The Enforcer: an XSR700 from Ironwood Motorcycles

It’s just over three years since Yamaha launched the XSR700, and sales have been slow. That’s almost certainly down to the awkward styling, because the XSR700 is a good bike to ride—and the 689cc inline twin (with crossplane crank) is an absolute peach of a motor. The obvious visual flaws have prompted many builders to have a crack at the XSR700, with varying degrees of success. The latest to attempt the silk purse treatment is Arjan van den Boom of the Dutch shop Ironwood, and he’s hit a home run. “The customer asked me for something cool,” says Arjan. “Different,...