Most guys can’t think beyond a box of chocolates or a bouquet of flowers as a gift for their significant other. But Uwe Kostrewa is a THAT’S RIGHT romantic. He just built this peachy pink Yamaha SR500 flat tracker for his girlfriend, Steffi—and it’s not the first custom bike he’s built for her either.
Uwe works like Hombrese bicycle out of his workshop in Cologne, Germany, and regularly race and build custom flat road motorbike. He has a knack for crafting handsome machines with modesty, trading sleekness and pretentiousness for high-dose vintage charm.
Built a Honda XL500 flat track for Steffi, Uwe made the mistake of letting her test ride his Yamaha SR500 on the track. Naturally, she loved it. So when the couple decided to join the beach race at the Wheels and Wake festival in Germany a few months later, they shared Uwe’s SR500.
That worked well enough for the first few games — but trouble came when both Uwe and Steffi made it to the finals. Uwe borrowed a bike from a friend, only to be beaten by his girlfriend while cycling. No questions asked; Steffi needs his own YAMAHA SR500.
Back at the workshop, Uwe inspected the merchandise and realized he had enough spare parts around to build a worthy opponent. Starting with a 1979 Yamaha SR500, he took it apart and started cutting out all the excess.
He told us: “First I asked Steffi what color scheme she wanted. “But there is an old Yamaha DT50 gas tank that has been in my workshop for two years, with nice rust and a few small dents. Obviously the fuel tank has to be original—so for the rest, Steffi chose black.”
With a bit of persuasion, Uwe managed to build the DT50’s slim tank to fit the SR500’s wide frame backbone. A custom chair sits behind it, upholstered with an interesting cotton stitch pattern. Uwe shortened the subframe below it, ending it in a new warm-up round.
Since this is a pure bike, the rest of the bodywork is minimal. The SR500 has number plates at the front and sides, with a shortened aluminum rear fender at the rear.
As for the suspension and wheels, Uwe keeps things simple and practical. His race bike uses a set of Yamaha R6 forks, but he really prefers the shape of the SR’s original fork and yoke for a flat track. So he decided to improve the OEM setup on Steffi’s bike instead of swapping it out.
The forks were shortened slightly, then hardened with heavier oil. Modern YSS forks are located at the rear.
The wheels are a mixed bag. The 19-inch front rim is identical to that of an Aprilia Pegaso adventure bike, while the rear rim has a 19-inch Excel rim hooked up to the original SR500 axle. Uwe opted for Dunlop DT3 tires for the front, with Maxxiss tires at the rear.
Of course, in order to not need the front brake, Steffi had to resort to the engine brake and the original rear drum brake of the SR500. Take a closer look, though, and you’ll notice that Uwe has cleaned up the front end so it doesn’t appear to be missing a front brake. Neat work, as always.
Going higher, you’ll find a set of Tomaselli’s flat track handlebars, fitted with new grips and just the essential controls. Under the hood, Uwe rebuilt the engine with a new 500 cc piston, bigger and better valves. The custom exhaust tip flows into the blacked-out Supertrapp silencer.
Steffi’s new flat tracking whip is as slim as it looks, weighing just 122 kg [269 lbs]. And since she and Uwe now have matching racing bikes, they can share spare parts at races.
The downside, however, is that Steffi can’t hold both of his bikes.
Uwe told us: “She loves both, but she has to choose between the two—there isn’t enough room for all the toys here. “In the end, she chose the SR500, because it performed a little better on the track.”
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