1981 Yamaha XS650 Bobber

This is a story about a young man named Cassio Silva who fell in love with a bobber sitting outside a tattoo shop in Texas. "That same day I went home and spent hours researching how to build one for myself" recalls Cassio. You see, this 20 year old had never even ridden a motorcycle, let alone tried to build one. "I’ve been building and modifying cars for years and knew i had the skills to take on the project" he says. After finding a suitable XS650, Cassio took the bike home and within days it was cut in half in his garage.

The entire bike was built on a tight budget, not because Cassio wanted it to be cheap but to show that this can be done by anyone, with any budget, and almost any experience. The hardtail is a pre made unit made by TC Bros. "It stretched the bike 3 inches, making it very comfortable for my 6'3" body" he says. "The bike originally came with a 16in wheel that i swapped for a 18in from an older japanese bike. Wheels were wrapped in 450 rear and 400 front Firestone replicas. The velocity stacks were a NOS part off ebay and really one of my favorite things on the bike. The seat is a West Eagle and uncovered, keeping with the raw theme. The lights were ebay items that I then took apart for some paint. The rear fender is the stock front one that i cut up to save some coin. The entire bike was painted with rattle cans."

After working hard on the build for a month, the bike was almost ready to hit the road. There was one small problem though, Cassio didn't know how to ride it. So in the same week he finished the bike, he took a motorcycle class and got his license – talk about a 'crash course' in motorcycles.

[The beautiful photos were taken by a photographer named Banzai Steve. You can check out more of his work on his Flickr page and blog.]

Yamaha SR400 - The Varkain

A few months ago we featured another SR400 built by Raider Motorsports in Coffs Harbour. Well, it looks like they've been up to their old tricks again – turning stockers into rockers. Their latest bike is the black sheep of the family and is appropriately named The Varkian – which is Finish for "By Stealth". "As with all our motor-sickles, the Varkain is 100% designed and hand-built in our garden shed" says Maurice from Raider Motorsport. "The frame has been stripped, all the ugly OEM brackets and mounts hacked off before a trip to the sandblasters and then over to the powder-coaters. The engine has been disassembled, all clearances and OEM tolerances checked and/or refined prior to reassembly and some trick heat-proof coatings and making of lots of shiny bits and pieces. Engine side cases are powder-coated, as are the rims and hubs. The Varkain has a stack of custom and handmade accessories, far to many to mention and more than you can see in the pics, plus the usual neat bits and pieces our customers have come to expect, like new wiring loom, LED warning lights, new vintage Firestone tyres, new seat from our Nitro-Bed range, new custom paint, blah blah blah and stacks more!"

If you want to view more pics of the Varkain build, from "stripped and naked to all dressed up and ready to play", visit the Raider Motorsport gallery. The bike is for sale and is currently at Chidiac Motor Group showroom in Sydney if you want to check it out in person.

 

1973 Yamaha RD250 Street Tracker

This RD250 caught my eye after recently winning the coveted Do The Ton Bike of the Month. The bike hadn't run for 20 years when Ken Stout bought it as part of a package deal with two 60's Honda Superhawks. Being a design engineer in the motorcycle/powersport industry it didn't take him long to get it going. "After cleaning the carbs, new fuel line, and some gas, she fired right up" Ken said. Ken wanted to do something special with the bike and decided to turn it into a street tracker. "The tail section is a modified CBR 1000RR tail from my buddy's bike, that I saw him wreck while in a wheelie. I stripped the bike to the bare frame, shaved anything that was not needed and cut and chopped the stock electrical brackets to get them to fit where I wanted them. The gas cap I found in the trash at the Buell liquidation sale... cut a big hole in the tank and welded in some sheet metal so it would bolt on. The intake is made of plumbing ABS bought at Lowes (a little tip for everyone: Acetone will melt ABS. So you can use it to blend joints and sanding marks out).  I made the pipes using some of the original pipe (mainly the header tube and some internal parts), some sheet metal rolled into cones and chambers, and a couple sections of exhaust pipe from Autozone. The paint is a mixture of duplicolor and some PPG I had laying around for the last 5 years. Sprayed it in my friend's garage – thanks to Rebellion Ind." You can check out more pics of this RD250 street tracker and read Kens build thread here. Alternatively, if you want to see how the Honda Superhawk turned out, hit this link.

