We interrupt Hump Day’s mundanities to bring you a pretty piece of stripped ferocity that’s been gaining traction about our two-wheeled web.
This neat retro racer – a Yamaha XS650 – is a chameleon that’s been garbed in the penultimate representation of performance, courtesy of one Simone Conti, a builder from his shop of the same name.
A Yamaha XS650 retro racer from the mind of Simone Conti. Media sourced from BikeEXIF.Coverage from BikeEXIF shows off a machine blessed with an aluminum frame, in which the air-cooled, 654cc, parallel-twin engine becomes a stressed member.
Suspension is carried out in the form of Honda’s floating duties for the CBR600RR at the front, an Ohlins monoshock at the rear, and a handmade, one-off swingarm to keep with the supersport aesthetic (and that sharp twin pipe with slash-cut silencers).
A Yamaha XS650 retro racer from the mind of Simone Conti. Media sourced from BikeEXIF.As for the fairing work, we’ve been given a one-two treat. Conti purportedly took inspo from the bodywork of an MT-03 and that of Yammie’s iconic R1, merging the two together in a zinger of a package that bespeaks the aggressive styling of both products.
Of course, no superbike-esque build would be complete without the presence of carbon fiber. Here’s what Conti had done in terms of carbon work:
- Rear wheel discs
- Brake scoops
- A rear hugger
- Exhaust heat shields
- Pod filters protectors
A Yamaha XS650 retro racer from the mind of Simone Conti. Media sourced from BikeEXIF.A nod to the older times with bar-end levers, slap on an aquamarine/silver paint scheme to tie modern elements to nostalgia, and we have yet another brilliant XS650 chameleon to add to our industry’s versatile ranks of custom builds.
Brilliant job, Conti, and we hope you had a cold one after the final touches.