YAMAHA
XJR1300 GUERILLA FOUR
Yamaha’s
XJR 1300 is proof that, once in a while, major manufacturers pay attention. And
get it right. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the iconic street bruiser
was re-released this year with a refreshed look and a layout that encourages
customization—thanks to the prolific Yard Built program.
Driving
the movement is Yamaha’s European product manager, Shun Miyazawa. Shun and his
team have now turned their attention to Taiwan, and one of our favorite
builders: Rough Crafts‘ Winston Yeh.
Known
for his edgy Harley builds, Winston’s trademark aesthetic is tough, dark and
menacing. A vibe that the muscular XJR wears well.
It’s
one of those rare cases when the PR blurb matches the reality. Winston’s
process is collaborative: he kicks off each build by sketching it out
digitally, before turning to a trusted network of artisans in Taipei to execute
it. And he has an arsenal of Rough Crafts parts at his disposal—bolt-on bits
developed and refined over time.
His
approach to the XJR 1300 was simple: ramp up the brutality with his signature
‘Guerilla’ look. As with all Yard Built customs, the trick was to leave the
frame as unscathed as possible. It’s a look that can be emulated by ‘everyday’
XJR owners.
Winston
started by beefing up the front end with a set of Yamaha VMAX forks. Held in
place by custom-made triple trees, they’ve been dropped by 100mm and the front
brake caliper mount’s been modified to take 11.5-inch discs.
Equally
brawny are the wheels: 16×5.0 Roland Sands Design Boss rims, wrapped in chunky
Coker Beck tires. Out back, the stock Öhlins rear shocks were stripped,
refinished in black and re-assembled.
The
steel bodywork—from the scalloped tank to the sharp tail section—was fabricated
by OneHandMade Customs. And the paint, a typically monochrome Rough Crafts
scheme, was executed by Taipei’s top paint shop, Air Runner Custom Paint.
Source
: bikeexif
