Yamaha MT-09 Yard Built - CP3 - 2019 — Specifications

When a German customizer decides to take on the Yamaha triple cylinder, the result deserves a closer look. Jens vom Brauck, the man behind JvB-moto, is no stranger to the Yard Built program. After transforming a V-Max into a hybrid machine somewhere between a dragster and a café racer for the model's thirtieth anniversary, then redesigning an XSR 700 dubbed "Super 7" without even touching the chassis, the Berlin-based builder returned in 2019 with the CP3. A radical reinterpretation of the XSR 900 that earned the Best of Show award at the Café Racer Festival. The kind of distinction that money can't buy.

The technical foundation remains the one well known across the Yamaha range. The 847 cc triple-cylinder engine, shared with the MT-09 and the 900 Tracer, delivers 120 horsepower and allows a top speed of 230 km/h. Vom Brauck left it untouched, and that's a deliberate choice. The CP3, that crossplane three-cylinder engine, already has enough character on its own without needing a remap. All the work focuses on the bodywork, on the way the motorcycle presents itself to the eye. The aluminum perimeter frame, the adjustable 41 mm inverted fork with its 137 mm of travel, the rear monoshock, the four-piston radial caliper braking on dual discs: all of that comes stock. The CP3 doesn't cheat on the mechanicals. It saves its statement for the styling.

And what styling. Vom Brauck cites concept cars from the 70s and 80s as his source of inspiration, and it shows in every line. The Yamaha Racing blue has been darkened, turned matte, as if the motorcycle refused to shine in order to better impose its silhouette. Carbon fiber wheel covers dress up the Pirelli Super Corsa tires fitted in 120/70 at the front and 180/55 at the rear. Beringer discs replace the stock equipment for sharper braking. Lightech rearsets contribute to the overall weight savings while offering the rider a more committed riding position. The result looks like neither a classic café racer, nor a flat tracker, nor a traditional custom. It's a rolling object that sits somewhere between a show prototype and a road machine, with a visual coherence rarely seen in the world of custom building.

The price point, at 13,000 euros, places this Yamaha MT-09 Yard Built CP3 in a class of its own. It far exceeds the price of a stock XSR 900, but you're acquiring a piece signed by one of the most respected builders in the Yamaha program. For those who find the bill too steep, JvB-moto has put together a parts catalog allowing you to reproduce all or part of the transformation on your own XSR 900. Wheel covers, Termignoni exhaust, redesigned seat, LED headlight, hand-sculpted rear section with integrated taillight: each component can be purchased separately. It's a smart move. Rather than reserving the pleasure for a handful of collectors, the builder opens the door to ambitious home mechanics who want to breathe new life into their machine without going through a specialist workshop.

The CP3 is aimed at a very specific audience. Not the beginner looking for a first bike, nor the touring rider racking up highway miles. It speaks to enthusiasts of fine machinery, to those who see their motorcycle as an extension of their personality. Vom Brauck himself sums up his philosophy aptly: fast without being aggressive, minimalist rather than retro, purposeful in every line. In a custom world often tempted by excess, that restraint makes all the difference.