If you follow the modern customs scene, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Bad Winners. The Paris-based shop churns out bespoke machines that are routinely featured on elite sites like BikeEXIF. The French outfit’s latest one-off two-wheeler is a 1991 Yamaha XT600E that’s been transformed into an urban supermoto toy.
The shop first met the ’91 XT a couple years ago when servicing the Yamaha for a customer, though after said customer relocated overseas for a job the bike ended up in the shops possession. After collecting dust in a corner for a couple years, it was decided the enduro was the perfect candidate for the custom air-cooled SuMo Bad Winners had been fantasizing about.
Starting with the 600’s suspenders, the Parisian shop shortened the forks by just over three-inches before stuffing in more rigid internals. Next a YSS monoshock was added to the mix — receiving the same stiffer-spring-treatment the front-end got. The stock Nissin hardware’s stock lines were binned in favor of steel-braided units, and a pair of 17-inch Excel hoops were married to the bike’s factory hubs, and then finally shod in Dunlop Sportmax rubber.
The XT’s power plant was in solid condition so the only changes made to it were the addition of a set of Keihin CR35 carbs, the airbox was replaced with open filters, and the engine was hit with a fresh coat of black. A full one-off, two-into-one exhaust was fabbed up, capped off with a TEC can., and dropped into place. While I’ve never been a fan of wrapped/taped exhaust, Bad Winners says this was only done to reduce the amount of heat the new system puts out.
Out in back the subframe was hacked off to open up space for a hand-formed, upswept unit. Next the shop crafted a pair of side-plates which were then welded into place in order to minimize the number of visible bolts. A new one-off saddle fits perfectly atop the new subframe, while underneath the new seat a custom tray now holds the build’s lithium-ion battery and new wiring loom (pieced together around an M.Unit from Motogadget, which also supplied the instrumentation — a Motoscope Mini and matching idiot lights.
In addition to the Motogadget display, the front-end also received trick Motone switches tacked onto new Renthal bars (wrapped in Renthal grips), and a front-fender/number-plate combo. A fuel-cell was sourced off a Yamaha RD250, before being modified to make room for cavities up front that now house the XT’s LED headlight and indicators — both of which are hidden before custom-cut mesh panels. Next, the guys at Aerografik applied a geometric pattern comprised of blue, black, and white, parallelograms. Finally a fuel-cap was borrowed off a late-model XJR1300, completing the very involved tank. The frame (and subframe) was also adorned in a coat of royal blue, matching the fuel-cell.
Despite being featured on BikeEXIF less than a week ago, this XT is already for sale. Making the shop’s offerings that much more tempting is the fact right now Bad Winners is currently offering 10% off all builds until the end of the year. You can find this custom 1991 Yamaha XT600 E for sale in Paris, France with a price of $9,525 (or €8,300). For anyone interested in this bike, please contact “abhi AT bike-urious.com” and he’ll put you in touch with the seller.