Right before coming out with the excellent “Mastino“, the guys from Emporio Elaborazioni had turned their attention to one of the most iconic bikes of the 80s, the Yamaha XJ600.
The team led by Mr.
Andrea “Dopz“ managed to put their hands on a 1984 model and transformed it into this wonderful cafe racer, re-dubbed “Striscianera” (Black Stripe in Italian).
The heartbeat of this beautiful machine comes from the original Yamaha Dohc engine: a 599 cc, 4-stroke, water-cooled in-line four unit with 2 valves per cylinder and a 6-speed gearbox.
The guys from Emporio Elaborazione got rid of all the useless plastic bits (so typical of that decade) and put the bike on a serious diet, which led to a weight loss of 35 kg.
Stripped of its mudguards and fairings and with the rear part of the frame gone out of the window, the bike must have looked like a white canvas for the EE boys: they welded different new parts to the frame, placed an elegant fibreglass tank on the top with a classy ERGAL (Extra Refined Grain ALuminum) gas cap on the side, simplified the electric wiring, removed the air box, added a new saddle and painted the whole thing red and black, with the ignition lock now placed on the side as well.
It took them just 3 months to get the job done, and we have to say that the resulting bike really is an eye candy.