Heavily Customized Yamaha FZS600 Fazer Pays Tribute to a Two-Stroke GP Racer of Yore

Thus far, all of Yellowrider’s builds were based on Yamaha motorcycles, with the retro-style beauty pictured above being no exception. It used to be a stock FZS600 Fazer from the model-year 2000 in its previous incarnation, but there’s hardly any resemblance of the original bike left after Poodt’s makeover. The only piece of stock bodywork that remains is the fuel tank, and the OEM running gear was discarded in its entirety.

What the Dutch craftsman came up with is a delightful mixture of classic racer looks and modern-day performance, influenced by the two-stroke TZ500 race bike from the early eighties. Now, the TZ500 wasn’t really a great success from an engineering standpoint, but it drew inspiration from the YZR500 popularized by Kenny Roberts and Maarten’s client loved its appearance to bits.

Getting the Fazer to look the way it does today was no easy feat, involving a ton of fabrication work and some very intricate tweaks. Despite its GP racing aesthetic, Yellowrider was instructed to keep the motorcycle street-friendly and practical for everyday use. With that being said, let’s see how he went about ticking all these boxes in style, shall we?

Along with the suspension, front brake, and most bodywork components, Sir Poodt also deleted the factory three-spoke hoops during the initial teardown. In their stead, he installed aftermarket PVM alternatives with a five-spoke design and 18-inch diameters at both ends. The rims were shod in sticky Bridgestone rubber for ample grip, then it came time to address the suspension side of things.

Starting at the back, the FZS600’s monoshock anatomy was subjected to some radical alterations. Maarten welded on a custom-made swingarm brace, mating it to a premium WP Suspension shock absorber that sits almost parallel to the ground. He spared absolutely no expense at the front end, either, cleverly retrofitting a Yamaha R6’s forks with the help of new triple clamps.

These repurposed forks were treated to adjustable internals from Wilbers, and the same R6 also donated its sturdy brake calipers. They’re actuated via braided stainless-steel hoses and bite down on floating aftermarket rotors. Yellowrider’s classy FZS is just as intricate from a cosmetic standpoint, with the star of the show being its outfit.

First things first, the project’s mastermind got his hands on some juicy TZ500 replica bodywork, including a full fairing and a boxy tail section. He revised the Fazer’s subframe before fitting these striking garments, and the parts were subsequently installed by way of bespoke mounting hardware. They’ve been carefully tweaked wherever necessary to better suit their new host, while a solo seat with two-tone upholstery was put together in-house.

All the electronics are now located inside the tail unit, but there’s also a discreet rear fender attached to the underside of the subframe. Finishing off the rear end are dual taillights, sizeable turn signals, and a handmade license plate holder fabricated from scratch. Similar blinkers can be spotted at the front, as well, accompanying an offset headlamp of modest proportions.

Up in the cockpit area, you will notice R6 clip-ons equipped with fresh grips and switches, all fronted by a pair of analog aftermarket dials. As far as the creature’s 95-hp, 599cc inline-four was concerned, Yellowrider found everything to be in pretty good condition, so he performed a simple service just for good measure. Maarten tuned its Mikuni carbs and adjusted the valves, but some upgrades to the intake and exhaust were in order.

A quartet of individual K&N pod filters replace the stock airbox, and today’s protagonist really went to town on the exhaust pipework. Making use of stainless-steel tubing, he built a couple of separate two-into-one arrangements – one ending low down near the swingarm while the other terminates on the right-hand side of the tail.

Capping off the exhaust plumbing are twin silencers obtained from Laser’s catalog, with the whole setup echoing what you’d see on the TZ500. The same goes for the color scheme chosen by Maarten Poodt to round out the transformation process. He painted the wheels gold and applied a white base to the main bodywork items, topping it off with red speed block graphics, black pinstripes, and gold Yamaha tank logos.

We also find decals from some of the brands that contributed with parts to this build, sprinkled all over it to further enhance the racer look. Last but not least, the northernmost portion of the fairing is draped in a circular yellow motif filled with the number five. That finally brings us to the end of Yellowrider’s makeover, and we can probably all agree that he knocked it straight out of the ballpark!