Icon Snakecharmer

When it comes to creativity, Icon are the leaders of the pack. Not only in their helmet and bike designs, but also in their press releases and photography. This is how Icon's talented Design Director Kurt Walter describes their latest project - the 'dirty cafe racer':

She wanted me dead, that was clear. I could come up with no other reasoning for why she conducted herself in such a hostile manner. With her carbon cans barking like a tortured lap dog the Snakecharmer was hellbound on delivering pain. And not the kind of pain that you just walk off. No, she wanted to deliver the kind of pain that burns for weeks. Where every shower is a constant reminder of your failures. The kind of pain that forces you to sleep on your stomach eschewing blanket or even sheet. The type of pain that your wife not only doesn't care about, but actively mocks. And who could blame her?

She was a bike built for a different age. An age before drug resistant infections and air quality standards. Powered by the finest premix technology a 1979 Yamaha corporation had to offer, she was both reckless and beautiful. A homogenized concoction of 400cc bits from the entire Hamamatsu product line. RD400 top, XS400 front, YZ400 rear, IT400 middle. Much like Cher, she was an intoxicating half-breed. The result of an ill-conceived tryst between a street racing father and hare & hound mother. She was in two words - a Dirty Cafe. 

With a 'choose your own adventure'  illustration for a paint job she would rule the gravel strewn grounds of the north Portland Container Yards. Spewing both rock and fuel in an unfettered rage against the injustice of all things pure. Her mechanical malevolence was magnificent. And then, without fanfare or ballyhoo,  she sputtered and died. No dramatic fireball, no gasping seizure of piston or rod - just the slightest of backfires and then silence. Some say it was a fouled plug, others, that she was just too beautiful to live. Whatever the reason, the Charmer's flailing heart had finally stopped. Her dirt encrusted carapace is now enshrined amongst the rafters of the Slabtown whisketeria, where she looks down longingly on the drunken patrons. Even in her misted cylinder sleep she appears tense and brooding. The Snakecharmer was handsome killer - plain and simple. 

Heiwa Yamaha TX650

Heiwa Motorcycles in Japan have a knack for building beautifully crafted bobbers and classically styled bikes. In a land that has just as many custom bike builders as sushi restaurants – Heiwa always manages to serve up something tasty. Their latest creation is this stunning Yamaha TX650. Heiwa have hand built most of the bike including a one off fuel tank, exhaust pipe, handle bars and seat. Some other features include Progressive rear suspension and they also told us they moved the front fork down three inches. If you want to see more from Heiwa, check out their website – unfortunately it's all in Japanese but the pictures are worth it.

Also found this original article on the Yamaha TX650A which appeared in Cycle Guide magazine in 1974. It's worth a read if you want to know how the bike faired in one of its original road tests.

Kedo KCR500 CupRacer

If you're the owner of a Yamaha SR500 or a XT500 then you have probably come across Kedo while searching for parts on the internet. They are based in Germany and have been sending motorcycle parts and accessories all around the world for over 15 years. We recently received their comprehensive catalogue in the mail and were impressed to see they have built this limited edition SR500 racing bike. Kedo's press release says "10 years of racing experience went into building this race bike. Our objective was to get the maximum out of both engine and handling by using close-to-production material and no expensive special parts. However, at the same time, we would not accept any compromises regarding durability and practicality. The KCR500 is now built to order by Kedo as an exclusive low volume production. Together with many perfectly restored and modified genuine parts, lots of popular items from our product range are included. The engine is refurbished and tuned; the wheels and most cosmetics are all new. If it was not for the bones of this bike being at least 20 years old, you could easily label this bike as a quasi ‘brand-new’." This ready to race KCR500 is being sold for 9.900 Euros or $12,800 USD and Kedo will only be building 5 of these impressive bikes.

