The weekend is nearly right here, so what higher method to have a good time than with a spicy two-stroke road tracker? This wild Yamaha RD400 is the work of Garett Wilson out of Colorado, USA—and it’s as refreshing as a root beer float on a sizzling day.
Working as DubStyle Designs, Garett has a knack for constructing flat track-inspired bikes created for road driving shenanigans. He’s additionally been quoted as saying that he likes “vans with aspect pipes, boat flake paint jobs, and women with feathered bangs.” That’s why every little thing that rolls out of his workshop not solely seems to be like it could be a hoot to experience, however sometimes has a hot-rodded paint job to match.
This 1977-model Yamaha RD400 road tracker isn’t any completely different, despite the fact that Garett’s preliminary plan for it was means completely different. “I traded my KTM 250SX for it about 9 years in the past,” he tells us, “after I shredded my knee and realized that with a spouse, children, and mortgage, I ought to perhaps cease racing motocross.”
“I initially thought I’d construct a motorbike that me and my spouse may tackle date nights. I labored on it somewhat in between different builds I used to be engaged on, making a brand new subframe and seat for a passenger, and placing on GSX-R forks and a few 19F/18R Excel wheels with cruiser tires. However I got here to the conclusion that it was by no means going to be snug for the 2 of us, and stripped it again aside.”
The undertaking stalled till the beginning of this 12 months when Garett determined to tug it again onto the workbench and provides it the quintessential DubStyle remedy. With the Handbuilt Present in Austin performing as a deadline, he started working.
Garett based mostly the design of his RD400 loosely on the long-lasting Champion-framed flat trackers of the 70s. That meant sourcing a fiberglass Champion tail part and fabricating a brand new subframe with the right kick on the again. However earlier than the tailpiece and body may meet, a couple of changes needed to be made.
For starters, Garett modified the aspect of the tailpiece to interface neatly with the Yamaha’s OEM oil tank, and even added a tidy little cutout for the dipstick. Subsequent, he hacked and re-shaped the tail bump to accommodate an LED strip taillight. (The bike’s vital electrical bits are hiding underneath there too.)
A {custom} saddle sits up prime, that includes a relatively groovy stitching sample, courtesy of Brian Kugler. A repurposed aluminum gasoline tank from a Nineteen Seventies Yamaha YZ400 enduro sits in entrance of it; an impressed selection that matches the remainder of the format fantastically.
Transferring to the RD400’s operating gear, Garett ditched the GSX-R forks for a set of right-side-up Yamaha R6 models. An aluminum swingarm from a Nineteen Seventies Kawaski sits out again, hooked as much as a pair of Fox shocks.
The beautiful 7-spoke Morris-style wheels are additionally classic Kawasaki objects. Garett needed to machine new carriers for the brake rotors and rear sprocket, earlier than equipping the bike with Brembo calipers and Galfer discs. Given the pick-and-mix nature of the construct, even smaller components just like the caliper mounts needed to be machined from scratch.
The exhaust system is one other cut-and-paste affair. Garett began by recycling a dinged-up Manufacturing unit Pipe system—which included repairing the one ding that was too critical to reside with. Then he hacked off the silencers and welded on a pair of FMF cans.
“I didn’t need to spend the massive bucks on new pipes (but),” he quips.
A custom-made quantity board sits up entrance, internet hosting a pair of rectangular headlights. Different modifications embrace Renthal bars and grips, and upgraded pegs and foot controls. In between the massive ticket objects are numerous bespoke components; Garett credit Jake Shellito for serving to him machine them in time for the Handbuilt Present.
In true DubStyle style, Garett picked a retro-fabulous livery to push his Yamaha RD400 road tracker over the end line. Whitey’s Paint Store laid down the foundation beer flake base and pink, orange, and yellow graphics, whereas NeCo Customs tackled the myriad Cerakote finishes.
The one factor that makes us happier than figuring out that there’s yet another basic RD400 tearing up the streets, is that it seems to be this good. Now if solely Garett would hand us the keys, our weekend could be good.
DubStyle Designs | Instagram | Photographs by Garett Wilson, with because of IMI Motorsports Advanced
