“This old girl’s going to stay in pieces in the garage for sure”, this self-doubt echoed in Dean’s melon after taking on his first custom bike build, but the long road to victory paid off with a final product that is an elegant take on the Bobber style.

Dean was on the hunt for a bike to start his first build, with the only condition that it had to be old. Sure enough, a 1984 Yamaha SR400 popped up for sale close to his home. The bike ended up being in immaculate condition, and was still stock to the bone. This would be Dean’s blank canvas, much to the hesitation of it’s previous owner. “The bloke I thought the bike off nearly didn’t want to sell it to me when I mentioned that I was going to be pulling the bike apart and breaking out the angle grinder!”

After paying close attention to the chopper and bobber builds coming out of the US, Dean had enough creative juices ready to fuel the direction for this SR400 build. “I’m a huge fan of Kim Boyle, the bikes he builds are so clean and tidy, this was the direction I wanted to go with the SR. I’ve been riding since I was around 6 or 7, but this would be my first build – though certainly not my last.”

Dean thought to himself countless times “This old girl’s going to stay in pieces in the garage for sure” during the elongated build process, but persevered and kept chipping away at it over the years. “My good mate Goaty welded everything on the bike, we spent a few late nights in his workshop bending up and welding. The build had taken me around 2 years in total to the day me and my mate kicked it over! Fuck I was so stoked to hear her roar to life, I was just as stoked to know I was soon to be riding this thing, especially after the wiring process which was prolonged for quite some time. The bike was finally ready to be out on the road!”

The final product is a stand out as far as SR400 builds go. It’s an elegant take on the Bobber feel, replacing aggression with style and finesse. “I think the main standout feature of the bike is the alloy tank that has been brushed vertically and horizontally to give it some depth. The old fella Chris from Two Wheel Custom Paint & Fairing in Russellvale nailed it!”

Dean’s SR400 is currently for sale – Click here to find out more