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Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker

December 05, 2023

We recently did a feature on the crew behind central Indiana's vintage restoration shop Hoy Vintage Cycles and their lead tech Kim Wroblewski was nice enough to fire up his Yamaha XS650 rephased big bore street legal flat tracker and we couldn't wait to hear a little more about it. When you see this bike in person it's one of those things where it certainly looks fast sitting still and looks even faster going down the road but we wanted to know all the details of what makes it such a trip to ride so we sat down with Kim in the shop and got a little backstory on this really cool piece that was the combined effort between him and one of Vance and Hines top flat track specialists.

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1973 Yamaha XS650 Chopper

December 28, 2021

This summer we took a trip to Michigan to participate in the Zylstra choppers Apocalypse Run up to the upper peninsula, (a feature we will be running next month) and we had the chance to connect with some really inspiring and interesting builders along the way who also made the trek for the run on their custom bikes. One stand out bike that refused to go unnoticed at every stop was this 1973 XS650 built by Nick Moyer of Chicago. With every single element of this bike custom made and fabricated from other found parts this bike was unlike any XS650 we had ever seen. Not to mention it's hard not to love a chrome frame and nods to builders like Indian Larry with his wild twisted downtubes. Basically every chance that Nick had to change up an element of the bike to make it completely innovative and original to him he went with it. Repurposing old hot rod car parts and custom fabricating other parts the bike really stands out on it's own. We waited for the dreaded upper peninsula Michigan rains to subside on day 2 of the run and sat down with Nick to discuss some of our favorite parts of the build.

1976 Yamaha TT500: Flat Tracker

September 28, 2021

Flat Track racing is deeply rooted in motorcycle history, especially here in North America dating back to the early 1900s. For many people, the invention of the motorcycle was a new way of transportation, but for some it was a new lease on life. For those that saw the motorcycle as something more than just getting you to and from work, little did they know they would be on the ground floor of building the longest running extreme sport. Although Flat Track racing may not be for everyone, it is easily respected and appreciated by anyone who has thrown their leg over a motorcycle.

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Chasing Harley: 1980's Flat Track Endeavors

May 14, 2021

The 1970’s + 80’s were some funky years in the flat track world, motorcycles were quickly evolving and manufacturer’s were fighting to claim the title of the best performing motorcycle and team. During the late 70’s through the 80’s we saw all sorts of oddball bikes popping up and making their attempts to claim the title. In this story we’re going to cover one specific model that made an appearance in the flat track world for a short stint, that many people may have forgot about our weren’t aware it was even a thing. Before we dive into the trials and tribulations of this specific manufactures push into flat track, we need to give a bit of back story and lay out the foundations of how this came to be.

The Greasy Dozen: Spero Floro Yamaha SR500

December 18, 2020

When it comes to the Greasy Dozen Builder Collective, you never know what you'll see. The range of makes, models, and even styles is so broad, when selecting builders each year we look for things you don't always see and Spero Floro's submission was exactly that! Spero submitted a 1979 Yamaha SR500 into our cafe racer category, this specific model has been very popular in the custom world with builds ranging from choppers, scramblers to cafe racers.

There was something different about Spero's submission, it was bare bones and clean looking, with tons of custom machined parts, it was intriguing. We selected Spero with hopes he would build an SR500 that stood apart from the rest, and he absolutely did it! Without further ado, let's dive into this interview and learn more about his build.