The Yamaha SR150 is Taiwan’s best-kept secret. Completely manufactured and offered regionally, a budget and cheerful single offered in droves in its heyday, largely to commuters and supply riders. It’s not in manufacturing—however it’s discovered new life within the {custom} scene.
We’ve seen slick {custom} SR150s from workshops like Hide Work Custom, TwentyTwo Custom, and Twist.Co. However this plucky Yamaha SR150 bobber comes from an outfit that’s new to those pages; Balls Customized.
Primarily based in New Taipei Metropolis, the cheekily-named Balls Customized store is an element workshop, half café. They have been tasked with customizing the Yamaha SR150 by a feminine rider who needed one thing small and manageable to scoot round on. Visible inspiration for the construct got here from an unlikely supply—the classic BMW R50.
The SR150 and R50 are worlds aside, so Balls wasn’t seeking to copy each facet of the traditional boxer’s design. The thought was to take key parts from the R50 and reinterpret them for the newer Yamaha. A compact gasoline tank, bobbed seat, and low-mounted rear fender have been all on the record.
Earlier than they tackled the bodywork, Balls tore the Yamaha SR150 all the way down to its nuts and bolts and started massaging the body. The pint-sized runabout wanted much more than a subframe chop to convey it in keeping with the group’s imaginative and prescient although. Balls ended up welding in a thicker body spine, fettling the steering neck, and redesigning the rear finish with new shock mounts.
Subsequent, the fellows modified the swingarm and put in a pair of chromed rear shocks. The wheels have been swapped out for 16” gadgets, constructed with aluminum hoops and the OEM drum brake hubs. They’re wrapped in matching 3.5-inch-wide Kenda K489 tires.
Subsequent, Balls fabricated an cute gasoline tank to sit down atop the tweaked body, topped off with a chromed filler cap. A kangaroo and pig leather-based saddle sits simply behind it.
Handmade fenders and brackets sit at both finish of the bike, with a traditional taillight mounted in an built-in housing on the rear fender. The headlight mount is a {custom} piece too, as are the brackets that maintain the Yamaha’s vintage-style flip alerts.
Balls kitted the cockpit with a set of stainless-steel handlebars, fitted with the naked minimal controls and switches. The ignition’s been relocated to a {custom} bracket just under the gasoline tank, on the left aspect of the bike. The brake pedal and kit shifter are {custom} stainless-steel bits.
Trying to squeeze a little bit extra juice out of the newborn SR, the crew cracked open the motor and bumped it as much as 226 cubic centimeters. It’s fed by a Yoshimura carb and a velocity stack, and exhales through a custom-made stainless-steel exhaust system.
The crew needed to maintain the SR150’s new exhaust as unobtrusive as potential, so that they constructed a boxy muffler beneath the bike that lightly matches the curve of the body’s decrease rails. From there, a brief curved part directs gasses upward and out, mimicking the look of an open system.
Different delicate {custom} touches embody a neat aluminum entrance sprocket cowl and a hidden field that holds a Lithium-ion battery.
The Yamaha SR150’s silver body and gasoline tank sport an electroplated silver end that’s nearly as good as chrome, however with a extra satin-like end. Conversely, the silver bits on the fenders are polished aluminum, to indicate off Balls’ handiwork. Line and Circle Custom Studio added the blue paint and silver leaf striping, tying the entire thing collectively stylishly.
Quirky, but good-looking in its personal particular method, Balls Customized’s Yamaha SR150 bobber is the right treatment for the Monday blues—and a fantastic reminder that the littlest SR has miles of potential.
Balls Custom Instagram | Pictures by Amos Wang and Weeber Photography
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