Daniel Peter's SR540 Street Tracker

Un-Mellow Yellow
Yamaha SR500
Build & Photos: Daniel Peter

Damn, Daniel (sorry) has gotten really good at this custom SR500 thing. After building 3 and racing the last one to multiple podium finishes in the AHRMA vintage class he's gotten very good at tweaking them to their full potential. In this, his 4th take, Daniel's managed to shave a whopping 66lbs off the stock 348lbs dry weight. On top of being a feathery 282lbs it's also perfectly balanced. I mean PERFECTLY; an even 141.0 lbs per tire. I've seen the scale photos. 

Shaving 20% of the weight off any bike would produce serious butt-dyno gains but where's the fun in stopping at 3rd gear wheelies when there's 2 left? The displacement was punched out to 540cc and compression was raised to 10.5:1 with a JE piston. The motor also got a lighter XT500 crank, 25130 Megacycle cam for better low end torque, and R&D valve springs with titanium caps. Spark is controlled with a Powerdynamo ignition, and a Kedo high flow oil pump was added for better reliability. The carburetor is a 39mm Keihin FCR flatslide. The scrambler-style exhaust exits via a Cone Engineering muffler.

Up next: braking and suspension. Brakes are a very strong Brembo/Beringer combo, with an RCS 14 radial master up front. The bike is rolling on 17" supermoto wheels (KTM front and CRF450 rear, if you're curious) with Pirelli MT60 Corsa rubber. The front is a 120, and the rear a chunky 160 on a 5" rim. "It juuust fits." The forks might look stock from a distance, but they're actually a 41mm, fully adjustable set from a 95 ZX6R. Slightly lowered a re-sprung to match the light bike. The rear sports a set of 13.75" adjustable Gazi shocks and a beautiful aluminum MotoLanna swingarm. Toxic Moto chain block keeps the DID chain from biting into the tire. Very minimalistic LED lights are shining bright at both ends. The taillight is Daniel's own design; whipped up on his lathe. The tank is aluminum, from an XT500, with a paint scheme "inspired by an unforgettable riding trip through Baja."

Daniel would like the thank: "My good friend Adam for the donor bike, Jason at Artistimo for nailing the paint job, and Kevin Silvers, Bibu and Tony at Analog for their help."