Photo: AJ Moller Photography via Ellaspede
It’s no secret that custom bike builders are in love with the Yamaha SR400, making use of it to build anything from elegant cafe racers to snazzy trackers. The Aussies over at Ellaspede in Brisbane have tackled the tried-and-true SR platform on several occasions, and the project we’ll be looking at today started with a fuel-injected 2014 model.
Restyled as a flat tracker with heaps of attitude, this bad boy calls itself the White Knight. It didn’t come as a result of a client commission, but was a self-funded venture undertaken by Ellaspede for two reasons. First, they wanted to challenge themselves by building a superb one-off without making any changes to the donor’s frame. And secondly, the motorcycle would act as a test bed for the development of a bolt-on tail kit.
Let’s start with that then, shall we? Now available as a plug-and-play solution in the firm’s aftermarket catalog, the kit comprises a tail and seat pan combo topped with a UV-resistant black vinyl saddle. It also includes an LED lighting strip and a bare-bones license plate bracket, but these were uninstalled during the photoshoot for this particular machine. A diamond stitching pattern finishes off the new seat.
Moving on to the front end, Ellaspede’s artisans got rid of the SR400’s stock headlight to make way for a tracker-style number plate. They shaped this part out of aluminum and secured it in place via custom mounting hardware, while a handmade fender was attached in the same manner lower down. Although an LED strip is said to be located below the number plate, it’s fitted too discreetly to be spotted in these photos.
The cockpit is home to aftermarket instrumentation and a motocross-style handlebar, but there are no turn signals or rear-view mirrors in sight. In terms of footwear, this Yamaha SR400 flat tracker received a pair of dual-purpose K60 Scout tires from Heidenau, measuring 110/80 up front and 130/80 at the opposite end. Moreover, the front fender we’ve mentioned earlier has been powder-coated black.
Ellaspede kept the bike’s single-cylinder engine internally unchanged, even retaining the original airbox used by its EFI module. A bit of aftermarket sorcery on the exhaust side of things was in order, though, so Japan-based Goods Co. supplied some fresh pipework that ends in a reverse megaphone muffler. With all these items installed, the White Knight was close to attaining its final form.
There was just one more thing the workshop had to take care of – the paint job. A white base made its way onto all the bodywork components aside from the front fender, and it’s accompanied by red pinstripes and black accents that nod to Yamaha’s speed block design. The number 400 was cleverly integrated into this motif on the creature’s gas tank.
Let’s start with that then, shall we? Now available as a plug-and-play solution in the firm’s aftermarket catalog, the kit comprises a tail and seat pan combo topped with a UV-resistant black vinyl saddle. It also includes an LED lighting strip and a bare-bones license plate bracket, but these were uninstalled during the photoshoot for this particular machine. A diamond stitching pattern finishes off the new seat.
Moving on to the front end, Ellaspede’s artisans got rid of the SR400’s stock headlight to make way for a tracker-style number plate. They shaped this part out of aluminum and secured it in place via custom mounting hardware, while a handmade fender was attached in the same manner lower down. Although an LED strip is said to be located below the number plate, it’s fitted too discreetly to be spotted in these photos.
The cockpit is home to aftermarket instrumentation and a motocross-style handlebar, but there are no turn signals or rear-view mirrors in sight. In terms of footwear, this Yamaha SR400 flat tracker received a pair of dual-purpose K60 Scout tires from Heidenau, measuring 110/80 up front and 130/80 at the opposite end. Moreover, the front fender we’ve mentioned earlier has been powder-coated black.
Ellaspede kept the bike’s single-cylinder engine internally unchanged, even retaining the original airbox used by its EFI module. A bit of aftermarket sorcery on the exhaust side of things was in order, though, so Japan-based Goods Co. supplied some fresh pipework that ends in a reverse megaphone muffler. With all these items installed, the White Knight was close to attaining its final form.
There was just one more thing the workshop had to take care of – the paint job. A white base made its way onto all the bodywork components aside from the front fender, and it’s accompanied by red pinstripes and black accents that nod to Yamaha’s speed block design. The number 400 was cleverly integrated into this motif on the creature’s gas tank.
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