Custom YX 600 Radians

I just found a couple of customized Radians. I don't know the origin of these images.


Not quite the direction I want to go at all, but interesting to see that someone has made the attempt...

Quick Handlebar Mock-up

I just made a quick Photoshop mock-up of a possible handlebar and headlight configuration. Any alterations to the bike should emphasize the bike's "soul". The Radian is small, low and solid. It should stay that way...

It's Alive!

I just received a call from Sonne (my friend and brother in arms) who asked me if I wanted the good news or the bad news. Both, obviously, I replied.

It turns out that the battery is dead. It has been charging for almost three days without building up enough spark to kick the starter.

Sonne had tried replacing the battery with the one from a Kawasaki ER-6 also residing at the premises. The Radian started right away and purred like a - large - kitten. Great!


The image also gives a good idea about the condition of the bike. The engine used to be black once. The previous owner(s) seem to have been riding it like a bitch and leaving it outside in all conditions...

The YX600 Before the Transformation

The Radian has just been pulled off the trailer, and posed for the obligatory "before" images...

Buying by Accident

I've bought a Yamaha YX600 Radian this Saturday. It was cheap, beat-up, ugly and it had a flat front tire - Yet intriguingly charming and unable to start.


I bought it kind of by accident on an auction. My good friend and I was at the auction and had decided to place at least one bid before leaving again. This bid happened to become the winning bid.

The bike had item number "113" - Thus the bike shall henceforth be known as "113".

None of us had seen this model before, even though we between us have quite an encyclopedic knowledge about motorcycle models. Having googled it when we got back home - feeling all fuzzy about the purchase - it turned out that the Radian is a U.S. market model only. A number of bikes have been imported to Europe, and only a very few to Denmark.

Keeping old bikes original and in mint condition is not my thing. This will not be that kind of project. This will be about stripping as much off as possible and rebuild the bike as a hot-rod kind of bobber old-school thing.

The project is expected to progress VERY slowly, as both me and my friend have day-jobs AND live in separate ends of the country. I will post here whenever there is something new to post.