The man behind the kick-ass customs coming out of Deus’ Sydney headquarters is Jeremy Tagand. Although he’s had a huge impact on the modern-day custom scene, relatively little is known about Jezza himself. So here goes—he’s from Annecy, France; he’s an avid surfer and snowboarder; and his nickname around the workshop is ‘French.’ And this is the white-hot bike he’s just built for himself.
Not surprisingly, it’s a Yamaha SR400. Deus has probably done more to keep the SR in the limelight than any custom builder outside Japan, and they know every trick in the book when it comes to eking out the last ounce of horsepower or style.
The SR400 has been in production for a remarkable 35 years, but this is one of the most extreme permutations we’ve seen. The bike started life as a wrecked 1984 model that wouldn’t even fire up, so Jeremy’s first job was to strip it down to the nuts and bolts.
“The Deus Mono was my reference for the build,” says Jeremy. “I made a mock-up with a custom black anodized triple clamp, Ikon progressive springs in the forks and a 17-inch alloy rim on an SR hub at the front. Plus a floating wave brake disc and a 6-pot Beringer caliper.”
Bringing up the rear is a complete 14-inch TW225 wheel assembly, hooked up to a custom stretched swingarm from Sublime Fabrications. It’s suspended via a twin Öhlins shock setup—hence the bike’s moniker, ‘Jezza’s Duo.’
Jeremy cleaned up the frame and modified it to accommodate a twin-seat from NitroHeads and an aluminum TT-style fuel tank. The tapered handlebar conceals the wiring for the mini switches.
The engine was rebuilt from scratch and given a huge performance boost. That includes an oversize Wossner forged piston (taking the capacity up to 555 cc) and a Megacycle high-lift cam. The head has been gas-flowed and the oversize valves use titanium springs. A custom conrod and an SR500 crank (fettled by Carl from Cafe Racer) keep the bottom end tight.
A new Kedo oil pump delivers 50% more flow than stock, and to keep the temperature down Jeremy’s fitted an external oil cooler on the side of the frame. High-end Japanese components provide the spark, with an ignition coil and CDI from Asuotani.
The custom spray job was done by Dutchy, and the wheels were assembled by local guru John Titman. The finishing touch was the exhaust system, which snakes inside the frame before separating into twin mufflers—to continue the duo theme. It’s the work of Dennis Foran, a few miles up the New South Wales coast.
You can bet this one is fast, and a blast to ride. Très agréable, Jeremy!
Head over to the Deus website for more top-notch custom builds.
