Every custom motorcycle builder has a horror story (or many) about having to fix someone else’s mistakes. Sergio Almeida is no exception. When he got his hands on this Yamaha XT600, it was a far cry from the slick street tracker you’re looking at here.
“The bike was already far from stock,” says Sergio, who operates as WKND Customs out of Porto, Portugal. “It had an upside-down fork swap, a set of supermoto wheels, and a mix of random parts, including a sportbike mudguard and a dual-headlight front fairing. It had already gone through a second engine, after blowing the first—clear signs of a rough past that showed throughout the bike.”
Sergio had two mammoth tasks in front of him. First, he had to undo the work already done. Then, he had to transform the beloved Yamaha dual-sport into a neo-retro street tracker that would satisfy his client’s needs.
“I made the ‘mistake’ of saying that anything’s possible with enough time and money,” he quips.
Once the client had signed off on a digital render of the proposed design, the 1996-model Yamaha XT600E was dragged onto the bench and stripped down. “Then came the foundation—getting the stance right,” he says.
The 17” supermoto rims that the Yamaha had come with were ditched in favor of 19F/18R aluminum hoops from Morad, laced to the OEM hubs. Sergio opted for a black finish, before wrapping the wheels in Shinko E270 tires for a vintage dirt tracker look.
“The origin of the front suspension was a mystery at first,” Sergio continues, “but after some digging, it turned out to be from a Gilera Nordwest. It was already mounted, but the job had been done poorly. The steering stem had been cut in half and extended with a smaller diameter tube, welded in and left exposed, like an apple core, and far from straight.”
The Frankensteined stem was replaced with a custom-made unit, and the forks were lowered internally. A stubby fender hovers over the front wheel, mounted on elegant handmade brackets.
In stock form, the XT600 features a single rear shock with a quirky offset placement—but this project called for a traditional twin-shock arrangement. Sergio liberated the bike of its subframe and shock mount and fabricated a new rear section with a shorter, kicked-up design. The new subframe downtubes were designed to mimic the originals, and gussets were added in key spots.
Sergio also added shock mounts to the Yamaha’s swingarm, before installing a pair of YSS shocks. “The layout took some inspiration from the Yamaha XT500,” he says, “with the shocks mounted more forward and at a steeper angle than usual.”
Getting the bodywork right was key to nailing the brief, so Sergio sourced a Yamaha XS400 fuel tank and set about matching it to the XT600’s chassis. “Its size and angles suited the bike perfectly—but making it fit was another story,” he explains. “The XT600 uses an oil-in-frame system, and I didn’t want to interfere with that.”
The underside of the tank was modified to clear the oil lines, and new mounting points were added to both the tank and frame to mount it in the right spot. Sergio also cut out the original filler neck, welded in a clean sheet of metal, and added a custom mount for a flush-mount pop-up cap.
Perched behind the tank is a slim solo saddle, upholstered in luxe Alcantara. An aluminum fender hangs behind it, adorned with a tiny LED taillight. Sleek LED turn signals are mounted to the gussets surrounding the rear shock mounts.
A discreet electronics tray sits under the seat, hosting a Lithium-ion battery and all the vital electronics—including a custom-made control unit that manages the lighting. Sergio simplified the Yamaha’s wiring too, with an emphasis on keeping things neatly tucked away. The right-hand side of the box holds the ignition and starter button, while the left sports mesh-covered ventilation holes.
Also lurking under the seat is the XT’s bespoke airbox, which was designed to echo the lines of the fuel tank. It hides a foam filter, wedged between two aluminum plates and surrounded by aluminum mesh. And although there are no visible fasteners, the whole thing can easily be disassembled for maintenance.
Sergio also treated the XT600 to a full stainless steel exhaust system. The twin slash-cut pipes exit on the same side in a stacked formation, with removable dB killers. (A hidden bracket holds them in place while sharing mounting points with each pipe’s dB killer.)
The unique headlight started as the fog light of a Yamaha XJ750 Seca. Sergio kept the lens and surround, flipped them sideways, and fabricated an aluminum housing. Then he upgraded its internals with LEDs, adding high- and low-beam functionality so that it could operate as a fully-fledged headlight.
LED turn signals flank it, while a set of low-rise bars are mounted further back. The cockpit features new Renthal grips, micro switches, and a small Daytona speedo.
Sergio’s sharp eye shines through in the Yamaha XT600’s pitch perfect finishes. The aluminum parts were micro-blasted and clear-coated, with a subtle glossy stripe added to the fuel tank. The hard parts were all painted, powder-coated, or anodized black.
This bike isn’t just a showpiece though. Sergio also refreshed the engine and carbs, replaced things like seals, gaskets, brake pads, and more, replaced a bunch of fasteners with stainless steel items, and zinc-plated the rest. Subtler details include a quick-release button for the saddle and custom-made foot pegs.
“There’s so much work done on this bike that it’s hard to remember everything,” Sergio adds. “It took a long time to complete—probably three or four years from start to finish. It was a stop-and-start project, interrupted by other builds like a Suzuki GS1100 for the same client.”
“But, being one of the most challenging projects I’ve tackled to date, it gave me the chance to approach problems with a fresh perspective after stepping away from it a few times.”
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