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.

AFT Customs Er Hed

This isn’t a vintage Harley custom: it’s a cleverly-crafted 21st century Yamaha that took first prize in the ‘metric’ class at last…

Yamaha XT600Z Ténéré

In the late 70s, ‘dual sport’ or ‘enduro’ style bikes with long-range fuel tanks were starting to attract attention in Europe. In…

Yamaha SR500 tracker

Giannis of Speed Junkies bought this 1981 SR500 from an owner who thought the bike had a transmission problem—but it just needed…

Yamaha XS650 tracker

The king of street tracker style in the US is Mule Motorcycles‘ Richard Pollock. Right now he’s working on a Yamaha for…

1972 Yamaha R5C

There seems to be a growing appreciation of super-quick two-strokes from the 1970s. Yamaha’s more recent SR400 has long been the weapon…