Tremendous commuter: A customized Yamaha SR150 from Taiwan

When you dwell outdoors of Taiwan, you’re most likely not acquainted with the Yamaha SR150. It was completely made and bought domestically, and finally discontinued. However the flourishing Taiwanese customized scene has given it a second lease on life—and thrust it into the worldwide highlight.

That is the third customized Yamaha SR150 we’ve featured just lately, and every has come from a unique workshop. This one’s the work of Huang Wen Chi of Disguise Work Customized, based mostly in Taoyuan Metropolis.

He goes by ‘Achi,’ and he’s been obsessive about bikes since childhood. He apprenticed as a lathe and mill operator after he graduated highschool, then turned it right into a 15-year profession. Then, six years in the past, he gave all of it as much as deal with constructing customized bikes.

Achi works largely alone, solely outsourcing specialist jobs like paint and fabric. He additionally takes on an apprentice occasionally, or has pals assist out (like his neighbor, Leon, who translated the main points of this construct for us).

The temporary for this 2000-model Yamaha SR150 was blissfully easy. The shopper threw out the key phrases “Cyberpunk” and “trendy,” and left the remaining as much as Achi. He responded with a pointy road tracker that’s laden with handmade elements.

It’s a trifecta of excellent selections. Achi tweaked the SR’s stance to perfection, constructed a cohesive physique package, and wrapped every little thing in beautiful monochromatic finishes.

Because the inventory bike is taken into account reliable relatively than rowdy, most of its working gear is satisfactory for the typical rider. Achi merely put in an prolonged swingarm from Mark Bikes to get it to take a seat good, then matched it to a pair of longer-than-stock shocks.

He additionally re-laced the OEM hubs to 18” rims, and added classic-looking scrambler tires from Duro.

Up entrance is a customized headlight nacelle, fitted with an LED mild lifted from a automotive. Nevertheless it’s a reduce above the standard quantity board-style setups you see on road trackers. Right here, Achi mixed the headlight part, entrance fender and fork guards into one hand-shaped aluminum piece.

There’s extra of his handiwork out again, the place he fabricated an aluminum flat monitor-style tail part. A neighborhood upholsterer formed the froth seat pad and lined it leather-based, with a sewing sample that mixes conventional vertical seams with a diamond sample. Out again is a slim LED taillight, neatly built-in into the tail piece.

Flanking the Yamaha are a pair of customized facet covers bearing the shopper’s fortunate quantity. Achi constructed them by hand, utilizing two layers of aluminum and a metal mesh backing. One other customized half sits decrease down; a burly bash plate for when the proprietor takes his SR off-piste.

Then there’s the gas tank. An impressed selection, it was lifted from one other Taiwanese-made motorbike—an Aeon MY150. With its tapered profile, it neatly hyperlinks collectively the back and front, visually.

Up within the cockpit are new handlebars, grips and switches, and a discreet bolt-on mirror. All the things got here from GarageSail—an area customized elements store and common HWC provider. Achi additionally added a set of grippy off-road foot pegs.

A customized license plate bracket sits out again, mounted to the swingarm on only one facet. And in the event you’re searching for the Yamaha’s flip alerts, they’re there; Achi constructed them into the edges of the headlight plate and tail part.

Finer particulars embody a deft remodeling of the subframe, some drilled body gussets and a one-off chrome steel exhaust system. Rover Works laid down the kinetic paint job, which is complemented by a chrome powder coating impact on the body. Tasty.

HWC’s spin on the Yamaha SR150 is a punchy reminder to not sleep on the Taiwanese customized scene—or this humble donor bike.

Disguise Work Customized | Photos by GarageSail