This Custom-Built Yamaha XZ 550 Nods to Kenny Roberts’ Legendary YZR500

Maarten Poodt over in the Netherlands is one of them, and he’s particularly keen on the motorcycles produced by Yamaha. Operating solo under the alias of Yellowrider, Maarten is a sucker for classic endurance racing looks and not afraid to show it on his ravishing projects. The bike pictured above was clearly inspired by the championship-winning YZR500 ridden by Kenny Roberts back in 1980.

As a starting point, Yellowrider picked something a little unusual, choosing to base his build on a Yamaha XZ 550 from the model-year 1983. The nameplate – also known as the Vision – had a short two-year production run in the early eighties, despite being a pretty solid machine from a mechanical standpoint. At its core, it held a liquid-cooled 552cc V-twin mill with 10.5:1 compression, four valves per cylinder, and dual overhead cams.

The engine is capable of delivering a respectable 64 hp and 37 pound-feet (50 Nm) of torque, which pushes a 476-pound (216-kg) curb weight. All these mechanical traits provided a decent basis for the sort of project Maarten had in mind, and what he came up with is a parts bin special of sorts. It employs a several modern components from a number of different Yamahas, along with a nice selection of custom-made and aftermarket parts.

Starting at the front, we find the forks, triple clamps, and clip-on handlebars of an R6, but the 19-inch wheel was donated by an XS850. The rear 18-inch hoop came from the XS, too, and both rims were enveloped in grippy Bridgestone Battlax BT-45 rubber. Sir Poodt got pretty creative with the brakes, mating a set of MT-07 calipers to YZF600 rotors on both ends.

For suspension duties at the back, the motorcycle makes use of a high-grade shock absorber sourced from Hyperpro’s catalog. As you can imagine, making the replacement hardware fit on its new host was a lot easier said than done. The project’s author had to fabricate custom parts and perform a series of adjustments in order to make it all work together seamlessly.

For instance, the rear XS850 wheel connects to the stock driveshaft by means of a tailor-made hub, while the brakes are mounted on bespoke brackets. Maarten’s handiwork is undeniably impressive, and no expense was spared when it came to the bodywork, either. Just like the mods we’ve talked about thus far, the new attire is a mixed bag.

The OEM fuel tank was retained, but its front section got reworked to create enough clearance for the clip-ons. Our protagonist reshaped its underside, as well, so as to keep the fuel capacity at 4.5 gallons (17 liters) without messing with the silhouette. Right behind the revised gas tank is a boxy tail section, which had once belonged to a Yamaha TZ and was adapted to fit the XZ 550.

It was subsequently topped with a thin solo saddle and outfitted with dual circular LED taillights at the back. A bit lower down, you’ll notice the license plate holder, turn signals, and reflector of a YZF-R1, chosen instead of a custom setup to maintain the factory vibe. Moving over to the front end, Maarten installed a full fiberglass fairing that oozes YZR500 flavors.

This item came courtesy of Jack Middelburg, and it’s secured in place by means of handmade mounting hardware. An offset headlamp keeps the way ahead nice and lit, while the sporty fender placed lower down is a bespoke unit fabricated in-house. The bike’s cockpit area still houses the stock instrumentation, along with shiny control levers and an equally lustrous bar-end mirror on the left.

Electrical upgrades consisted of a modern and significantly smaller battery, as well as a fresh wiring harness routing power where it’s needed. A comprehensive powertrain and carb overhaul also took place during Yellowrider’s transformation. With the engine performing as seamlessly as it did on day one (if not better), the Dutch craftsman finished things off with some new pipework.

Using stainless-steel tubing, he fashioned a gorgeous exhaust system from scratch and capped it off with dual Laser silencers. Finally, there is the yellow, black, and white livery inspired by Kenny Roberts’ race bike from the 1980 season. We wouldn’t call Maarten’s breathtaking XZ 550 a direct replica, though, because it has more than enough custom charm to stand out on its own. Yellowrider realy went above and beyond here, and the result speaks for itself!