Roland Sands Hyper Modified Yamaha TMAX

Strip it, strip it, strip it some more. Well, that could very well have been the Roland Sands shop motto as they got to work on this Yamaha commissioned Hyper Modified project.

Riding the Hyper Modified RSD TMAX

‟With this Hyper Modified project we wanted to take the TMAX back to the basics. I saw a picture of one naked and was blown away by what was underneath the fairing. I was surprised as structurally the TMAX looked really cool - different and a little bit weird, which appeals to me. I was intrigued and started thinking about the possibilities of taking this mechanical beauty and using it to create the look of the bike…” ‟I've ridden the TMAX around and people freak out when they see it. To be honest I didn't expect to like it myself as much as I do, it's so different and weird and it works great. It still rides in the same way as a TMAX but is even lighter and more agile and sounds like a dirt bike thanks to the race exhaust! It's crazy.” ‟People think I'm into cruisers but I'm more driven by dirt bikes and racers, but there is no way I'm letting the Hyper Modified TMAX go. I've got a scooter in my garage now - I didn't think that would happen! All I need to do now is to fit a surf rack on it and take it to the beach!” This was the take on this crazy machine, directly from the horse's mouth.

The picture Sands refers to in the quote above is a production photo of the stock TMAX from Yamaha. It seems that RSD took the inspiration literally and stripped a stock TMAX down to its origins. The result is an unbelievably cool 530cc dragster-esque maxi scooter that sounds like a mean dirt bike.

I could go on about how cool this is, but just go watch the video and ogle the beautiful stills.