A custom Yamaha XJR inspired by … the BMW R nineT

A half-chopped Yamaha, a head full of crazy ideas and a friendly wager: those were the ingredients for Jorge Rodrigues' first build. And the results are pretty tasty. Jorge is a director at a software firm in Portugal—but more importantly, he's a motorcyclist who's always wanted to build a custom bike. So he sourced a 1998 Yamaha XJR 1200 and got busy. “The Yamaha XJR has one defining characteristic: its engine,” he says. “This build had to be done around the engine, it had to exude power and show it, shed a ton of weight, be comfortable enough to ride...