Sensibility be damned: this bobber has no front brake, no rear suspension and a suicide shifter. But just look at it.
Like any self-respecting bobber, this Yamaha XS650 is an exercise in supreme minimalism. But the work goes far beyond just tossing random parts in the bin.

It’s a 1972 XS650, built by Justin Kagy and Kieran Thompson of FKKMOTO in their self-described ‘garage shop’ in Bloomington?a small town two hours south of Chicago.
The project kicked off with the frame: Justin and Kieran removed the back half, and added in a Voodoo Vintage MK21 hardtail. That resulted in a 4? stretch and a 3? drop.

In stark contrast, the front-end’s been upgraded with a set of Suzuki GSX-R inverted forks. They’re plugged in with a top triple tree from Cognito Moto. The XS650’s original 19? wheel stays up front, but the lads swapped the rear out for a 16? Harley-Davidson Sportster item. It’s kitted with a Tokico 6-piston caliper?borrowed from a Suzuki Hayabusa?to compensate for the lack of a front brake.

The motor was completely overhauled, and treated to new seals, gaskets, pistons, rings and freshly bored cylinders. Note the single carb setup: it employs a 2-into-1 intake from Counterbalance Cycles, fed by a Mikuni VM36 carb.

Thanks to a Sparx capacitor and a Hugh’s Handbuilt CDI, the XS650 is now battery-less. A small electronics box at the base of the frame stores the important bits.

But our favorite mod is the unusual suicid...