Any designer knows: sometimes you need to give your client what they need, rather than what they’ve asked for. When Yamaha asked Hookie Co. to customize an XSR700 for the Yard Built program, the brief was ?Playful, sporty and classic.?
Not feeling the throwback vibe, the Dresden-based team decided to build something modern?even slightly futuristic?instead. So they took inspiration from current motocross and flat track bikes to create the ‘Grasshopper.’ Two out of three ain’t bad, right"

They sent a concept sketch off to Yamaha Germany, who were immediately hooked on the design direction. With that out the way, Hookie Co. were free to tear into the brand new XSR700.
Hookie got their start building one-off customs, usually with older donor bikes. But lately, they’ve seen the benefit of working on newer machines?and the advantages of being able to produce bolt-on parts and kits.
It’s an approach that matches the Yard Built ethos perfectly. Nothing on the XSR700 chassis was hacked up or welded, and everything you see here uses the bike’s original attachment points. Hookie are also working on putting some of these parts into production.
And it?s an interesting mix of components. In stock form, the XSR700 fuel tank is a steel reservoir, covered by a set of easy-to-remove aluminum panels. Hookie could have simply reskinned it, but they decided to start from scratch instead.

First, they built a nine-liter aluminum fuel tank. Th...