Written by Martin Hodgson
How do you haul ass in Hollywood" You go full metal jacket on a breathtaking Urban Enduro that’ll cruise with Bentleys on the Boulevard, before heading to the hills where the stars live to rip it up on the rough and rugged roads. But first you need to pick the platform and with iconic status and Paris-Dakar pedigree they don’t come any much than the Yamaha XT500. LA’s Russell Stratton of Ride Custom picked up this example and set to work building RC01, the latest star to emerge from Tinseltown.

The 1978 XT came to the casting couch at a later age than most, and like many donor models had lived a hard life. The XT500 is often called the farmer’s daughter and just like the starlet who comes to town looking to make it big, she’s slender, capable and willing to do anything. But this particular Yamaha wasn’t new to town, now in a midlife crisis, it had been living all along in Los Angeles. No, it wasn’t rusting under a tree, buried in a barn or awaiting rescue in a salvage yard. This now pretty thing had been through much worse, she’d been owned by a hipster.
Residing in the city’s Echo Park (think indie music, vegan tacos and terrible hair) it’s just lucky Russell came along when he did. The poor thing was probably lubricated with tea tree oil. But all jokes aside, a much earlier owner had fitted up some favourite pieces of the period, Answer handlebars, a SuperTrapp high pipe and Miku...