This custom 1977 Yamaha XT500 is a precious family heirloom

Michelle Liew

July 16, 2019

iMotorbike is back again with the custom bikes! This time, we have a family heirloom that is beautiful beyond words.

Custom Yamaha XT500 | Photo credits: Pipeburn

HISTORY OF THE YAMAHA XT500

Photo credits: Pipeburn

Today, we will be showing you this custom 1977 Yamaha XT500 that has been a valuable item in this family from Ontario, Canada. Jerrett Bellamy has been exposed to bikes at a very young age and even recollects the time he has spent with his father riding this exact Yamaha XT500.

“He made up some foot pegs that would clamp onto the frame so I could ride in front of him,” says Jerrett as quoted from Pipeburn. “I can remember riding with him hanging onto the handlebar and us popping little wheelies.”

Photo credits: Pipeburn

Jerrett’s father sold the bike to a local guy and it was kept 20 years in his shed. His father then started working with the guy and asked to buy it back but the owner had aims of restoring it. Eventually, the guy told his Jerrett and his father to stop by to check out the bike.

“We asked to buy it back a few times but the owner wanted to restore it. A couple of years later the owner told me and my dad to stop by and check it out. We pulled it out of his back shed where it had sat for 20 years or so. He pulled out the ownership, signed it, and gave the bike back to us for free!”

THE START OF PROJECT X-TRACKER: REVAMP OF THE YAMAHA XT500

Photo credits: Pipeburn

That was how the Yamaha XT500 made its way back to the Bellamy family. The father and son duo joint hands to revamp the bike. His father rebuilt the engine whereas Jerrett tore into it and made it his own. The idea was then called ‘Project X-Tracker’. It was inspired by the history of riding and racing Flat Track, Supermoto, Off-road and BMX.

“The goal was to mix modern performance with the original vintage styling to maintain the bike’s history,” he says. “My day job is a mechanical engineer. The rear brake & drive configuration was a personal engineering challenge to fit both on the same size of the wheel. It may not be the most practical setup but it looks cool and was fun to build.”

VINTAGE BUT MODERN: YAMAHA XT500

Photo credits: Pipeburn

The idea was to recreate the bike to include modern parts but keeping its vintage styling. The parts were taken down and mounted with new ones to provide the Flat Track look. The bike features an aluminium number board with an LED light bar. It also has Motogadget bar end signals and wiring from a YZF250 dirt bike. It comes with a Brembo radial master cylinder with a 6 piston calliper from a ZX6R and a 310mm rotor off a Triumph Trophy 1200.

Photo credits: Pipeburn

“The cast Yamaha front wheels had a custom machined hub for the disc brake and the rear wheel has incorporated the drive sprocket and brake rotor on the same side of the wheel. The rear wheel setup was one of my engineering challenges for the build. I had modelled everything in Solidworks 3D CAD to make it all work.”

Project X-Tracker was a huge success after three intense years of hard work. It is safe to say that the Yamaha XT500 is a prized family heirloom that will be staying in the Bellamy family for generations to come.