From the time the Paris-Dakar began in the late ’70s, this unique and iconic event launched a motorcycle arms race that we’re still benefiting from today. The combination of traversing from one of the world’s great city’s into the sandy North African desert, had the marketing departments of the big manufacturers salivating. A single photo of their motorcycle launching to victory over the dunes could lead to instant sales success and come the ’90s Yamaha would accept nothing but the top spot on the podium. The bike that got the job done was the YZE750 and to pay tribute to that incredible machine, Austria’s Exesor Motorcycles have taken its street-legal cousin, the 1991 XTZ750 and built a brilliant rally raid bike for the road.
To understand just how important the Paris-Dakar was at the time, you have to remember that the top rally drivers in the world like the fearsome Finish duo of Ari Vatanen and Juha Kankkunen were taking part in the event and winning on four wheels. In the two-wheeled world, it was BMW and their GS who dominated the early ’80s, before Honda and their Africa Twin took over in serious style. In both cases, the sales figures of the road-going versions of these bikes skyrocketed and they are badges that are still incredibly popular as new motorcycles to this day. Yamaha wanted in and by 1991 they finally dominated, with the amazing YZE750 taking all three podium positions.
It was a fight led by development chief Jean-Claude Olivier, a great racer himself and also saw the launch of the road-legal XTZ750 Super Ténéré; 32 years later and the 700 Super Ténéré sits proudly in the current Yamaha catalogue. But it is the bikes of the ’90s that truly inspire Exesor’s Christian Schwarzenlander and this build is the first in his ‘forgotten legends’ series. “The plan was to build a bike which should be a combination of an offroad bike and a street-legal motorcycle. A daily driver with rally roots,” he tells us. The former owner had made a few modifications to the ’90s dual-sport machine, but in his workshop, Christian had much bigger plans.
One of the things that makes the XTZ so special is the engine, the parallel twin utilised a 5-valve head design like the race bike and made a solid 68nm of torque. Just how ahead of its time was it? That’s the exact same torque figure as the current Super Ténéré. But to ensure it had modern levels of reliability, Christian completely rebuilt the engine from top to bottom and added the far stronger clutch from the famed TDM850. The exhaust system is the biggest modification to the engine, and the full stainless system with an Arrow muffler, not only delivers some extra top-end horsepower but perfectly captures the look of the time.
But what really defines the mechanical aspect of these motorcycles is the suspension, lots of travel and capable of taking ridiculous amounts of abuse on all kinds of surfaces. The front telescopic forks deliver a healthy 10in of travel but are far too soft and tend to load up the front tyre causing the rear to get unnervingly light and flighty. To fix this, Christian pulled the forks apart and rebuilt them with a set of stock-length Wilbers internals. The rear end gets a similar upgrade, with the stamped steel swingarm now controlled via an adjustable Wilbers mono-shock.
The rolling stock is very typical of the time and category, with a big 21in hoop on the front end and a wider 17in rear. The hubs and Excel rims are finished in black, laced up with new stainless spokes and then wrapped in the very appropriate Twinduro tyres from Continental. To give the braking package a little more bite, the old-school discs have been replaced with wave pattern items that use a far superior material for reduced fade. A new master cylinder increases the braking power further and this sits on a nice set of LSL bars.
These have been completely kitted out in all the best rally raid equipment and not only improve the function of the motorcycle but get the form headed in the right direction too. A host of parts from Kedo join the party, and the rider’s hands are protected by a big set of bark busters that hide an all-new lever set. A Touratech rally dash provides all the information you could possibly desire and runs the idiot lights to the side, and there is even a USB charger to power your own navigation device. An extra set of buttons helps you control the command centre and all new Pivot pegs keep your feet right at home even on the biggest bumps.
The visual transformation finally brings it all together and the look is dominated by the huge 26-litre fuel tank which offers excellent range. The front and rear fenders are modern items to update the look of the bike and Christian has modified the remainder of the bodywork to get the feel he was after. The matte finish with white and yellow graphics gives the Yamaha a mean competition vibe and nothing says you mean business like such a stout bash plate to cover all the vitals.
A new crystal clear screen and twin light setup complete the front and a custom upholstered seat and tail tidy finish things off beautifully at the rear. The ’90s Yamaha sure is an icon and now it has all the goods to give even the most modern dual sport machine a serious scare in the sand.
[ Exesor Motorcycles – Instagram | Photography by Bianca Trapp ]