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Home / News / Yamaha Yard Built XV95 blends modern tech with retro good looks

Yamaha Yard Built XV95 blends modern tech with retro good looks

We'd give anything to jump on this handsome two-wheeler

Blimey, is that a Yamaha FZ750? Haven’t seen one of those in years.
Wow, someone knows their bikes. But you’re wrong. Sort of.

What you’re looking at here, is a custom-made motorcycle produced by Italy’s LowRide magazine.

Some clever folks at Turin workshop Metal Bike took a modern Star Bolt XV950 and modified it to look like Yamaha’s iconic FZ50 – a beast which, during its ’85-’91 reign, was famous for its incredible power, squeezing out a top speed of 150mph from its 750c engine.

Yamaha Yard Built XV95 blends modern tech with retro good looks

That’s a pretty drastic facelift. They must have chopped it to pieces.
Actually, only relatively minor surgery was needed for the transformation. The new custom-made aluminium body is reinforced with steel tubes which are handily attached to the bolt’s existing mounting points.

A custom leather seat, sportier handlebars and a new exhaust make up the rest of the cosmetic changes, while an accurate paint job recreates the classic styling. The end result is a modern cruiser wrapped up in a glorious retro package.

Yamaha Yard Built XV95 blends modern tech with retro good looks

I’ll take three.
You’ll take none, unfortunately. This appears to be a one-off piece, though you could always pick up your own Star Burst cruiser for around £7000 and start tweaking it yourself. What could possibly go wrong?

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Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.