In garages all over the world, owners dream of creating their very own customised motorcycle. Yamaha has enabled this by asking talented custom bike builders to provide inspiration on how to transform modern Yamaha models into what they have called ‘Yard Built specials.’
This week’s edition of Speed Read is loaded with new releases from major OEMs. We’re looking at Honda’s new Dax and Hawk 11, Yamaha’s new electric scooter and the Royal Enfield Scram 411. But first, a tasty Yamaha XSR700 flat tracker from Mellow Motorcycles.
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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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Some custom builders work to a strict formula, while others have a signature that shines through in the details, regardless of the style of build. Winston Yeh at Rough Crafts in Taiwan falls into the second camp. He’s designed cruisers, cafe racers and street trackers—and even though they all cut different lines, they all clearly…
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By all accounts, the new Yamaha Ténéré 700 is a smash hit. Its 689 cc parallel twin motor is a total peach, and its no-frills approach, off-road chops and rally racer looks add to its mass appeal. But we never would have pegged it as a platform for customization. Deus ex Machina Italy saw potential…
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This week we’ve got a smokin’ hot XSR155 in John Player colors from West Java, Harley’s cool and classy Electra Glide Revival,…
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If Yamaha let you choose any one of their bikes to customize, which would you pick? For David Sánchez and the wildly…
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Yamaha’s annual ‘Yard Built’ competition was one of the first and most highly publicized custom competitions, delivering a steady stream of killer…
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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…
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Yamaha’s latest push into the European custom scene has yielded some of the best XSR builds yet. The most recent Yard Built…
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After an incredible seven years, Yamaha’s Yard Built custom program is still firing on all cylinders. In 2012 it kicked off with…
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Any custom Yamaha XSR700 we feature is sure to spark discussion about the base bike’s design. The XSR700 draws criticism for its…
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Any designer knows: sometimes you need to give your client what they need, rather than what they’ve asked for. When Yamaha asked…
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