Sub-Zero: Yamaha Scorpio 225 Tracker

Bali’s Joyride builds a Shoei-inspired SX225…

The Indonesian island of Bali has become a custom motorcycle mecca in recent years. Few destinations can boast such a high concentration of workshops turning out bespoke builds, many of them in scrambler and tracker styles that suit the dirt roads, jungle trails, and beaches of the island so well.

When Geri Centura moved to Bali a decade ago, he bought a $250 Honda CB125 and turned it into a scrambler. After discovering the Deus “Temple of Enthusiasm” in Canggu, he had the vision to create a custom bike brand of his own, Joyride — one with joy and feeling at its core:

“Why Joyride? I want a bike that doesn’t make me LOOK a certain way, but a bike that can make me FEEL like I’m 7 years old again, riding a BMX for the first time with awesome graphics and blue tires in the middle of the day, heading to the beach. Yeah, riding bike is about how you FEEL — you feel energetic, you feel fast, you feel fun, and you feel JOY.”

At Joyride Motocamp, visitors can rent fully customized Joyride street trackers and scramblers for tours and more. As in the case of Joyride’s Yamaha SX225 “Shirubahoku” project, customers sometimes decide they must have their own Joyride machine after spending some days on a rental.

That was the case with this Yamaha “Sub-Zero” street tracker built for Paul van Mondfrans Lindén (@bttrcallpaul), a photographer from well-known Dutch brand Ironwood Custom Motorcycles. It’s based one of the most popular commuter bikes in Indonesia, the Yamaha SX225, also known as the Scorpio Z — a bulletproof and capable machine, but quite ugly in OEM trim, making it a perfect candidate for customization. The design was inspired by Paul’s Shoei Ex-Zero helmet in blue / white.

Highlights include a custom subframe / saddle, Yamaha RX100 tank, 18″ cast wheels, an arsenal of Gazzini accessories, and a big-bore kit with Titanium Racing clutch, giving the bike some extra grunt for the hilly roads of Paul’s region, Uluwatu.

Geri is especially proud of how well they managed to match the white / blue paint scheme to the Shoei Ex-Zero helmet — especially since they didn’t have the helmet in hand at the time! It’s certainly a headturner:

“Paul said there were 10 guys at one time taking photos of the bike in the parking lot while he had lunch at one of the restaurants in Uluwatu…”

Below, we talk to Geri for more details on this “Sub-Zero” street tracker.

Yamaha 225 Street Tracker: Builder Interview

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop?

My name is Geri Centura (38). My history with motorcycles started 10 years ago when I moved to Bali from Jakarta. I saw a lot of original-style Honda CB125’s for sale for a cheap price in Bali, only 3 million Rupiah or $250, so I bought one and customized it into a scrambler. 

It turned out a lot of my friends liked it, especially my friend who lives in the Canggu area on Bali. He said said, “You built a bike like Deus.”  This was before I knew about Deus, so I rode to Deus and checked out their bikes, and I was like this is really good place. So after that I had the vision to make my own custom bike brand, and I wanted to make street trackers as a main style of my bikes, so I created Joyride.

Why Joyride? Many custom bikes here in Bali are built to make you look more elegant, more fearsome, stronger or sometimes more arrogant — I don’t like that kind of image. I want a bike that doesn’t make me LOOK a certain way, but a bike that can make me FEEL like I’m 7 years old again, the first time riding a BMX bike with awesome graphics and blue tires in middle of the day to go to the beach. Yeah, riding bike is about how you FEEL — you feel energetic, you feel fast, you feel fun, and you feel JOY. That’s why my bikes always give feelings of a JOYRIDE.

• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

SUB-ZERO — a name inspired by the Shoei Ex Zero and Mortal Kombat Ice Ninja. It’s a Yamaha SX225, or popular in Indonesia with the name Yamaha Scorpio Z 225, year 2012.

• Why was this bike built?

Similar to what happened with the Shirubahoku project, first a customer rented one of our custom bikes; after he finished the rental period, he wanted to make a bike 100% the same as our rental bike.

Two years ago we met Paul, who is a photographer from Ironwood Motorcycle Netherlands. Paul joined our motorbike tour using one of our rental motorbikes, a street tracker with the name “Rykers.” Two years later, Paul informed us that he wanted to make the same motorbike but with a few changes to the tank shape and color.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

The design concept influence came from the Shoei Ex Zero helmet, but we kept the character of a Joyride street tracker with a solo seat, dual purpose tires, cast wheels, and long slim gas tank, so it’s compatible of long rides and easy to split lanes in traffic.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

• We customized the original subframe
• Gazzini handlebar
• Gazzini bar end indicators
• Quad lock phone bracket
• Gazzini headlight
• Gazzini headlight cover
• Gazzini rear light
• Gazzini switches
• Daytona Velona speedo
• Original Yamaha RX100 gas tank
• Engine bore up
• Racing Titanium clutch
• Custom exhaust pipe with Norifumi muffler
• Custom leather seat
• Shoei Ex-Zero blue color theme paint with glossy coat plus Joyride blue logo
• Enkei cast wheels (18”) with dual-purpose Swallow Deli tires

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

You feel a lot of torque even at low RPM, so it’s very easy to get up to speed even uphill — this is important because Paul likes living in the Uluwatu area of ​​Bali, where there are lots of uphill roads. The riding position feels more like a flat tracker (not too aggressive) than other Joyride street trackers, as the Gazzini handlebar is wider than the motocross style that we usually use.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

The paint work is what we’re most proud of with this bike, because we successfully found a 99% similar color to the Shoei Ex-Zero blue, even though we didn’t yet have the helmet when we mixed the color.

Paul said there were 10 guys at one time taking photos of this bike in the parking lot while he had lunch in one of the restaurants in Uluwatu, Bali.

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Instagram: @joyride.motocamp
Facebook: @joyridemotocamp
Owner: @bttrcallpaul