Written by Martin Hodgson
Forget about textbooks and teachers because the two things that will always capture a teenage boys attention are speed machines and wild women. Combine the two and you have a potent mix that will forever be burned into an impressionable young mind! Many moons ago one such youngster witnessed such a sight and it was a Yamaha XT500 that had taken centre stage. Now ready to occupy the lead role in his youthful fantasy, he called Sean Skinner of Hamilton, Virginia’s MotoRelic to build him an XT to rip the roads and woo the women.

?My good customer found the ’70s big CC thumper and brought it to me because there was a moment in his adolescence that he remembers very well. A guy he knew rode up on one with his hot girlfriend on the back. He remembered thinking, “man, that dude has it all. The bike! The girl!” As they rode away, he knew one day he would have to have that! He wanted the bike to resemble its stock form but for me to give it a sexy makeover. Just a little nip n tuck… or so I thought,? laughs Sean.
Time for surgery and one of the customer’s requests was for a wider rear tyre and to do it properly meant finding a new swingarm to suit. An item from an early model Suzuki PE250 was found to be perfect, but it’s no bolt on fit with Sean having to modify the XT frame and machine up new spacers. Needing just the right shocks to control it all, a call was made to Ikon Suspension who had the perfect set, 15...