The Yamaha SR series is the two-wheeled equivalent of modeling clay. For decades, bike builders have been pushing and pulling the SR in all directions?from race track to dirt track, and all points in between.
The Japanese are masters of this craft, with SR400s and SR500s helping companies like BratStyle build their reputation. But in the West, we?d argue that Auto Fabrica is at the top of the pile.

?Our Type 7 builds have been one of our most popular bikes,? Gaz and Bujar tell us. ?SRs are fun, light and beautifully simple machines to work with. As designers we thrive on that.?
Auto Fabrica?s mods are elegant and deceptively simple, but the Type 7 design has evolved with each build. ?We are learning more and more about the SR500 and which areas can be improved. This ?Type 7X? had to be really special, so we focused on bringing something new to the table?with lots of sketches, mood boards and benchmarking.?
This time round, the influence came from the scramblers of the 1960s?as seen through the lens of Auto Fabrica?s impressive design sensibilities. The custom bodywork is handmade from aluminum, and the level of craftsmanship is amazing: this bike is one of the few that could hold its own at a design exhibition as well as the dirt track.
The most remarkable element is the exhaust, which dominated the design planning. ?We couldn’t have a conventional ?swoop? because we wanted the bike to be able to go off road. So the exhaust had to do an unusual upsweep, which we...