A name can say a lot about a business, as is the case with Lisbon’s fittingly-named The House Of Cool. The Portuguese outfit’s primary occupation is churning out nut and bolt restorations of Land Rover Defenders, though once in a blue moon THOC will partake in two-wheeled projects, and when they do, the results are typically stellar. So much so in fact, that the shop was tasked by Yamaha’s Yard Built Program to transform the Tuning Fork Company’s XSR700 into a custom motorcycle fitting of the shop’s brazen name.
Christened the “X700,” this one-off wonder was inspired by Yamaha’s vintage dual-sport models like the TT and XT500. While the build features a number of awesome touches such as its hand-built LED taillight in one-off polycarbonate lens/housing, custom front fender, and bespoke suede, MX-style saddle, the build’s pièce de résistance is undeniably its swooping, single-piece aluminum tank and tail unit. Featuring parallelogram-shape cutouts with mesh inserts based on Yamaha’s iconic speed block livery, the bespoke bodywork was 3D modeled before being turned over to a Portuguese aluminum foundry which executed the design. The most rearward cutouts in the tail serve as the exit ports for the build’s custom blacked-out exhaust system which winds from the front of the parallel-twin across the right side of the Yamaha before disappearing into the above brushed-aluminum bodywork. Other finishing touches on the XSR include a custom gas-cap with THOC cactus logo, bespoke radiator covers, top-shelf spoked Kineo rims, Renthal bars wrapped in Biltwell grips, and a grilled headlight. With the project complete, THOC is now selling the X700. Interested parties can contact the shop for further information.
