Some custom builders work to a strict formula, while others have a signature that shines through in the details, regardless of the style of build. Winston Yeh at Rough Crafts in Taiwan falls into the second camp. He’s designed cruisers, cafe racers and street trackers?and even though they all cut different lines, they all clearly come from the same source.
This time around, Winston’s turned his hand to the Yamaha XSR900, with brutal results. The XSR gets praise for its performance, but criticism for the messy packaging of its triple-cylinder power plant and the peripheral bits. Winston’s unfazed though?he’s ramped up the aggression by turning it into a menacing and unapologetic street tracker.

He’s also designed it so that it’s easy to replicate?from the custom bodywork, to the extensive and tasteful list of bolt-on upgrades. That’s because Yamaha Europe have opted to add this XSR to their Yard Built custom bike portfolio, where the emphasis is on ease of customization. ?The whole idea of Yamaha Yard Built was to inspire bike owners around the world to customize their bikes and make them unique,? Winston explains. ?So if the builder develops bolt on parts from the build, that would be a big bonus.”

“On my previous Yamaha builds I didn’t really focus on the parts development?many people asked me if I had kits for sale, and sadly I had to reject them. So, when presented with the opportunity for this XSR900 buil...