YAMAHA

XZ550 Speed ​​Block

Every time Maarten Poodt completes another project, we get the feeling of seeing a Yamaha from the past that we had never heard of. That is exactly what the Dutch custom preparer wants.
Maarten has a crush on the Yamaha, and particularly the models that are hard to find in the Netherlands. He prefers a sporty retro look, and hits the origin aspect incredibly well. When it presents a finished bike, we end up wondering about our knowledge of the old range of Yamaha.
Maarten used to build a motorcycle a year, but he distracted himself for two years, making pieces for other customizers and upholstering seats. Anxious for his own project again, he picked up an XZ 550 from 1983 and dismantled it.
Also known as Vision, the XZ 550 was not commercially successful and was only manufactured for two years. It was powered by a V-twin from 552 cc at 70 degrees, and was the first Yamaha with vertical carburetors. Unfortunately, these carburetors also had an unpleasant idle failure. Maarten rebuilt the XZ 550 using a remarkable number of Yamaha factory parts originating from several different models. And that makes this one of the most accomplished specials we've ever seen.
At the front are the forks, tables and advancements of an R6. The wheels came from an XS850, measuring 19 inches in front and 18 inches behind. The rear mono-throttle is from Hyperpro, and the brakes are a combination of modern MT-07 calipers and YZF600 discs.
Getting all those parts play well between them was not easy. Maarten says that what worked most was the fabrication of a new hub to be able to mount an XS850 rear wheel on the XZ 550's shaft. Modifying the steering head angle for more agile behavior was also a workhorse. The front forks needed to be adapted to accommodate the new front wheel, and the support points needed to be adjusted to the brakes. But everything looks like it belongs to the model, and even the front fender looks like original equipment.
Maarten used the same approach of blending everything to complete XZ's new bodywork, creating a silhouette that looks familiar.
The depot is home, but Maarten did bats work to create cuttings for the advances and then added a lump in the belly to maintain a capacity of 17 liters.
The fiberglass fairing came from the ill-fated Dutch pilot Jack Middelburg and gives an idea of ​​Kenny Roberts' famous YZR500 race bike, with which the Californian conquered World Championships between 1978 and 1980. (Maarten managed to fit it through a spider custom aluminum). Inside, behind the glass, are the original pressure gauges, repositioned in a single fiberglass box. Do you recognize this bulky tail piece? It was taken from a Yamaha TZ250 Grand Prix and finished off with a thin seat and a pair of taillights built-in. And if this license plate arrangement looks too familiar, it's because it is - Maarten pulled it out of a R1, complete with the red reflector and blinkers (plus the pedes and pedals).
Lurking underneath the body is a fully rebuilt engine, with carburetors synchronized in such a way that they no longer fail, and the cabling has been all revised, with a smaller battery. The exhaust system consists of a pair of custom made and bent stainless tubes that end up on a pair of Laser silencers.
Choosing a painting for the XZ 550 was an obvious decision - it's wrapped in the iconic yellow design of all speed Yamaha black diamonds like King Kenny's. The scheme, originally called "Speed ​​Block," hence the name of the bike, was created in the late 1970s for the full range of competition from the brand, by Rollin Sanders, a US industry consultant who also suggested Kawasaki's lime green by same time and created, therefore, two of the most famous chromatic schemes of all time. The wheels have even been redone in gold to match, and there are new finishes on everything from the frame to the engine covers.
It is another flawless execution of Maarten. With some luck, it will stop the parts and seating business and is already working on its next instant classic. Paulo Araújo, direto de Portugal