Yamaha XSR700 by Bunker Custom
With spring well and truly underway
Yamaha heads to Istanbul in Turkey to collaborate with a new member of the Yard
Built family, Bunker Custom Motorcycles. Brothers, Can and Mert Uzer are not
your typical custom bike builders. Can is a top level skateboarder with the
Vans Turkey Skateboarding Team, while Mert recently gave up a career in Digital
Advertising to build custom bikes full-time.
The two brothers first caught the
attention and interest of Yamaha Motor Europe with their distinctive 1982
Yamaha SR500 build. The super clean, classic, Yamaha custom screamed handmade
and raw, but most importantly it was definitely built to ride. As a result the
collaboration with Yard Built was born and the two have been busy over the last
few months adding their Bunker Custom style to the Yamaha XSR700, delivering a
rugged, tracker style machine that looks ready to tackle everything from
beaches to mountain roads and anything else you want to throw at it.
To create their tracker style
interpretation of the Sport Heritage machine, Bunker Customs raised the seat
position and made more room at the front for the rider to move around. They
also went looking for more ground clearance, relocating the exhaust and
changing the front wheel to a 19″ rim for all-terrain riding.
Giving the bike that real Bunker look
the body panels were changed for hand beaten 2mm aluminium items, including
fuel tank covers, side panels, front and rear mudguards, radiator covers and
seat plate. A CNC milled aluminium spine carrying the fuel tank covers is also
sanded and polished to create a stunning view on top. Renthal bars give enough
rise to suit the new riding position and the seat height has gone up by 6 cm to
match. This is done with a bolt-on extension that can be fitted to any XSR700
stock frame. A suede leather covering
adds style to the seat whilst it retains the original locking mechanism.
To stay comfortable and practical whilst
looking good on rough roads the build swaps out the standard forks for MT-09
Tracer upside down units. The standard rims are also ditched in favour of cool
Super Ténére spoked wheels on Goldentyre GT201 rubber, 19″ front and 17″ rear.
A 5.5″ aftermarket, halo headlamp sits
in a custom mount, complementing the custom front mudguard mount, both made
from 8 mm steel tube.
Driving home the all-terrain
practicality, the overall ground clearance was raised from 14 cm to 20 cm, with
the silencer and exhaust manifold re-positioned. The exhaust system was
handmade in stainless steel and incorporates an Akrapovič catalytic convertor
where the muffler and the 2 into 1 pipes join.
Bunker Customs sprinkled the build with
several genuine Yamaha accessories, including billet clutch and brake levers,
foot-pegs, plus a side-stand riser and the bike is finished with a beautifully
simple and understated graphic style inspired by the 80s.
