Yamaha XV1900 MidnightStar Muscle Bobber

Every transformation is like a tailor-made suit. Tailored to the owner, or better said, tailored to his/her dreams. And obviously, dreams come in all sizes. This impressive Yamaha XV1900 MidnightStar is a clear example.

Its owner's idea was very clear: he wanted a very radical, bobber-style muscle bike. To achieve this, the non-negotiable condition was a VERY FAT rear tire, the muscle bike eye catching reference. Initially, he was looking for a 300 mm wide rear tire. While it's actually feasible, the cost of installing a custom swingarm was very high, and in our workshop, we're well aware that every budget has its limits. So, we offered him the option of fitting a 260 mm, also a quite wide size, which is the maximum that the already enormous stock swingarm allows. With this in mind, the rear rim was modified to accommodate such a wide tire. The drive pulley and belt also had to be modified to avoid touching the tire, which is much wider than the stock 190.

At the same time, we removed the stock fender and rear seat to install a very bobber-style fender attached to the tire and fixed to the swingarm, instead of the big stock cruiser fender, which is fixed to the frame and therefore leaves the necessary gap for the wheel to move up and down properly. The solo seat was also custom-made to achieve a perfect fit with the XV frame.

Finally, a custom-made license plate bracket houses the minimal LED turn signals and the LED strip that serves as the parking and brake lights. All to achieve minimal visual clutter while remaining completely street legal. The same turn signals were mounted on the front end as they are almost imperceptible at first glance but completely legal in our country.

The photos show no doubt the final result is. A motorcycle that's impossible to miss, yet maintains the driving characteristics and comfort of the standard bike without breaking the bank.