We?ve got used to heavy motorcycles. These days, anything around 450 pounds or 200 kilos is regarded as light. And most of the bestselling bikes in the USA weight 600 pounds or more.
In the days before emissions controls, fuel injection systems and electronic aids, bikes were smaller and lighter. And in Europe especially, compact commuters sold by the shipload?bikes like the Yamaha SR250. Known as the Yamaha Exciter in the US, this feisty little single weighed around 287 pounds (130 kilos) wet.

Efraón Triana loves small bikes. The Madrid-based builder runs UFO Garage, although he made his name as one of the duo behind Cafe Racer Dreams.
Triana wanted to build ?the perfect motorcycle for everyday use in the city, or for a Sunday ride in the countryside.? He chose an SR250 as his starting point, because they are plentiful in Spain: even after production of the first series finished in Japan and the USA, Spain carried on building the little SR from 1982 to 2000.
Triana located a 1986 SR250 in his home city, with just over 11,000 km on the clock. It didn?t cost much, because this build is all about maximum bang for the buck.
?From the beginning, I was clear that this would be a ?cheap? project?but with a very careful aesthetic,? he says.

So he?s reconfigured the Yamaha as ?a pure scrambler. A small, incredibly light motorcycle that weighs only 75 kilos [165 pounds] now. It is powerful enough, and very simple and practical.?
For the design, Triana was inspired by the...