There is very little the Japanese do badly when it comes to, well, just about anything, but especially motorcycles. But their retro-inspired muscle bikes have, to be honest, been somewhat of a letdown in one key area. From the modern CB1100s to the big Zs, the GSX and the XJR, all offer great classic looks and big rev-friendly four-cylinder engines. Then they go and ruin it all by bolting on just about the cheapest suspension money can buy, and a great bike is just, well, ok. Enter Aussie young-gun builder Keeley Pritchett, who’s so good we had to invent a new category for our Bike of the Year Awards just for him. Given the job of building a custom Yamaha XJR1300, the Pritchett and Sons ace has not only given it the handling it deserves, but a stunning make-over that’s truly befitting of the big angry donk.
Despite having been around the scene for a good while now, Keeley is still very much a young lad, which just goes to show what a truly young age he was when he first came out swinging with an incredible Supercharged Yamaha SR build. But what makes him even more important to the scene is the fact he has dedicated himself to not just being a highly mechanically minded bike builder, but someone who truly excels in all of the fundamental skills. When most other teenagers are refusing to clean their rooms, he stayed back after work to extend the aluminium cooling fins on his SR. It is this kind of work and dedication, which teaches you skills that money just can’t buy.
So it made perfect sense that a Yamaha owner who wanted some high-quality work done to his bike would seek Keeley out. Sadly, that Yamaha, the 2002 XJR1300 that sits before you, arrived at the Pritchett and Sons laboratory in fairly terrible shape. “So I received this bike from a customer with some basic work already done. And it was ugly. The front-end conversion was done with R1 wheels but the rear swing arm was a twin shock really wide square looking thing. With a timber seat plonked on top between the top shock mounts,” Keeley explains.
He wanted to make the bike look as if Yamaha had got it perfect right from the start and then gone a little over the top in a few key areas. So to rectify one mistake, Keeley chose a tank from a different year model to get the bulk of the body work just the way he envisioned. But it wasn’t a slot-on task, and extensive work to the underside of the tank was required to get it sitting just right. To further tie in the bold front with the minimalist rear end, a neat set of side covers beautifully pick up the lines and make that centre connection area of the bike work wonderfully.
As you move rearwards, alloy covers make way for a wooden tale section, expertly crafted from Maple. Only the cowl however is made this way, the rest of the back end is a mix of the latest technology fused with old-school fabrication techniques. Sitting between the neatly shaped subframe rails is a carbon fibre battery box, made by Coopertec Composites, based on an alloy design by Keeley. The brake lights add more modern marvel, being totally 3D printed and illuminated by LEDs. Then it was out with the paint gun to give the tank a stunning engine-matching finish, and the seat itself is upholstered to perfection.
Time to get the bike handling right and a muscle bike deserves a big set of clamps to set the stage. And they don’t get much bigger than a five-bolt lower yoke and a three-bolt top, all of which are custom designed and machined for the job. This allows those R1 forks to drop through in style, and you also get the benefit of the big twin brake package too. Over the top of the tyre, Keeley has put his fabrication skills to good use, and a neat front fender sits on a set of purposeful struts. The rear end comes in for more of a major change, with the twin shock setup ditched, for a full mono-shock conversion that incorporates that superbike swingarm.
The big four-cylinder engine is the real selling point of the XJR, and the smooth effortless torque you get from that many cubic inches is intoxicating. But a Japanese twin cam is also always going to rev hard too, and the combination of torque and revs means you can’t help but smile every time you twist the throttle on one of these big girls. The downside from the factory is that the soundtrack simply doesn’t match the action and this is where Keeley once again excels. His exhausts are not only built to an exceptional quality level, but they look incredible too. And a full two-inch stainless steel system, with handmade MotoGP inspired mufflers and a chrome silver ceramic coat finish, give you an end product which is simply as good as it gets.
Having used sporty suspension, the riding position is tailored to make the most of it, with clip-ons added to the front end and rearsets for the feet. Those low bars really let the size of the tank do the talking, so the switchgear is minimalist in design and a Motogadget speedo keeps things clean and classy. The same company’s grips and a custom set of levers look spot on, and the whole thing is sharpened up with those stand-out mirrors. The tiny indicators ensure the tough lines go undisturbed and then to bring the whole look to completion, an LED headlight in a raw finish is tucked tight to the triple clamps.
The end product is big power and slick handling, all wrapped up in an aggressive look which is dotted with brilliant fabrication. The ageing XJR series is getting long in the tooth, but bring Pritchett and Sons on board, and the transformation is outstanding, ready to rip you up like a Sabre-toothed Tiger.
[ Pritchett & Sons | Photography by Andy Aristodimou ]