THE rumours regarding a small capacity dual-sport motorcycle from Yamaha have been swirling for some time now, although official confirmation of the model is as yet unconfirmed.
The mid and small capacity adventure motorcycle scene has bred a growing army of lightweight adventure styled bikes, with models like the Honda CB500X, KTM 390 Adventure, and Kawasaki Versys X leading the charge.
Yamaha Tracer 700 review
With such growing support for such machines, it’s no surprise that Yamaha has for some time being linked with a move to the class. They already have a platform in the mid-capacity sports and naked sector that could lend much of the tech and R&D to just such a bike.
In fact, an Indonesian motorcycle builder got so fed up with waiting for Yamaha to take the plunge into the lightweight adventure segment, he decided to build his own – and it’s actually quite good!
Instagram user Huzni8 started the build with a stock and standard Yamaha YZF-R25 (the Asian market version of the R3 we have over here) and went to town creating his own interpretation of the lightweight Tracer concept.
To create the adventure machine, he set about increasing the bike’s ride height by modifying the suspension front and rear. Next, he cut down the already diminutive fairing of the R25, mimicking the lines of the latest generation Tracer 700 in the process. Next up he fitted a very neat looking tall screen and finally bolted on some higher set bars to complete the adventure ergonomics.
He’s already been out testing the bikes, hitting the trails, and even taking on some river crossings in the process (see video above) which the homebuilt machine handled with ease.
While we wait for Yamaha to officially confirm or deny the existence of an official Tracer 250 or 300, this it seems is the next best thing – and we want one!
