Over the years, the shape of the Suzuki Hayabusa has become iconic in the sportbike world: a slippery, smoothed-out profile that has been painstakingly perfected in the wind tunnel to cheat the breeze and give the big brute every possible advantage in the chase for the maximum possible top speed. Suzuki's engineers and designers did well-the big 'Busa remains one of the most aerodynamic motorcycles ever built, and as proof, nearly every last speed record for stock-bodied motorcycles belongs to a 'Busa. But despite this enormous success, the 'Busa's look-unchanged for the better part of six seasons-now looks hopelessly dated. Soft and smooth and rounded off like a half-sucked cough drop, the big Suzuki's styling looks very 1999, especially when placed side by side with any of the latest-generation sportbikes, with their trendy "origami" styling, characterized by hard edges, distinct creases and lots of sharp points.
What would happen if a customizer took the iconic Hayabusa form and brought it up-to-date by giving it the full-on origami treatment, cutting out every curve, making hard everything that was once soft and generally sharpening up the styling in every way to introduce a look that is decidedly more 2005? That was the question asked by Carlos Navarro of Carlos Customized Cycles in Paramount, California, and the bike that you see photographed here is his answer. Built with substantial help from Dale Brewster of Head Trip Helmets in Fullerton, California, an artist well-known for his ability to form anything out of fiberglass, the pair spent roughly six hours a day for a month straight cutting, sculpting and reforming the bodywork on this '04 Suzuki Hayabusa to create one of the most striking and unconventional custom 'Busas we've ever seen.
Navarro is quite likely the best custom sportbike builder that you've never heard of. He's been building full-custom sportbikes since Vanilla Ice was cool, and for the longest time, his stretched-out "slingshot" GSX-R1100 called the "Devastator" was the bike to beat on the strong (but insular) West Coast custom bike circuit. Clearly, Navarro knows how to get it done, and this latest bike is no exception. Starting with the body, Navarro and Brewster didn't let a single piece of the 'Busa remain untouched. The tailsection was completely reformed, with deep cooling ducts cut into the sides to ventilate the underseat exhaust and a clear GSX-R1000 taillight molded into the top. The tank was reshaped with geometric edges, the fairing sidepanels were dramatically cut away to expose huge portions of the monster 1300cc motor and a scalloped front fender was hung under the new, pointier nose cone. What bodywork remained after this extreme makeover was first sent out to Gabriel Biker's Paint of Bellflower, California, who laid down a mint silver pearl basecoat. Ace painter Danny Galvez from D&D Designs in Baldwin Park, California, then topped this with teal and blue tribal graphics, accentuating all the sharp lines on the bike.
Once the bodywork was wrapped up, Navarro turned his attention to the rest of the hardware. Every last bit of metal on the bike was hand-sanded, polished and chromed including the many engine pieces. To break up the monotony of all this bling, a few key components-including the engine case covers, brake calipers, lowering links and triple clamps-were hit with a coat of translucent blue powdercoat to accent the graphics. Also providing accents are a host of billet goodies from one of Navarro's frequent collaborators, Rickey Monjaraz of RIS Designs. A very big name in the quad aftermarket, RIS has lately been expanding its line deep into the sportbike world and is responsible for all of the trick billet bling on Navarro's 'Busa, including the mirrors, grips, triple clamps and other pointy pieces that decorate the cockpit.