Written by Andrew Jones
In the restaurant game they call it ?paddock to plate?. In manufacturing they call it ?cradle to grave?. And in the oil game they call it ?well to wheel?. Put simply, it’s the practice of looking at the complete life cycle of your particular product or creation to make sure that you’ve considered where it’s come from and where it’s going to. For Krossover Custom?s Kacey Elkins, his lot in life seems to be picking up the pieces of custom projects that have considered life cycles about as much as Agent Orange considers environmental sustainability. Here’s his latest basket case ace – a rescued Yamaha XS650 he calls ?Leftover 43?.

Now Kacey is the first to admit that the bike’s about as far from the cradle as a custom can be. In fact, he’s had it kicking around in the shop for a year or two. A mod here and a tweak there when he gets the chance has seen the bike slowly develop into what you see here. ?This year has been crazy with all the shows and travel so I haven?t had the time to really build anything new, but I have been painting a lot more and enjoying that part of the business.? And he also got the chance to shoot this little rocket from the crypt.
The build couldn’t be more different from his previous Yamaha XS build – an Adventure 650 fit to take on the Himalayas. This time ?round the bike is a cafe racer built from a 1979 Yamaha XS650 that he calls ?Leftover 43? – ?43? referen...