Yamaha XSR 700 Yard Built - Rough Crafts Corsa Scorcher - 2017 — Specifications

Imagine a project where the artisan has the right to transform everything, except the heart of the machine itself. This is the challenge Yamaha launched at Winston Yeh, the Taiwanese customizer from Rough Crafts, with this XSR 700 Yard Built. Following the success of his Guerilla Four on an XJR 1300, the brand entrusted him with this twin-cylinder, a pillar of the Sport Heritage range, to create two distinct designs without altering its original frame. The result is a feat: the Corsa Scorcher, an urban Café Racer, and the Soil Scorpion, a Scrambler version, interchangeable in less than an hour thanks to quick-change kits.

This dual customization is a first in the Yard Built program, and it reveals the intrinsic versatility of the XSR 700. With its 75 horsepower and 67.7 Nm of torque, the inline twin offers a balanced power-to-weight ratio, ideal for stylish reinterpretations. The tubular frame and its removable rear subframe allow the motorcycle to be reconfigured without invasive cuts or welds. Winston was therefore able to develop a modular system where the user chooses their wheels, handlebars, brakes, to compose either a racing machine for the city or an adventurer for trails.

To realize this "one motorcycle, two customizations" concept, the customizer integrated a Shark Factory X2E suspension, fully electronically adjustable, instantly adapting the motorcycle to asphalt or dirt. The Café Racer version presented here features Rotobox carbon wheels, an Akrapović exhaust from the R1, and a Faster XSR monoblock carbon fiber fairing kit with a reduced fuel tank. Every detail is signed Rough Crafts, from the Beringer calipers to the Gilles Tooling controls, to the velocity stacks mounted directly on the engine. The paint finish, carried out by Air Runner, brings the final touch to this already very personal machine.

At a price of around €10,000, this XSR 700 Yard Built is not aimed at the beginner looking for a standard motorcycle, but rather at the informed enthusiast who wants a highly customizable base, without compromise on the authenticity of the original platform. Compared to other neo-retro models such as the Ducati Scrambler or the Triumph Street Twin, it stands out with this radical flexibility offered by the Rough Crafts kits. It is not an improved production motorcycle; it is an integrated personalization concept, where the user themselves becomes an actor in their style. For those who dream of a unique machine without going through a total customization, this proposition is an open door to individual expression, with the technical seriousness of Yamaha as its foundation.