Yamaha motorcycles

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.

Deus Bali

Deus Bali Yamaha SR400

In Indonesia, custom motorcycle builders have to contend with unusually restrictive vehicle legislation. Imports are heavily regulated, and worse, the government generally…

Yamaha XS400

Yamaha XS400 tracker

It’s usually Yamaha’s XS650 that gets the custom treatment, so it’s nice to see a smaller capacity XS get a workover. This…

Yamaha XS400

Yamaha XS400 custom

Bike EXIF is primarily a showcase of rare and esoteric motorcycles. But every now and then, we see a bottom-dollar custom that…

Hidden gems from the Bike EXIf archives: the BMW R7

The way we were

It’s hard to believe that Bike EXIF is less than three years old. It was a much simpler endeavor in the early…

Yamaha YZR500

Yamaha YZR500

By Richard Fowler of Motorsport Retro—This exquisite piece of rolling sculpture is Yamaha’s 1975 YZR500. It’s the OW23 variant, the machine that…