Motorcycle preparations – Motorcycle preparation 2013: Yamaha XJR Cafe racer Yard Built – Used YAMAHA

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Motorcycle preparation 2013: Yamaha XJR Cafe racer Yard Built

Motorcycle preparations - Motorcycle preparation 2013: Yamaha XJR Cafe racer Yard Built - Used YAMAHA

Yamaha asked several preparers to design adaptable conversion kits for its motorcycles. Called "Yard Built", this initiative begins with the XJR 1300 roadster revisited in cafe racer style by Danish customizer Wrenchmonkees.

Yamaha asked several preparers to design adaptable conversion kits for its motorcycles. Called "Yard Built", this initiative begins with the XJR 1300 roadster revisited in a cafe racer style by the Danish customizer Wrenchmonkees.

Installed since 2008 in Copenhagen, Per Nielson and Nicholas Bech (the founders of Wrenchmonkees) are more used to expressing their talents on older models: we owe them in particular preparations based on Yamaha SR500 and XS500. For these two designers, taking care of a motorcycle as "modern" as the XJR 1300 was therefore quite a challenge, especially on a technical level..

"The sheer number of sensors, cables and components, like the emission control devices found on a modern motorcycle, makes customization particularly difficult," says Per Nielson. "On an older motorcycle, you can work more freely on the design, because the motorcycle is very basic: an engine, wheels and a frame, for the most part".

Once this constraint was assimilated, Nielson and his team got down to the task with a simple objective: to transform the XJR 1300 without distorting its original spirit, nor replacing these main elements like the frame, the air-cooled four-cylinder or The reservoir.  

Convinced that the Cafe racer style would fit him like a glove, Wrenchmonkees began by replacing the stock wheels with 19-inch front and 18-inch spoke models in the rear to give it a retro feel. The flat handlebars have given way to half-handlebars which are grafted to the top of a YZF-R1 fork.

The six-piston radial calipers are also from the Yamaha Superbike, while the toe clips set above are "homemade". A double megaphone-type exhaust, an "old-fashioned" headlight and a lightweight rear seat-shell assembly complete this successful transformation. Finally, this XJR 1300 Yard Built has been repainted in a slightly metallic matte olive green and its original battery gives way to a smaller model hidden under the swingarm..

“Now that we’ve built this prototype, we’re looking at creating some great kits for the XJR1300, so motorcycle owners can take some of our ideas and put them into practice in their garage,” says Per Nielson..

"We want to make it as easy as possible for people who want to modify their XJR: the kits will not require any cutting out of the bike’s frame or swingarm, as the parts that will completely transform the look of the machine will either screw on or replace the standard components ", he concludes.

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