The Yamaha XS 650 is a classic Japanese motorcycle; this classic beauty is also a great source for custom inspiration. Wheelyshop a Belgium based custom workshop has taken the spirit of the Yamaha XS 650 and transformed it into a hardtail bobber.
Marc Devriese the owner of Wheelyshop wanted to build a bobber based on a Yamaha XS 650. To begin the build Marc welded a hardtail to the end of the original frame and crafted a fake oil tank to house all the electrical components. The battery itself was discarded, leaving the bike with a kick start only!
Then he stumbled upon a little gas tank which originated from some sixties moped. As this gave the bike a lean and sporty look, Mark decided to go for something completely different. Radial master cylinder and billet calipers are indeed not your usual bobber parts.
The sparkle paint design replicates the swinging era, a time when measures to make a bike faster were often more straightforward. Losing weight was the first objective and if parts could not be discarded, they could be drilled to make them a bit lighter. So as wheels are pretty essential, Mark gave them spin of the mill.
A lot of the parts were hand made such as the beautiful downpipes and the calipers- and engine mounts. Nevertheless Mark managed to complete this project in less then two months as this bike had to be presented at the National Cars & Bikes show, held in Brussels during January 2013.
Other modification on this Yamaha XS 650 includes, pair of Shinko tires, Motomaster disks, Motomaster master cylinder and Beringer calipers. The engine has been fitted with K&N air filters and Highway Hawk speed and exhaust wraps. The adjustable clip-ons are from 4Racing and the brake hoses are Goodridge.
Special thanks to photographer Wout Warreyn for putting together the information & images for the article on this Yamaha XS 650.
