulgar, Mad Max-themed affairs, or they’re swathed in olive drab—with bonus points…
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