A COOLER RULER
XSR700-based Apex Ruler is the latest star of Yamaha’s YardBuilt scheme
Just when you thought Yamaha had eased off the throttle on their YardBuilt programme, another absolute stormer is unveiled. The Apex Ruler, built by WalzWerk Racing in Germany, is 50% café racer, 50% street tracker – and 100% awesome. The Apex Ruler started off life as an XSR700 but only the engine, frame and petrol tank remain. In standard trim the 700cc parallel-twin engine in the XSR puts out 74bhp, but the engine in the Apex Ruler has been tuned for speed. The most visible change is the lightweight SC-Project exhaust system, but hidden inside the bodywork is a DNA Racing airbox and Power Commander. Helping to achieve marginal gains is the 520 pitch chain conversion, while the Pirelli Supercorsa tyres are helping to get the newfound power to the ground. To help the chassis keep up, the suspension has been swapped to Wilbers front and rear, with new LSL rearsets, handlebars and levers finishing the handling mods. To help keep down the weight of this wild creation, the wheels have been replaced with RotoBox carbon items and the all-new bodywork is made from 2mm thick aluminium. This means that the whole build weighs in at just 150kg. Not bad for a retro custom job. While the tank is original, and perhaps a little out of place, the paintwork is all new. The red metalflake paint is by a painter local to WalkWerk, who has hand-painted the speed block pattern from the era of two-stroke terror. We think it looks great but now we want to see the same treatment on the more powerful XSR900, so it’s got a little bit more go for all that show.