Maarten Poodt is a creature of behavior. Every winter he drags one other Yamaha into his workshop, rebuilds it to his style, and sells it to fund the following one. However he’s modified issues up since final yr, and now takes on commissioned work too.
Judging by the stellar job Maarten has performed on this Yamaha FZS600 Fazer, working to a shopper temporary hasn’t cramped his type one bit. That’s as a result of he’s caught to the identical formulation that he makes use of for his private initiatives: retro-inspired sportbikes with an OEM really feel.
The ‘manufacturing facility’ impact that Maarten goals for isn’t simply in regards to the match and end. He tends to place his personal spin on traditional Yamaha designs, and he usually retains his bikes road authorized, with the form of chunky flip alerts and plate brackets you’d get on a inventory bike. So it’s straightforward to mistake a Poodt particular for a restoration of a traditional Yamaha—albeit one that you would be able to’t fairly establish.
The donor bike for this venture, a 2000 Fazer 600, was equipped by Maarten’s shopper. The temporary was easy; it was merely a photograph of the enduring Yamaha TZ500.
Making a contemporary four-stroke street bike seem like a classic two-stroke race bike is a tall order. However that’s simply the form of problem the Maarten relishes, so he took it very severely. “This isn’t a duplicate,” he explains, “however a really user-friendly Yamaha with traditional racer appears.”
To nail the aesthetic, Maarten began with the wheels. He ditched the Fazer’s three-spoke models, and sourced a set of traditional 18” PVM hoops as a substitute. They needed to be massaged on the lathe a bit, in order that they might accommodate widespread bearing sizes.
There’s one other nod to the TZ500 out again. Maarten eliminated the Fazer’s inventory rear suspension linkage, and constructed a brace for the swingarm that carefully resembles the TZ’s. A brand new adjustable shock from WP Suspension is wedged in.
Up entrance are the forks, brakes and clip-ons from a more recent Yamaha R6. The setup has been enhanced additional with adjustable Wilbers fork internals, braided stainless-steel brake hoses and upgraded brake discs.
New bodywork was a should—and Maarten completely nailed it. For the fairing and tail part, he began with bits of unique TZ bodywork, which needed to be closely modified to go well with the FZS600. Maarten added a number of customized sections too, and constructed new brackets to carry the whole lot.
He additionally rebuilt the bike’s subframe to accommodate the brand new solo seat and tail bump. An inordinate quantity of labor went into elements that may doubtless by no means been seen. Lurking below the tail part are a brand new battery field, inside fender, crankcase breather reservoir, and the entire electronics, neatly repackaged.
The Fazer’s unique gasoline tank remains to be in play, however it’s additionally gone below the knife. Maarten carved out area for the remounted rear shock, and relocated the gasoline faucet. Additional down, the airbox was swapped for a row of Ok&N filters.
The engine was in adequate nick that it simply wanted a superb refresh to get it again on the street. Maarten serviced it, adjusted the valves and tuned the carbs, and it was purring like a kitten.
Getting the exhaust proper was excessive on Maarten’s record of priorities. So he fabricated stainless-steel four-into-two headers, spitting a pair of Laser mufflers out the place you’d kind of discover them on an outdated TZ.
An indentation on the appropriate facet of the tail emulates the identical design on the TZ. On the alternative facet, Maarten minimize a bit out of the fairing to create space for the header and ignition cowl. No stone was left unturned.
Elsewhere, you’ll discover a new speedo and tacho, and factory-style switches and grips. A single offset headlight pokes out the entrance, with twin taillights embedded on the again. A beneficiant tail bracket holds the license plate, greater flip alerts than you’d sometimes see on a customized bike, and even a reflector.
Maarten changed all of the bike’s perishables too, and fitted new Bridgestone rubber. It is likely to be a twenty-year-old bike styled like a forty-year-old-bike, however it’s manufacturing facility contemporary.
Choosing a livery was a no brainer. The Fazer’s new paint job is a riff on the TZ500’s, full with gold Yamaha logos and wheels. If Maarten’s effectively judged mods are the alleyoop, then these tasty pink ‘velocity blocks’ are the slam dunk.
Winter is quick approaching within the Netherlands, the place Maarten is predicated, and he already has the following bike booked in. It’s a 90s Yamaha TDM, and it’s for a similar shopper.
Maarten Poodt | Instagram | Photographs by Mark Meisner
