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Dakar style: A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from Italy

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
This Sunday, the Dakar Rally kicks off again. If you suffer from rally fever but don’t have the stones to actually race through Peruvian deserts, let this Yamaha Super Ténéré be your medicine.

First produced in 1989, the twin cylinder XTZ 750 Super Ténéré was the big brother of the XTZ 660 Ténéré. Both bikes were named after a notoriously difficult, sandstorm-prone section of the Sahara desert, which featured on the Paris-Dakar route in the 1980s.

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
This 1992-model XTZ has been reworked by North East Custom, a shop in Padua run by brothers Diego and Riccardo Coppiello. They’re not twins, but it’s impossible to tell the two bearded Italians apart—and they both like anything with knobbly tires.

So although they don’t exclusively focus on off-roaders, they have a real affinity for the genre. (Their stunning Yamaha XT500 restomod was a showstopper at our Wildays stand last year.)

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
Here, they took everything good about their customer’s Super Ténéré, and amplified it. “The idea was to bring to life the ‘desert spirit’,” explains Diego, “while adding a fresh touch, to make it more modern and slender.”

The most obvious change is up front. North East have binned the Yamaha’s original fairing in favor of something more svelte, and more akin to modern rally bike designs. The new unit was hand-built using fiberglass, and designed to incorporate the original instruments and headlights, with a new acrylic glass cover to protect the beams.

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
Even though it doesn’t look like it, the Super Ténéré’s practical 26-liter fuel tank is still in play. And Diego and Riccardo designed their new fairing to attach via OEM mounting points, so that they could attach it to any XTZ 750 without any hacking.

All the bodywork further back is custom. North East built new side covers, and a sharp new rear fender. Then they matched it up to a custom saddle—shaped like a modern enduro bike seat and covered in vinyl.

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
It’s a super-neat arrangement, capped off at the end by a slim LED taillight, and a license plate bracket that also carries a pair of LED turn signals.

Take a look at the space between the side panels and rear fender, and you’ll spot a pair of red plates. Remove those, and you’ll find an array of mounting points that the brothers have welded to the frame, designed to carry a variety of luggage accessories. Clever stuff.

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
As for the rest of the Super Ténéré, North East have upgraded all the right bits—and left alone the bits that work.

There’s a new Bitubo shock out back, with Bitubo springs giving the front end a boost. The wheels are stock, but wrapped in new Continental TKC80 rubber. And the brakes have been treated to new discs, and a Brembo master cylinder up front.

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
The motor is stock, but North East put it through some routine maintenance. They also upgraded the air filter to one from K&N, and re-jetted the carbs with a Dynojet kit. The exhaust is a mash-up of Arrow headers and a modified Virex silencer.

North East have taken care of the smaller details too. A pair of spotlights is mounted low down for maximum nighttime visibility, and there’s a single mirror that can fold away when you venture off-road. And since the bike’s not meant for professional rally racing, there’s a Givi phone case and mount where you’d normally find a road book.

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom
As for the livery, Diego and Riccardo shunned the Super Ténéré’s original 90s vibe for a contemporary mix of gloss white and matte black. Custom ‘Super Ténéré’ decals and sponsor logos add a hint of red—and a little extra race flair.

We’re not sure we’d survive even one grueling day of the Dakar. But for regular dual-sport riding with a little retro rally flavor, this Super Ténéré is just the ticket.

North East Custom | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Filippo Molena

A Yamaha Super Ténéré restomod from North East Custom

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Every Cloud: A new life for a written-off Buell XB9S

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
There’s nothing more depressing than checking the damage to your bike after dropping it—or worse, after a crash. But for mildly damaged bikes, it’s a cloud that often has a silver lining.

When this 2002 Buell XB9S arrived in North East Custom’s Padua, Italy workshop, it was a mess. The rear frame was warped, the tank was smashed, and the lights were snapped to pieces.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
For two years, the Buell had been sitting in its owner’s garage, before he made the decision to salvage it with a custom job. And then he made an even better decision: he called brothers Diego and Riccardo Coppiello.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
“The concept was to amplify what we like about the Buell,” says Diego. “The idea of having the fuel inside the chassis is fascinating, as well the oil in the swingarm. But what seems strange, to our eyes, is that Erik Buell decided to add a fake tank.”

