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The XJR 20th Anniversary Continues with it roCks!bikes Yard Built ‘CS-06 Dissident’

Portuguese custom builders it roCkS!bikes are no strangers to the Yamaha XJR, having caught the attention of the custom world with a number of amazing builds on both the 1200 and 1300, including ‘Stealth’ and ‘Sunburn’. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic street bruiser they’ve turned their attention to the 2015 model to deliver a jaw dropping café racer creation, the Yard Built XJR1300 ‘CS-06 Dissident’.

The previous builds caught the eye of Yamaha Motor Europe Product Manager, Shun Miyazawa, inspiring him to invite them into the Yard Built world. “it roCkS!bikes were high on the list of builders we wanted to work with to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the XJR,” he commented. “Their unique signature style one piece monocoque is super clean and their experience working on both the 1200 and the 1300 model has shown they can build stunning custom machines without losing the heart of the original, keeping the essence of the great chassis and raw engine power. With the CS-06 Dissident they’ve again built a beautiful bike, but shown how easy the 2015 model is to customise without any cutting or welding, a complete plug and play solution to personalise your bike whilst keeping the soul of the original.”

Working underground in a small workshop just outside Porto in Portugal since 2013, Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos are civil engineers by day and it roCkS!bikes by night. Their engineering skills are plain to see in their builds with precision and attention to detail focused on creating their signature ‘monocoque’ one piece tank, seat and tail units in all their creations.

The Yard Built XJR 1300 ‘CS-06 Dissident’ is no exception, with a single handcrafted metal flowing unit stretching from just behind the triple clamps all the way back to the end of the tail. The build is a masterclass in clean, simple, elegant design with a staggering attention to detail. The rear hides recessed LED taillights in its form.

Unlike previous builds, the challenge for Osvaldo and Alex with the CS-06 Dissident was to create a truly unique creation with their signature styling, but without any cutting or welding to the bike. The result is a stunning it roCkS!bikes creation with signature monocoque unit that is completely plug-and-play.

The riding experience was given some extra attention with a complete ISR braking system, including master cylinders for front brake and clutch, front and rear calipers, and monster 340mm front discs and 267mm rear discs. 6 piston calipers apply incredible braking power at the front and Hell Performance steel mesh brake and clutch hoses connect everything together.

YZF-R1 upside down forks take the pressure at the front, modified to fit the XJR1300 steering column. A host of Motogadget pieces make an appearance on the LSL clip-on café racer bars, including aluminium grips, M-Blaze turn signals and a hi-tech Motoscope pro dashboard mounted on a custom CNC machined aluminium bracket designed in-house.

The stock engine covers have been replaced on both sides of the block by lighter aluminium pieces with glass windows, revealing the heart of the beast. A small high performance oil cooler keeps everything under control and a flawless handmade 4-2 stainless steel exhaust screams as the rpms’ rise.

Rear sets and foot pegs by LSL tuck the rider up into a sporty riding position behind a small metal hand made fairing with recessed headlamp lighting the way. An Aluminium ‘Monza’ gas cap adds the finishing touch to the tank unit and is complemented by a stunning integrated tuning fork symbol ‘medallion’ set on the tank. An artisan made leather seat unit clips into the one-piece monocoque in true café racer style. The ‘CS-06 Dissident’ runs on beautiful 17” tubeless Kineo spoke rims with Pirelli angel GT rubber keeping everything the right way up.

Paying tribute to the XJR’s anniversary is the sublime paint scheme, a reinterpretation of the classic colours of the 70s and 80s with pearl white, black and gold and of course the legendary speed blocks.