 Technical Specifications:

• SR500 frame
• Aluminium swing arm with Wilbers suspension struts
• Wheels with original hubs and new aluminium rims (black anodized); Dunlop racing tires
• Single front disc 300mm (EBC), rear drum brake
• Engine 499cc, tuned; producing 50hp
• TM carburetor, K&N race air filter, titanium exhaust system
• Steering damper, fork with cartridge-emulator. Progressive front suspension and fork-stablizer.
• GRP seat, moderate rear-set footpegs 

Yamaha XS650 Boardtracker

It's not every day you see a Yamaha boardtracker – especially one of this calibre. It wasn't long ago that this one of a kind XS650 created a lot of attention when featured on XS650Chopper. Built by the talented Nick Stringer from Metal Head Fabrication in California, it recently picked up Iron Works Bar Hopper 1st place at the LA Calendar Motorcycle show. Amazingly Nick was so humbled by his competition at the show that he didn't think his creation would even pick up a place, so ended up missing the awards. When the winner was announced – SFX: Crickets chirping – he was actually sleeping under a tree, catching up on the lack of sleep from the night before. He must of been the only one surpised when he won because even Shinya Kumura gave his nod of approval. The beautiful slender tank and the all brass rear fender are truly works of art. To see more photos of this special build, check out the Metal Head Cycles website.

 

SR500 Street Tracker

The idea to turn his SR500 into a street tracker came to Italian Andrea Costantini after viewing some photos of a Kim Boyle creation. "I searched the bike spasmodically, because I loved the mechanics" he says. Luckily for Andrea his father is a mechanical engineer and has a small workshop at home with a horizontal lathe, a vertical mill and a grinding wheel. So with the help of his Dad, Andrea went about creating his dream street tracker. "I changed the stroke of the fork, creating a shorter spacer, a spacer for the brake disc which is a Ducati 996 because otherwise the caliper from a Ducati Hypermotard would have hit against the spokes of the rim. I bought the seat from Redmax Speed Shop and we made the plates to attach to the frame anchor points. I changed the bar tension and the rod brake to simplify the rear. The tank is off an old Yamaha GT80 and the footpegs were also made and designed by my father. The painting of the frame, tank and seat were all carried out on the terrace of my home in Rome". You can check out loads more build shots of this sweet street tracker on Andrea's Flickr page. 

Yamaha SR400 Peccant

Raider Motorsport are based in Coffs Harbour, Australia, approximately halfway between Sydney and Brisbane - it's famous for having a giant banana and also where Russell Crowe owns a farm. Raider Motorsport have built this SR400 completely from the ground up and this is what they tell us about the build: "The frame has been removed of all unsightly and unnecessary brackets and mounts, sandblasted and anti-corrosion sealed before painting. The engine has been disassembled, all clearances and OEM tolerances checked and refined prior to reassembly. Engine cases are hand polished while the barrel and cam cover are treated with a high temperature coating before hand finishing of the aluminum cylinder cooling fins. Whilst a great deal of the bike's accessories are hand-made, there are also several unique and off the shelf items newly purchased including blinkers, handle-bars, LED warning lights, digital multi-function speedometer, braided brake lines, mirrors, rear-a-set billet aluminum foot-peg assemblies, coil-over gas shocks, seat & upholstery, new Michelin tyres, wiring and battery, and of course, new custom paint". This naked street fighter looks fresh out of the box and we're sure it would be a blast ride. It's actually for sale but isn't cheap at A$18,990 ($16,000 US). You can view loads more pics at the Peccant SR400 gallery.