Blog — yard built

Bike Shed London 2018 - Tom Bing

We've worked with Tom Bing pretty much since he returned from a truly epic riding and surf trip through North and South America, where he and wife Sally challenged their little Hondas through some of the most inhospitable terrain capturing some truly stunning wanderlust inducing images along the way. Back in the groove of 'normal life' Tom and Sally tour around in their aged Talbot Motorhome with baby Billy while working for the DTRA, Built Magazine, Yamaha and a number of custom bike publications. Tom covered the show for us last year and thankfully he returned for 2018 and managed...

Son of Time XSR900 Æon

Manufacturer collaborations can be a contentious issue for those purists who feel the mainstream is pillaging the roots of the current custom scene. Splicing brands with products seemingly synonymous to a marketing team has the propensity to result in bikes lacking depth and character. But Dutch horologists TW Steel have form when it comes to bold collabs and we've not only featured the fruits of labour on these pages but also exhibited the bikes at our shows. So, we're biased and must say nice things. Bolloks to that. What TW Steel have done is enabled a few custom builders to...

Ross' JVB XSR700 Super 7

Where does time go? I swear there's a sinkhole somewhere or a Bermuda triangle that consumes my waking hours without receipt or acknowledgement. With our big show around the corner the calendar is marked by the first anniversary of me owning my first brand new motorcycle. So of course it's been fully customised and I've rack-up 17,346 glorious miles of adventure. Have I bollox! Straight after the XSR 700 launch in 2015 I was hounding Yamaha for a good deal on one - see original review here. At last year's Bike Shed London show my prize was rolled off the...

JVB Moto XSR700 'Super 7'

At Wheels & Waves earlier this year Jens vom Brauck, founder of JVB-Moto, waxed lyrical about his Yamaha MT-07 and what an amazing bike it is. Why was a world renowned custom bike builder with over two decades of experience buying a new, modern looking bike straight from the showroom, with his own money? He mentioned a Yard Built project on the horizon and that I should try the new XSR700 (same engine) when released. Having just returned from the official launch in Sardinia I can confirm that Jens wasn't being Mr. Corporate, but more on that tomorrow with a...

Yard Built XV950 by Kingston Customs

Yamaha’s Yard Built program returns to Germany for the first collaboration with talented builder Dirk Oehlerking of Kingston Customs. Dirk’s project with Yamaha takes its place in a line of superb custom builds this year, following in the footsteps of builders including Matt Black Custom Designs, itrocKs!bikes and Deus Ex Machina who have all delivered beautiful interpretations of Yamaha’s Sport Heritage Range. The final result, the Kingston Customs Yard Built XV950 ‘The Face’ is the first Café Bob to join the Yard Built line up. An original take on the Sport Heritage machine, it makes yet another statement proving how...