[ad_1]
Most guys can’t suppose past a field of sweets or a bunch of flowers as a present for his or her important different. However Uwe Kostrewa is a true romantic. He’s simply constructed this peachy Yamaha SR500 flat tracker for his girlfriend, Steffi—and it’s not the primary customized bike he’s constructed for her both.
Uwe works as Hombrese Bikes out of his workshop in Cologne, Germany, and recurrently races and builds customized flat monitor bikes. He has a knack for creating machines which can be low-key good-looking, buying and selling polish and pretentiousness for prime doses of retro attraction.
Having already constructed a Honda XL500 flat tracker for Steffi, Uwe made the error of letting her take a look at his Yamaha SR500 on the monitor. Naturally, she fell in love with it. So when the couple determined to each enter the seashore race on the Wheels and Wake competition in Germany a number of months later, they ended up sharing Uwe’s SR500.
That labored effectively sufficient within the early heats—however bother got here when Uwe and Steffi each discovered themselves within the remaining. Uwe borrowed a motorcycle from a buddy, solely to be overwhelmed by his girlfriend, using his bike. There was no query; Steffi wanted her personal Yamaha SR500.
Again on the workshop, Uwe took inventory and realized that he had sufficient spare components mendacity round to assemble a worthy contender. Beginning with a 1979 Yamaha SR500 donor, he stripped it down and started reducing off all of the superfluous bits.
“I first requested Steffi what coloration scheme she wished,” he tells us. “However there was an previous Yamaha DT50 tank that had been in my workshop for 2 years, with good patina and some little dents. It was clear that the tank needed to keep authentic—so for the remainder, Steffi selected black.”
With a bit persuasion, Uwe managed to get the thin DT50 gasoline tank to suit the SR500’s broad body spine. A customized seat sits behind it, upholstered with a pleasant quilted stitching sample. Uwe shortened the subframe beneath it, terminating it in a brand new kicked-up loop.
Since this can be a pure monitor bike, the remainder of the bodywork is minimal. The SR500 wears quantity boards on the entrance and sides, with a shortened aluminum rear fender ending off the tail.
For the suspension and wheels, Uwe stored issues easy and sensible. His race bike makes use of a set of Yamaha R6 forks, however he really prefers the geometry of the SR’s inventory forks and yokes for flat monitor racing. So he determined to enhance the OEM setup on Steffi’s bike reasonably than swap it out.
The forks had been shortened a contact, then stiffened up with heavier oil. A pair of recent YSS shocks sits on the again.
The wheels are a blended bag. The 19” entrance is straight off of an Aprilia Pegaso journey bike, whereas the rear incorporates a 19” Excel rim laced to the unique SR500 hub. Uwe picked a Dunlop DT3 tire for the entrance, with Maxxiss rubber out again.
In fact, without having for a entrance brake, Steffi has to depend on engine braking and the unique SR500 rear drum brake. Take a better look although, and also you’ll discover that Uwe’s cleaned up the entrance finish in order that it doesn’t appear like the entrance brake is lacking. Tidy work, as at all times.
Larger up you’ll discover a set of Tomaselli flat monitor handlebars, fitted with new grips and solely the naked important controls. Below the hood, Uwe rebuilt the engine with a brand new 500 cc piston, and larger and higher valves. A customized exhaust header flows right into a blacked-out Supertrapp muffler.
Steffi’s new flat monitor whip is as svelte because it seems to be, tipping the scales at simply 122 kilos [269 lbs]. And since her and Uwe now have matching race bikes, they will share spare components on the races.
The draw back, although, is that Steffi couldn’t hold each of her flat monitor bikes.
“She loves each of them, however she had to decide on between the 2—there’s not sufficient house right here for all of the toys,” Uwe tells us. “Ultimately, she selected the SR500, as a result of it really works a bit higher on the monitor.”
Hombrese Bikes | Fb | Instagram | Photos by Marc Holstein and Christine Gabler
[ad_2]