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
That tank is now gone, and with it, a fair bit of weight. At just 385 pounds dry (175 kilos), the XB9S was already a light bike—especially given its engine size.

To make the Buell lighter still, Diego and Riki also created a simple ‘suspended’ seat. There’s no tail unit to speak of, just a minimal new subframe to support the weight of the rider, which attaches via the original frame mounting points.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
Fitting the new seat meant stripping the electrical system down to the essentials, and hiding it under a thin fiberglass cover on top of the frame where the old ‘tank’ used to be.

To get the fit exactly right, the crew made a clay mold first and then created the fiberglass. At the same time, they made a stubby new fiberglass front fender, and positioned the new lithium ion battery down behind the exhaust.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
That exhaust is a free-flowing Buell Pro Series system, but now shorter to balance out the new bulldog stance.

The original airbox had to go, to make room for the electronics, so there’s now a cone filter in place. The ECU has been retuned to match the changed flow of the intake and exhaust.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
“The lines are now very simple,” says Diego. “The colors are minimal too—just gold on the forks, and red on the seat.”

The forks have been rebuilt and trued, and fitted with new high-performance internals. The back end is upgraded too, with a new Hyperpro shock, and the tires are Michelin’s ultra high performance Power Cup Evo compound.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy
The rest of the work is in the detailing. Ahead of the Honda CB 400SS bars is a simple modern bowl headlight, mounted with custom brackets to avoid obscuring the forks.

There’s a Motogadget speedo flushed in into the headlight bowl, and Motogadget also supplied the turn signals. The grips are simple black rubber Tommaselli ‘Dakar’ items, and there’s a slim LED light strip flushed into the rear frame loop. It’s all very puro.

Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom of Italy

For many folks—this writer included—the styling of Buells is something of an acquired taste. But this one is very much to our taste indeed. With more performance, slick aesthetics and uprated components, what’s not to like?

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Buell XB9S cafe racer by North East Custom

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Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Dominator 650

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
We all love gushing over high-end custom motorcycles, but the truth is that these incredible machines cost real money to build. Which begs the question: is it possible to create something truly cool, without breaking the bank?

This 1994 Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom in Padua, Italy says Heck Yes. Brothers Diego and Riccardo Coppiello have made good taste their hallmark, and the tight budget on this project hasn’t held them back one bit.

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
Sure, there’s nothing revolutionary or over the top about this thumper—and North East know it. But their goal was to build a neat and simple daily runner that could head to the hills on the weekend, and they nailed it.

“We believe that expensive motorbikes and customizations are not necessary to have a beautiful machine,” says Diego. “You can still have an amazing bike without spending loads of money. You just need good taste and proportions, and that’s what we did with this bike.”

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
“We always like to do our best in achieving beautiful projects according to the customer’s budget. It’s a kind of a challenge, always different, but that’s what makes our work exciting.”

“And the best comes at the end, when we lift the cloth up and show the final motorbike to the customer and we see the joy and surprise on his eyes. That’s priceless.”

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
Most of the work happened at the rear, where the guys tailor-made a new, looped subframe for a cleaner effect—and to accommodate a new perch. The custom-made seat is long enough to take a pillion, and upholstered in brown leather with a unique slanted pattern.

Even more work went on under the seat, where North East spent time repositioning all the electrical bits to keep things tidy. They also ditched the Dominator airbox in favor of a foam filter.

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
A new pair of side covers was then fabbed up to hide everything away, with the brothers taking design cues from the fuel tank’s silhouette. The tank itself is from a Honda CG125, and it was a perfect match after it was modified to fit the Dominator 650 frame.

Though the Dominator has shed its plastic bulk, it hasn’t lost any of its old-school dirt bike appeal. North East capped it off with high fenders at both ends, and even picked an enduro-style taillight to drive the point home.

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
They dropped the front forks ever so slightly—and stiffened them—to improve the stance and handling on the road. But they kept the stock 21F/17R wheels, and wrapped them in Continental’s popular TKC80 dual-sport tires for maximum grip when things get sketchy.

