The revival of Yamaha during the last three years has been remarkable. A series of rapid-fire product releases has done wonders for the company?s image, with the biggest boost coming from the MT-07.
The sporty 689 cc parallel twin?called the FZ-07 in the US?has sold by the shedload in Western markets. So it?s surprising we haven?t seen more customs based on this platform since Shinya Kimura?s ?Faster Son? build.

A few days ago Bunker Customs released a crisply-styled Yard Built XSR700, based on the ?classic? variant of the MT-07. And now we have ?Onyx Blade,? a dark and handsome MT from Winston Yeh of Rough Crafts.
It?s a radical reworking of Yamaha?s middleweight star?so much so, there?s only the distinctive engine to give the game away.
But this is obviously a Rough Crafts bike. The bodywork creases, the matte grey paint and the muscular stance are all signatures of the Taipei workshop.
Onyx Blade is a commission, built for a customer wanting an agile and fast machine to tackle the heavy traffic in the Taiwanese capital. It?s an environment that suits the MT-07, but this one stands out rather than blends in.

?I think the stock MT-07 has got quite a lot of ?design? going on,? says Winston. ?But it?s actually the frame that?s really interesting?especially the triangular tubing that the engine hangs off. That?s what I wanted to show.?
The sharp-edged vibe of the standard bike is still there, though?albeit rendered in a completely different way with new aluminum body...