Maybe you aren’t into wood on a bike. Let’s say the blend of metals and polymers is enough for you, that’s perfectly fine. But just have a look at this racer. Yes, racer. The entire design is focused around a Yamaha XSR700, which has already seem massive modifications.
The XSR 700 base is really all that remains. A rear set by Gilles, a Rizoma fuel tap, Xrace exhaust, KN filters, and Ohlins fork and spring are just some of the components added to the bike. Woodman shop also likes to point out that her ABS systems have been turned off, for whatever reason. If you’d like to find out, you can, because believe it or not this ‘don’t ever drop me bike’ is also for sale.
But, aside from the custom working of the bike, it’s that wooden fairing and color scheme that really sets it apart from other bikes. Seriously, how often do we see a bike with a full fairing that isn’t an eye sore or makes you feel like a 70-year old riding away on some old highway?
That full fairing is made entirely from carved beech wood. But you’ll never find a piece of beech wood that big, so experience in handling wood is very much needed. The shop used a method similar to that of making a wooden surfboard. We can see strips of wood lain side by side to be able to create such a large casing.
On top of it all is an overlay of fiberglass and resins. The use of these components offers two things. The first is a structural rigidity and stability that is strong enough to be on a bike. While the second is just a general good look to the whole thing. Purely and simply, it shines. This same exact technique was also used on the seat. Here we’ll also hand-stitched leather for your glutes.
Just so we are on the same page here, this sort of shape and technique cannot be mass produced, so hands were at work here. Hands equipped with a grinder and sanding disk.
The stripping away of any other sort of panel work offers the bike a wonderful blend between the chaos and metalwork of mankind to the contrast of fluid earthy lines and color. The color scheme chosen is used to further this contrast. Colorside Motorcycle Paint was the team on this. Golden accents made to match the color tone of the wood are found on several components throughout the bike. The rims see this sort of accent, but so does the side-exhaust and fuel tank. Even the chain has a bit of this color scheme.
We hope you caught the ‘For Sale’ bit. If you did and you do happen to buy this true one-of-a-kind, do everything in your power to not drop this thing. As far as I’m aware, wood doesn’t really like to be hit, scratched, or bent.