They even left the wheels in the original gold, echoed up top by a set of gold handlebars. The cockpit’s also sporting a new set of grips and an MMB speedo—with a hand-made bracket designed to play nice with the stock ignition. The lighting package includes a Bates-style headlight, and small LED turn signals on custom mounts.

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
The Dominator’s one of the few single-cylinder bikes with dual exhaust ports, giving Diego and Riccardo the opportunity to go to town on the exhaust. So they ditched the OEM high system in favor of hand-made, two-into-one headers, terminating in an off-the-shelf muffler.

The Dominator’s killer new stance and lines are matched by an equally well thought out color scheme. The brothers were after something elegant, so they opted for ‘metallic sage green’—a hue found on the Mini Countryman. They then added the iconic Honda wing logos to the tank, and the original 80s ‘Dominator’ graphics to the side covers, as a nod to the original bike.

Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom
Every last inch has been considered. The frame’s been done in dark grey, and the engine’s been cleaned up and treated to complementing black and raw finishes. Even the fork lowers and swing arm got a fresh coat of black.

The result is a funky scrambler that proves that you don’t need to fork out for a Walt Siegl Leggero or a Mule flat tracker to be cool. Just as long as you have the right donor—and as much talent as the Coppiello brothers.

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Dirt on the Cheap: A Low Budget, High Fun Honda Dominator 650 from North East Custom

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Not So Mellow Yellow: North East’s XT500 resto-mod

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
The Yamaha XT500 is widely considered as the Grand-pappy of the modern dual-sport. This late 70s enduro marked the point when scramblers went from being modded street bikes to purpose-built machines. (A few Paris-Dakar wins didn’t hurt its icon status either.)

These days, most XT500s are immaculately restored trailer queens, or display decades of abuse. But they’re also prime candidates for tasteful resto-modding—like this very sharp machine from Italy’s North East Custom.

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
There’s a heavy dose of sentiment attached to this project. “The bike is called The Mauri,” Diego Coppiello tells us, “to honor the father of the owner, who passed away prematurely.”

“It was one of those objects that had gone forgotten, unused for years. Our job was to get it back in order, to modernize it, and give it a new life.”

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
Diego and his brother Riccardo put their heads together and devised a plan: rebuild the XT500 as a contemporary version of itself. They’ve done it so well, we wish Yamaha would add a throwback XT to its official model line.

Slaving away in their workshop in Padua, Italy, the brothers started by converting the electrical system from six to twelve volts, enabling them to run modern clocks and LED lighting.

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
Then they grafted on the front end from a Honda CR—including its upside-down forks and disc brake setup. Longer shocks were installed out back, and the wheels rebuilt with wider rims.

If the extra ground clearance doesn’t hint at the bike’s intended usage, then the knobby tires should drive the point home.

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
The rear of the frame was shortened and re-looped. Up top is a custom-made leather seat—shorter and narrower than stock, but still generously padded. The muffler’s a SuperTrapp unit, and the original header has been modified to accept it.

For the rear fender, the brothers took the original part, shortened it and modded it to hold a neatly embedded LED tail light.

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
What caught us by surprise though, is that the rest of the bodywork is mostly stock. The front fender and side panels have gone untouched. And the tank’s simply been treated to two indentations up front, to accommodate the wider fork legs.

Airhead fans might recognize the headlight: It’s from a BMW R45, mounted on custom-made brackets, and updated with LED internals.

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
A twin Daytona speedo and tacho setup rounds out the cockpit, along with MX bars, Domino grips and classic ‘pill box’ switchgear. North East have also relocated the ignition to the side of the bike, cleaning things up further.

We’re suckers for traditional Yamaha yellow liveries, and this XT500 is as good as it gets. The level of finish is superb.

Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom
It’s a magnificent tribute for the owner to remember his father by, and a bike that would outrun most of the modern ‘scramblers’ filling showroom floors.

It’s also got us wondering what it would take for Yamaha to turn their brilliant YZ450F offroad weapon into a classic enduro …

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Yamaha XT500 restored by North East Custom