Yamaha Yard Built at Wheels & Waves (France)
‘BACK TO THE PADDOCK’ INSPIRED BY ICONIC ‘80S & ‘90S YAMAHA RACERS
Yamaha Motor Europe has presented its latest Yard Built project, ‘Back to the Paddock’ at the renowned Wheels & Waves motorcycle festival in Biarritz, France. Hosting guests from YME, Yamaha distributors and media from across the continent at its Faster Sons House at the festival, the picturesque June event was a great success that evoked strong Yamaha nostalgia.
Marking an exciting new approach to Yard Built design, the European-wide Back to the Paddock project focused on iconic Yamaha motorcycle riders of the 1980s and 1990s. Taking their respective motorcycle liveries as inspiration for a range of one-off creations, each design was a unique celebration of the racers that helped make Yamaha the icon of motorsport it is today. In keeping with the Yard Built tradition of using a base motorcycle model, and without making changes to the frame, the ‘template’ for Back to the Paddock was the stunning 2024 XSR900 GP, a perfect fit for the retro celebration of the 2024 Yard Built project.
From the iconic blue and white livery of Frenchman Christian Sarron’s 1984 title-winning TZ250, to the legendary Haga/Edwards YZF750 that won the 1996 Suzuka 8 hours, both YME and Yamaha distributors had a huge choice of liveries, colours and logos to take inspiration from in creating their Yard Built designs.
Two days of ride outs along the French coast, Basque Country, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and multiple venue sites of the festival marked an unforgettable Wheels & Waves for Yamaha, with each of the seven Yard Built creations being ridden alongside a line-up of Sport Heritage models.
“It has been a fantastic event here in Biarritz, both for Yamaha Motor Europe and our distributors throughout Europe. Yard Built is a special project to Yamaha and Back to the Paddock has had a great reception; Yamaha’s racing heritage of the ‘80s and ‘90s is something that cannot be forgotten! The XSR900 GP was the perfect template for the project, and it has been fascinating to see how the different distributors and designers came up with their final creations. I’m glad so many guests could attend and experience our Faster Sons House.” Wheels & Waves, Wouter Buningh, Brand Marketing Department Manager, was delighted with the results.
In paying tribute to iconic Yamaha racers with the neo-retro XSR900 GP, Back to the Paddock celebrates Yamaha in one of its most classic and successful eras. A faired version of the most powerful Yamaha Sport Heritage model, the XSR900 GP is presented as stock in either Legend Red or Power Grey.
Following up the Wheels & Waves events will be a series of videos documenting the creation of the designs and background on the retro inspiration behind Back to the Paddock, which will be available on the YME YouTube channel.
Fans can also design their own Back to the Paddock XSR900 GP using design templates available on the Yamaha Motor Europe website, encouraging them to show their passion for Yamaha icons of its history and share their love for the brand.
ABOUT YAMAHA YARD BUILT
Yamaha’s Yard Built projects have led the way in the revival of the custom motorcycle world. Developing relationships with the rock stars of bike building, the project has delivered an incredible line up of unique, breath-taking one-off Yard Builts based on the Yamaha Sport Heritage line. Legendary builders from across the globe have brought their skills and expertise to show how easy it is to customise Yamaha’s intuitive and adaptable retro-style bikes. The project has given inspiration and set new trends in the motorcycle world, making it a reality for everyone to make their Yamaha their own.
More information on the Yard Built project and the Wheels and Waves festival can be found here: