Any custom Yamaha XSR700 we feature is sure to spark discussion about the base bike’s design. The XSR700 draws criticism for its cluttered mechanics and hunched fuel tank?and both of those are hard for custom builders to get around.
This heavily upgraded XSR700-based scrambler rises above both those challenges. It’s a collaboration between Portuguese builders Nuno Capêlo (Capêlo’s Garage) and Ricardo Santos (Elemental Rides), and was built for Yamaha Portugal.

It’s not the first time Nuno and Ricardo have worked together for Yamaha Portugal?they built an SR400 two years ago that clearly impressed.
This XSR700 was commissioned as part of Yamaha Europe’s Yard Built program, with builders from nine different countries delivering bikes. The project’s theme was ?Back to the Dirt,? and this XSR has dirt creds by the bucketload.
?I talked with Ricardo,? Nuno tells us, ?and he was totally in. His first ideas were very similar to mine, so I stopped everything I was doing and started sketching. After a lot of drawings exchanged with Ricardo, we quickly got to the final image of the bike.?
The XSR700 has good bones and a punchy and versatile motor. But Nuno and Ricardo wanted to improve its off-road capability?and give it a neo-retro look, inspired by the iconic Yamaha dirt bikes of the 70s and 80s. So they called it the ‘XSR700 TT’ for ‘True Tribute.’

They started by swapping out the XSR700?s suspension for someth...