Deep Purple
Smoke On The Water? More like Smoke On The Tarmac! Ben brought his pride and joy Yamaha XVS650 in for a good old bobber make-over. There’s a reason these bikes are so popular to customise – once you remove all the unnecessary plastics, fender, oversized lighting and seat… they become a pretty damn great looking bike.
A rich, deep, dark purple was the colour scheme of choice, accented with a few white highlights. A white springer seat was sourced to add a bit more flair. The HUUUGE highway drag bars were ditched, replaced with a set of mini-apes. We swapped out the big, bulbous tank and modified a King Sportster tank to sit over the frame, which took a bit of work but nothing our boys can’t handle.
The rear was bobbed out with a new fender, the lighting all replaced with smaller, discreet LEDs – including a wicked, bright AF headlight from HogLights. We also mounted an aftermarket LED speedo to the side of the new Sporty tank.
Ben already had a Vance & Hines exhaust fitted, so we gave that a good clean up and brought it back to looking like new. The sidemounted numberplate/tail light set up helped keep the rear nice and clean & tidy, like a bobber should be.
“I love it and I need it – I bleed it
Yeah it’s a wild hurricane
Alright hold tight,
I’m a highway star”
– Highway Star (Deep Purple, 1972)
Mods
Yamaha XVS650
King Sportster fuel tank, modified to fit
Rear bobber conversion – custom fender, brackets, seat pan
Springer Seat in White
Whitewall Tyres
Side Mounted Numberplate
LED Indicators
Retro Tail light
LED Headlight
Vance & Hines Exhaust
Mini Ape Handlebars
Custom Purple Paint with White pinstripe
WANT SOMETHING SIMILAR?