Think bobber, and you’d be conjuring images of cruising twisty asphalt sitting atop a lumpy twin. How much ever you try to deviate from the norm, you still wouldn’t dare put a superbike into the equation, would you? But, in the world of custom motorcycles, change is the only constant, and every one has their own take on how a modified ride should be, be it something that respects tradition, or something that blatantly shoves it out of the window. And that brings us to the Yamaha R1 “Fatty” by Speedconcepts.

Conceived by Tyson Timperley, owner of Speedconcepts and the bike’s owner Todd Treffert late one night on a napkin at a local bar in Milwaukee, WI, “Fatty” was inspired by early race bikes from the Twenties and cafe racers from the Sixties. With a 2007 Yamaha R1 donating its motor and front suspension, “Fatty”was born after 10 months of fabrication work by Tyson.

After complete disassembly of the Yamaha, the engine was transferred to a stand and moved to Tyson’s basement. Tyson had built a frame jig in his basement and that is where “Fatty” really began to take shape. Many hours were spent eyeballing various frame lines, and after hand rolling numerous tubes, they decided to go with the gentle sweeping arcs that currently showcase the one of a kind frame.

The seat assembly looks like it floats, but does have a hidden shock assembly to cushion the rigid frames ride. Four exhaust pipes were creatively routed by Tyson through the tight space with two pipes coming up over the rear fender and two pipes peaking out underneath the lower frame rails. A radiator shroud that is reminiscent of old hot rods was made out of fiberglass to protect the Ron Davis Racing radiator. Fiberglass was also used to create the number plate which hides the instrument cluster and presents the headlights perfectly. The idea for paint was to keep it simple, so the frame was painted a gloss black while most of the other items were painted a flat black. To keep it race inspired, flat black numbers were added in a flat ivory background.

While Tyson was busy fabricating, Todd worked on finding some of the unique accessories to complement Tyson’s handcrafted pieces. Pickard USA was chosen to supply the rims – 23″ wheels on the front and 20″ on the rear. They are covered by Avon tires – 130 in the front and 280 in the rear. Rizoma rearsets were used and Exile supplied rear sprocket brake kit. In addition to utilizing the stock Yamaha R1 brakes and rotors up front, the stock Yamaha wiring harness and gauge cluster were kept. To help keep the bike tuned properly, a Power Commander was installed.

Photos Courtesy: Jessica Johnk