If you’re a fan of nimble naked bikes and neo-retro styling, the acclaimed Yamaha XSR700 offers a lot of bang for your buck. Additionally, it’s known to take customization like a duck in water, with plenty of aftermarket support for those who want to customize their ride at will.
Rohan – the owner of this 2016 model – was looking for a more complete makeover so decided to leave it to the pros. He hired Ellaspede of Brisbane, Australia for the project and tasked them with trimming as much visual bulk as possible while giving the bike a distinctive personality. Sure enough, this thing won’t be mistaken for a stock XSR any time soon!
Ellaspede started by shortening the bike’s subframe, but made sure to leave just enough room for one passenger in case Rohan decides to ride two-up. The rearmost part of the subframe now houses a flush-mounted lighting strip and LED turn signals, all of which help create a neat, uncluttered appearance at the rear.
On this whole junk you see a stripped down version of the original saddle, clad in diamond-stitched black leather pads. To further declutter the rear of the XSR700, the Aussies placed a swingarm mounted number plate holder nice and close to the wheel. All of these mods are without a doubt very tasteful, but the gear found in the north is even more visually striking.
We’re primarily referring to this license plate-style fairing with offset dual projector headlights – a setup put together in-house by Ellaspede’s experts. It also packs a front-facing camera on the left side, as well as a subtle pair of LED turn signals further down the flanks. A USB charging port and rear-facing camera are also featured, while the OEM fuel tank is now adorned at the top with a groovy leather strap.
Most of the wiring has been hidden out of sight wherever possible, and electrical juice comes from an eight-cell anti-gravity battery. Between the standard forks, the XSR sports a handcrafted front fender wrapped in black Cerakote. Aftermarket mirrors and handles can be seen in the cockpit, further enhancing the creature’s aesthetics without sacrificing practicality.
The factory exhaust system didn’t look bad at all, but was abandoned in favor of a higher quality alternative from SC-Project’s catalogue. Finally, the side panels and tank cover were stripped of their paint and then anodized for a smooth finish that we absolutely love.
Ellaspede’s smarts were willing to return the bike to Rohan in the summer of 2019, although they didn’t mention how much he was charged for the conversion. We assume the price was quite reasonable since the mods aren’t overly complex and the owner was (unsurprisingly) more than happy with the result.
