Customised Yamaha XV 1900

Breaking into the cruiser market hasn't been easy for the Japanese brands. American marques such as Harley-Davidson have had a stranglehold on the genre for decades, but one Melbourne motorcycle dealership is creating customised Yamaha XV 1900s that are generating a lot of interest.

Currently working on his second bike, Darren Taylor of Geoff Taylor Motorcycles in Dandenong told the Bikesales Network that he created the original black/green custom cruiser to gauge interest in such a design.

"It's hard to compete in the Harley market with custom Japanese bikes, but we're giving it go," says Darren Taylor, who said the custom bikes have already attracted a lot of attention.

"We have built two customs so far," continued Taylor, "the first was the green/black and the second one is blue/grey. Response to these has been very positive."

Using a Yamaha XV 1900 as a canvas, the team at Geoff Taylor Motorcycles started the modifications by adding new mirrors ($150), handlebars from Yamaha USA ($350), plus a custom exhaust system ($1399) and custom paint work ($4000) by John Kral of Kral's Creations in Berwick, Victoria.

Add labour costs of around $2000 and there you have it, the green machine. "The green bike was less customised than our second creation, the blue model, so the price was far cheaper - it sold recently for $25K," says Taylor.

He explained that the second model, the new blue bike, is still a work in progress but that he expects the price tag to be around $40,000. "I haven’t figured the price out yet because it's still a work in progress," explains Taylor.

And as the photos show the blue Yamaha is not your ordinary Japanese V-twin cruiser, showing off a bold design that demands attention.

The paintwork for the second model, again by Kral's Creations, didn't come cheap at $5500, and the crew down at Geoff Taylor Motorcycles has made even more changes to the Yamaha XV 1900, with this model benefitting from the following modifications:

• Handlebars from Yamaha USA $350
• Grips $200
• Mirrors from Arlen Ness $150
• Forward Controls $1199
• Custom Exhaust $1399
• Custom Wheels from Yamaha USA $4000
• Custom Drive Pulley from Yamaha USA $1000
• Chrome switchblocks, mastercylinder's, levers, forks and fork covers $1000
• Lowering kit $300
• Custom front and rear fenders from Arlen Ness $2000
• Side Mount Number plate $400

With around $3000 worth of labour, the blue bike is a far more outgoing creation, one that "really turns heads" according to Taylor. He added that he was quite surprised at the response from people on the street who saw it being tested.

When asked about engine mods, Taylor explained that performance was secondary to the visual appeal of these cruisers, saying "It's more about the look," and that if you get the image right the job is pretty much done. However Darren Taylor did confirm the exhaust system modifications make mild changes to power output (a couple of horsepower) and that the acoustics of the motorcycles benefit greatly from the new exhaust setup.

Could this be the start of a new trend to develop highly customised Japanese cruisers in the local market? Watch this space…

For contact details check out Taylor Motorcycles.com.au.