NEO-PUNK: Yamaha XSR700 ‘Nikkō’ from Portugal.

Chef and legendary traveller Anthony Bourdain left the world having passed on many lessons for life, and perhaps his most profound was simply to explore 'Parts Unknown'. And it was with this sense of adventure and discovery that Loek Janssen ventured to Japan and headed for the nighttime back streets of Tokyo, to explore the way the locals live. He then ventured to a small village to experience the quiet life that is also on offer in the land of the rising sun and came away with a new appreciation for the country that birthed his 2017 Yamaha XSR700. Returning home to Portugal, he wanted to combine his love for simple motorcycle technology with all that he'd learned on his travels, and teaming up with UNIK Motorcycles, they've built this neo-punk street Scrambler known as Nikkō. What Loek loves about the Yamaha product is that it provides all of the reliability of a modern motorcycle, while retaining a raw analogue feel, not overloaded with endless tech and rider aids. “I wanted to pay respect to Japanese engineering and Japanese quality, and I wanted the bike to be related to my memories of my travels in Japan. Traveling alone I spent some rainy days in the darker streets of Tokyo sampling food and beer with the locals, which served as the main inspiration for the neo-punk Tokyo vibe that's embedded in the bike's ethos. After the Tokyo visit, I took a trip to Nikkō, a very lush and rainy offroad-heaven village north of Tokyo which is a big contrast to the narrow and dense streets of inner Tokyo.”