Dab Motors’ Yard Build “Alter” – Yamaha XSR900 Custom

In Custom, Japan by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

Built by France’s Dab Motors, this official Yamaha Yard Built commission, named “Alter”, was created using an array of trick cutting edge technologies and materials. Starting with a 2018 XSR900, Dab rid the Yamaha of its stock bodywork and subframe before designing a new aluminum unit made through a fancy 3D printing process known as laser beam melting. The same process was also used to make the build’s one-off top-triple, risers, and headlight bracket.

The star of the show however, is the XSR’s new bodywork, comprised of completely natural, semi-transparent ampliTex flax fibers. After first having a robot machine the molds, Dab churned out a flax fiber fairing, tail section, asymmetrical front-end cover, and a tank cover that now houses the bike’s stock instrumentation. LED headlights shine through the translucent weave, and like the rest of the project’s LED lighting, is linked to a special micro-controller and smartphone app that allow said lighting to be “tuned” on the fly.

On top of the new body and framework, the Dab-designed XSR also gets top-shelf Öhlins suspension fore and aft, carbon fiber Rotobox rims shod in Michelin Road 5 rubber, Brembo hardware throughout, a generous amount of Rizoma bits, custom-machined fuel cap, Gilles Tooling rear-sets, Custom Armalith seat, DNA filtration, and an IXIL SX1 exhaust.

This build received extensive coverage, including a full writeup and video on BikeEXIF, and additional features on sites like TheBikeShed and Motorcycle.com. Now, approximately a year after it’s unveiling, the French shop is looking for a new home for the Yard Built Yamaha. The bike is being sold either with or without the asymmetrical fork cover, depending on the buyer’s taste.

You can find this 2018 Yamaha XSR900 from Dab Motors for sale here on TheBikeShed in Biarritz, France with a price of $38,900 (or £32,000).