[RideApart] - Bolt-On Kit Turns Stock Yamaha Into Sweet Custom for $1,000

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Bolt-On Kit Turns Stock Yamaha Into Sweet Custom for $1,000

Introducing the new “Janus” kit; a $1,000, 17-piece, bolt-on, aluminum body kit for Yamaha's MT-03

Custom motorcycle kits remove much of the headache involved in modifying a stock two-wheeler*by*negating the need for design, fabrication, a workplace, and specialized tools. The concept of offering an out-of-the-box custom is nothing new, but Istanbul’s Bunker Custom Cycles has just taken the idea for a bespoke bolt-on bike and simplified it with its new “Janus” kit for the Yamaha MT-03 and MT-25.

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The Janus kit makes custom ownership markedly more accessible for a myriad of reasons. First off the body kit uses the little MT’s existing stock mounting points, which means no chassis or subframe modification is required. In fact, all that’s needed to complete the transformation is an hex key, a socket wrench, and a couple hours of a Sunday afternoon. The new 17-piece kit sells for around a grand, making it a reasonably affordable offering when compared to existing bolt-on custom kits from other brands or how much it would cost to recreate something like this from scratch.


The left side of Bunker's MT-03 Janus kit“Garage culture isn’t exactly ingrained in urban living, people living mostly in high-rise apartment buildings. Finding a garage equipped with the necessary tools for customization jobs is challenging. Finding skilled craftsman who can appreciate and execute your vision is even more problematic.*We wanted to help people overcome these difficulties and make it easier to build their own custom bike. Lack of kits like these was the main driver behind our beginnings years ago. Janus makes custom bike dreams a reality for anyone,” explain brothers Can and Mert Uzer, the force behind the Turkish customs shop.


Detailed shots of Bunker's Janus-kitted Yamaha MT-03The Uzer brothers started the project on paper, sketching out and honing in on a design before churning out wooden bucks to shape the aluminum panels. Because this wasn’t a one-off endeavor, the brothers made sure each part fit perfectly, before moving on to 3D scanning each piece. According to Bunker, molds to press the body kits are currently being produced out of the precise 3D scans and the small production run is scheduled to commence in the near future.

“From design to build took six months, but we’ve been working for years on the methods of mass production of the parts, and trying to decide on the right platform. And the MT-25 / MT-03 was the best platform for it.”

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A right-side profile shot of Bunker Custom's Janus KitOn top of looking pretty damn snazzy, the Janus kit also shaves close to three pounds off the Yamaha’s 370lb curb weight.

“We chose the Yamaha MT-25 platform not only for its agile and responsive handling, but also for the torquey 2-cylinder engine that red-lines at 14K rpm. The 250cc platform is suitable for riders within a wide range of skill, experience, and physique,” the brothers said.


Easily go from a monoposto setup to a two-up configuration thanks to the Janus' removable tail-bump coverThe Uzer brothers dubbed the kit “the Janus”, after the two-faced Roman god of gates, transitions, time, duality, beginnings, and endings who looks to both the past and the future.

“Janus’ design language carries forward 80’s Café Racer grace into the modern-day urban ecosystem. Its undoubtedly timeless lines merges past and future, nostalgia and high tech, tradition and progress, custom, and routine.”


For less than $7K, you can buy a brand new Yamaha MT-03 dressed in Bunker's Janus kitThe body kit ships out in bare, unpainted aluminum, giving owners the option of leaving the raw metal exposed or having it painted however they’d like. Bunker’s prototype example sports around a dozen supplementary bolt-on aftermarket goodies to further complete the one-off-aesthetic and tie the build together. While customers are obviously at liberty to select their own extra aftermarket bits, the additional components on the Janus example seen in the photos include EBC discs, DID Pro Street VX2 chain, Pirelli Rosso 2 tires, Yamaha LED signals, R and G tail tidy, Bike Master High Sider 6 inch headlight, LSL Aluminum Headlight Mounts, Biltwell Inc grips, and full Akrapovic Racing exhaust and silencer.

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The complete Bunker Customs Yamaha MT-03 Janus kitComplete versions of the kit are available, as are lower- and upper-body kits, though buying the complete package offers much better bang for your buck. The complete kit includes new tank covers, side-panels, belly-pan, radiator covers, tail-section (with seat and removable two-up bump cover), front-fender, and tinted windscreen that’s housed in its own custom brackets. If ordered prior to June 1, 2018, the full kit can be purchased for just €850 ($1,047), while the upper-body kit is €785 ($967) and the lower-body kit is €450 ($554). After June the price for the full kit goes up to €1,400 ($1,725), so I’d suggest pre-ordering now if you want to get your hands on one of these without breaking the bank.

Unfortunately, Yamaha doesn’t offer the MT-03 in the US market, though it is available in the European, Asian, and Australian markets. Honda did just announce that the CB300R will be coming to US shores as a 2019 model, so there's hope yet that the tuning fork company may bring the MT-03 to North America. There’s also a practically identical version with a slightly smaller quarter-liter displacement is available in the Turkish market (think GSX-R600 vs GSX-R750) known as the MT-25 which the Janus kit also fits.


The LED headlight upgrade makes a big difference in the scoot's overall appearanceTo see additional photos or learn more about Bunker’s Janus kit you can check out the kit’s page on the shop’s website by clicking here.

Photos courtesy of Bunker Custom Cycles

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