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 a high level skateboarder with the Vans Turkey Skateboarding Team and Mert transferring to building bikes full-time following a career in Digital Advertising.
The two 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, and most appropriately 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 the beaches, mountain roads and anything else you want to throw at it.
"What is really important for me is that they have kept the XSR700's agility and power characteristics that really define the bike. Around this they have added their very distinctive style, showing a whole new face to the XSR700."
"I'm really impressed with the work Can and Mert have put into this build," commented Yamaha Motor Europe's Marketing Coordinator, Cristian Barelli. "What is really important for me is that they have kept the XSR700's agility and power characteristics that really define the bike. Around this they have added their very distinctive style, showing a whole new face to the XSR700."
"We went for the tracker style as we really wanted to capture the spirit of freedom as much as possible," agreed the Uzer brothers. "The twin motor is the perfect base with its engine characteristics and the bike inspires you to create something light, agile and free."
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" for all-terrain riding.
Giving the bike that real Bunker look, all body panels were changed for hand beaten 2mm aluminium pieces, 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 goes up by 6cm 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 that 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 8mm steel tube.
Driving home the all-terrain practicality, the overall ground clearance was raised from 14cm to 20cm, 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 2to1 joins.
Bunker Customs sprinkled the build with several genuine Yamaha accessories, including billet clutch and brake levers, foot-pegs and side-stand risers and the bike is finished with a beautifully simple and understated graphic style inspired by the 80s.
For more about Bunker Custom Motorcycles visit www.bunkercustomcycles.com.
