Yamaha XS400 Cafe Racer by Vintage Addiction Crew

Yamaha XS400 Cafe RAcer

“To lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back to the crowd.”

This was a quote we first heard from the Vintage Addiction Crew, and it sums up the shop’s philosophy. Based in Barcelona, V⚡️A tends to build bikes based on platforms largely ignored by other shops.  We recently featured their Suzuki DR600 scrambler–a welcome departure from the flood of Honda NX and Yamaha XT builds–and a survey of their other builds reveals other less-likely build candidates, including a Derbi Variant, Suzuki Van Van, and a Yamaha XJ600 and XJ650.

The Yamaha XS400 is no exception, a 36-hp parallel twin that’s oft-overshadowed by its 650cc sibling. As they say:

“This bike, with its small and manageable 400cc motor, is great to ride quietly along or have fun taking the curves.”

Below, we have the crew’s story of the build.

Yamaha XS400 Cafe:  In the Builder’s Words

Yamaha XS400 Cafe RAcer

(Translated from the Spanish by BikeBound.)

The small Yamaha XS400 yamaha is the smallest displacement cafe racer we have done to date, but certainly not the worse. This bike, with its small and manageable 400cc engine, is great to leave quietly or have a fun route taking the curves.

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We have carried out the exterior work based on a racer-style fiberglass solo seat, and a new tank from a Yamaha XJ650, finishing the transformation with handlebars and a beacon of new LEDs. The rest of the bike is totally original. A balanced, economic and very fun bike.

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The paint was done by our talented custom painter Kilian Ramirez of Pic-AStudio.

XS400 Cafe Racer Build Specs

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  • Bike Category/Genre:  Café Racer
  • Year of Rebuild:  2016
  • Frame/Modifications:  rear subframe to accommodate the battery and electrical installation
  • Body Work:  Fiberglass solo seat and tank from XJ650
  • Motor:  400cc
  • Gas Tank:  Yamaha XJ650
  • Exhaust:  Original
  • Front Suspensions/Fork:  Original forks lowered in height
  • Rear Suspensions/Shocks:  Original
  • Tire/Wheels:  Michelin
  • Brakes:  Original
  • Paint:  Kilian pica-studio

Follow the Builder

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One Comment

  1. Boston H Mann

    I really love the lines on this bike! I am in the middle of a Seca xs400 café build myself, and it is nice to see someone else has taken this unique bike and built a café racer. The hung engine, a mono shock setup…I am surprised that more people haven’t done this before. It has inspired me and given me some more ideas on my build. Thanks!!!

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