Yamaha SCR 950 Yard Built - Chequered - 2017 — Specifications

What if the best way to celebrate a motorcycle wasn't to leave it alone? Yamaha, with its Yard Built program, seems to think otherwise, and regularly entrusts its jewels to artisans to imprint their style upon them. For the SCR 950, it was Go Takamine’s turn, the pope of Brat Style, a style that draws as much from Tokyo minimalism as from Californian dirt culture. The result, named "Chequered," is much more than a simple makeover: it's a complete reinterpretation of the Japanese scrambler.

The man is a legend, and his journey explains everything. Born in Okinawa, lulled by the rumble of G.I. Harleys, he founded Brat Style in Tokyo before exporting it to California. His credo? Stripped-down, lightweight machines, ready to roam the city as well as dirt roads. After customizing dozens of SR 400s, the SCR 950 was a logical evolution. As Cristian Barelli of Yamaha Europe says, it was the ideal machine to embody this spirit of escape, and Takamine was the artisan perfectly suited to infuse it with a raw soul.

Where the standard SCR 950 plays the accessible authenticity card, Takamine has undergone a radical slimming cure. He made everything by hand: fuel tank, seat, fenders, exhaust. The fuel tank alone was a headache, but the game was worth it. Significantly lightened, the motorcycle gains in responsiveness. The simple tubular frame lends itself wonderfully to the exercise, offering a clean base on which to graft his personality. For him, the customization potential is enormous, precisely because the base is healthy and free of unnecessary embellishments.

Technically, the modifications are geared towards adventure. A wider handlebar and a smaller headlight clear the front. At the rear, a custom suspension from Works Performance increases the travel and ground clearance, while a handmade rear loop and knobby off-road tires affirm the intentions. The custom exhaust snakes along the frame, protected by a handcrafted heat shield. The finish, with its vintage checkered paint, signature Brat Style rear light, and hand-stitched seat, completes the picture with a retro elegance that is nothing like cosplay.

Ultimately, this Chequered Scrambler is not for the standard buyer looking for a ready-to-ride motorcycle. It's a demonstration, a source of inspiration for the do-it-yourselfer who sees in the SCR 950 a magnificent work platform. At €13,000, it was an exceptional piece. It recalls that beneath its placid 52 horsepower and generous torque of 79 Nm available from low engine speeds, the 942 cm3 V-twin hides the soul of an adventurer. Yamaha and Takamine did not create a motorcycle for everyone, but they brilliantly showed how the SCR 950 could be someone's motorcycle.