'Faster Son' by Shinya Kimura

Yamaha’s first collaboration with legendary bike builder Shinya Kimura has resulted in the stunning ‘Faster Son’, a true testament to the Japanese manufacturers bike building philosophy.

“’Faster Sons’ is our strong belief in our bike development today,” commented Yamaha Motor Europe Product Manager Shun Miyazawa. “All our Sport Heritage motorcycles are built with respect to “Fathers”, the legendary Yamaha bikes from the past, but built without compromise on riding capability.”

“We chose to work with Shinya out of deep respect for his bike building philosophy,” continues Shun Miyazawa, “he has certainly influenced what we do today. Without any doubt he is one of the Japanese builders who always creates his own style and never follows anybody else.”

“Always at the front of my mind is making motorbikes that I want to see, that I want to ride, and that I can have fun with,” commented Shinya Kimura. “It makes me happy to create timeless beauty without following trends and fashions.”

“I have an emotional attachment to Yamaha,” Shinya continues. “The first large motorbike I bought was the DT1-250cc. I also loved the SR series and I’ve always owned one or two of the SR400, SR500 or the XT500 since I was a teenager. Because of this my passion, or philosophy if you like, towards designing Yamaha motorbikes, is especially stronger and more personal than compared to other manufacturers.

For the ‘Faster Son’ build, Shinya worked with the latest parallel twin motor form Yamaha’s modern line up, finding heart and soul in the torquey, engaging power source. “I thought that someone who really loved motorbikes made this engine,” he commented.

“To me the XS1 and XS650 are very symbolic, they represent Yamaha’s design philosophy,” he continues. “They are bikes that never look dated, and continue to look beautiful in everyone’s eyes; that’s what I hope to inspire in current motorbikes.”

“I wanted to express my own taste without spoiling the important functions such as riding, stopping, speeding and cornering when creating the ‘Faster Son’,” said Shinya. “The engine is the latest technology from Yamaha; it’s not like the vintage engines with beautiful cooling fins, but the overall design of the bike does not obstruct the newest design element or the nostalgic element but rather flows and blends the two together.”

“Any reservations that I initially thought I might have became unfounded because it was a timeless design but incorporating the best functions. Whether you build with a vintage engine or a modern one, the two have something in common; simply functionality taking shape, and I believe I was able to create the bike that has a flow that merges heritage and vintage style with modern technology that promises a beautiful riding experience.”