Two things never cease to amaze me about the elite custom bike builders from Japan; the nondescript locations they inhabit and the jaw-droppingly clean bikes they build. Tokyo’s Wedge Motorcycle is no different, a small building hidden away, alone on a back road at the edge of a large university. It is here that multi-award winning super talent Takashi Nihira plies his trade and he doesn’t need a big workshop to produce truly remarkable one-off machines. No stranger to the Yamaha product, Wedge has focused considerable efforts over the years on the SR400, but a client with a hankering for an even more classically styled ride, saw the need for an extra cylinder. So, Wedge picked out a 1979 Yamaha XS650 and have built an absolutely beautiful bike to serve as a stunning daily ride.
There is an important thing to know about the company behind this motorcycle, the shop used to be called Wedge Paint Factory, but as their reputation for amazing custom bikes grew, a name change to Wedge Motorcycle helped customers find these titans of two wheels. But they still wield the spray gun in anger and with prices for a metallic paint job on your bike’s fuel tank starting at just US$300, it shows there really is a place where perfection won’t cost you an arm and a leg. The paint shop background also helps to explain the ultra-clean finish, these are the guys in the trade who make everyone else’s mess look a million dollars.
Nihira-san has won all of the big trophies on offer in Japan, but this customer’s brief wasn’t for a show bike. He wanted “a cool style that can be ridden on a daily basis. The order was always the simple style that Wedge Motorcycle creates.” Having the right donor, the ’79 XS650 was rolled through the single roller door and loaded onto the bench to be stripped down to a bare frame. The big two-up seat wasn’t going back on, so the frame was shortened back to the shock mounts and a new up-kicked rear hoop was added in.
The improved subframe, twin downtube chassis and swingarm have then all been smoothed out and hit with a hard-wearing DuPont black. The owner was keen to keep the stock mag wheels, but they’ve been given a full overhaul with the lips left in raw alloy and the seven-spoke design finished in a subtle gold. As is the popular choice in Japan, these have been wrapped up in Shinko vintage tyres, measuring 4.00-18 at the front and 4.50-16 at the rear. The front suspension has been dropped internally and the legs and trees given a new coat of black paint, while out back, the rear end drops closer to the earth with new progressively sprung shocks.
Starting with the fuel tank and every single piece of the bodywork is hand built, and here you see the old-school fabrication skills of Nihira-san shine through. This might be a daily ride, but there is no need to suffer the pinched crease look, and the tank is formed with smooth edges everywhere the eye can see. Inspired by the stock steel, the new alloy piece sits further over the frame and helps to accentuate the low down vibe. There is no front fender, but the fork brace is sizeable and left raw, while a hand-rolled rear item floats perfectly over the meaty tyre.
Under the seat the stock side covers are gone and in their place is a single electronics box, which is another flawless piece of metal fab. Used brilliantly to hide all the ugly wiring, it sits inside the frame rails to give the bike a more slimline feel, and only the relocated ignition switch gives the game away. Time for paint, and Nihira-san favours the imported DuPont product and a brilliant ocean blue is splashed across the custom metalwork. A single silver pinstripe is added to the top of the tank and the company logo is handpainted in white, with wheel-matching gold edging.
There was no need to go crazy on the 650cc twin, despite their ability to make good power, this donk was “overhauled so that it can be ridden comfortably”. Perfect for day to day duties, the full stainless steel exhaust system utilises a set of individual headers that flow rearward to a pair of neatly integrated mufflers that keep the sound to an enjoyable level. The carbs have been rebuilt and re-jetted and when it’s not time for a photo shoot, the hand-turned velocity stacks can be covered with foam filters. But perhaps the best part of the engine is the finish; blasted cases, crinkle black side covers and some heavy polishing has it all looking a treat.
Sticking with the theme of doing everything in-house, the seat base was formed so as to be easily removed and then covered in a classic black leather. The lighting stays true to the classic theme, with a small Bates style headlight keeping the front end clean, four bullet indicators for legality and a vintage taillight sitting just above the number plate. Then it’s back out with the paint gun to have the brakes, foot pegs, engine mounts and even side stand all looking brand new.
The whole build is an exercise in restraint, not adding anything for the sake of it and simply perfecting the mandatory parts that make up a sensational XS650 that gets given more than a single sunday ride.
[ Wedge Motorcycle ]