Los Angeles resident Billy Washington spends his day working as a director in the film industry, and he spends every Wednesday evening cruising at Hollywood Bike Night just off of Sunset Boulevard. So it only makes sense that when he settled on a theme to set off his custom 2002 Suzuki Hayabusa, it was the motion picture industry. Celluloid film reels, a director's clapboard and other film iconography give shape to the incredibly detailed graphics on this 'Busa, along with scenes from Ice, a screenplay he wrote and is currently working to put into production. Ice tells the story of a female action hero searching for her partner. In order to transfer that story to paint, Washington first contracted well-known storyboard artist Ondre to render select scenes from the screenplay, which were then delivered to airbrush artist Klair Phillips, who applied graphics to the bike over a stunning candy-blue pearl and silver basecoat. Gorgeous graphics are just the beginning of Washington's work on this bike, though-out back you'll find an extended swingarm riding on a custom Ohlins rear shock and carrying a 240mm RC Components spinner rim. At the end of the exhaust header you'll spot a Yoshimura Tri-Oval exhaust can. And, of course, what would a bike dedicated to Hollywood magic be without video capabilities? To that point, Washington fitted three video monitors to his ride, along with an eight-speaker sound system to deliver tunes and a custom digital dash with a rearview camera monitor and built-in navigation system. Finishing the package off is a full complement of blue LED lighting (wired to synch and pulse with whatever tunes are playing on the stereo), including individual LEDs placed strategically throughout the fairing to light up the eyes of the characters painted on the sides. Does it drop jaws even in over-the-top Hollywood? Hell yes! Washington showed up at Super Streetbike's recent Bike Night Out event and walked away with the Best in Show prize, putting him on top of the hottest custom bikes in the Los Angeles area. The 'Busa drops jaws on the street, too, and it sees plenty of street action as well since Washington is also the president and founder of the well-known Platinum Ryders, one of the largest and most active sportbike clubs in California.
AV Club
With three video monitors, an eight-speaker stereo system, rearview camera and all-digital dash, this 'Zook is a techno-geek's dream.
Rainbow Warrior
England is not known for a friendly climate, so it's pretty surprising to see so many people commuting to work on sportbikes, especially trick ones like this R1 owned by Richard Lindoe of Halesowen, U.K. But ride this bike Lindoe does, rain or shine, never mind how incredible the details on this bike are. The first thing Lindoe did with this one was dial up some custom licks from local paint house Born to Be Wild, applying a traditional Yamaha racing stripe graphic pattern in the decidedly nontraditional hot lime/sapphire blue hues for a fresh look. The coolest part of the paint treatment has to be the rainbow-shaded areas on the frame, fork and swingarm where the paint fades from blue to red to gold and finally clear-coated aluminum. The many mechanical mods applied to this ride were all performed with a goal of making the bike lighter, quicker and better handling. On went a set of BST carbon fiber wheels, made with a monocoque construction that combines hollow spokes with a very lightweight rim to shed pounds. The bike is fitted front and rear with Galfer stainless steel, laser-cut, Wave rotors, helped along by Goodridge braided stainless steel lines to help Lindoe apply maximum braking pressure. Underneath the bike Lindoe has fitted an Ohlins rear shock and a matching Ohlins steering damper up front, and the brilliant gold foot controls come from Gilles, who also supplied the equally attractive chain adjusters at the end of the swingarm. For ultrasmooth downshifts, a Sigma slipper clutch was dropped in behind the clutch cover, and under the seat that's a Dyno-Mite brand exhaust system with a Dynojet Power Commander to control the air-fuel mix. To finish the bike off, Lindoe also added an MRA Dub-Bub tinted screen, and in an effort to keep down the weight and streamline the looks, it's got Avia carbon mirrors plus a Dyno-Mite carbon-fiber hugger and front mudguard. It might take you a while to find the turn signals, but we'll let you search them out on your own; they are fitted to the bike... Admiring the finished bike parked outside the local pub, the overall effect is arresting, even in the dreary English winter light.
Sticker Shock
In the spirit of those old margarine commercials on television, we took one look at Ron Sharitz's wild-looking 2002 Yamaha R6 and shouted out "We can't believe it's not paint!" That's right, the intricate tribal graphics on Sharitz's R6 are not painted on, but, rather, cut vinyl stickers designed and made by the owner himself. The current vinyl graphics package is the fifth design that Sharitz has had on this bike, featuring a custom tribal design that Sharitz calls "cyber tribal." The graphics on this bike look brilliant, especially against the chrome-plated tank and plasti-chromed body panels that were done by XXX Plating (www.xxxplating.com) in Glendale, Wisconsin. After busting his meager budget (Sharitz works as a school teacher in Riverview, Florida) on all this chrome, Sharitz hand-polished the rest of the bike himself, including the frame, swingarm, engine case covers and many other parts, to save a few bucks. Money that he saved was immediately funneled right back into the bike, spent on trick bits like a Viper Alarm, billet grips, engraved kickstand and tribal flame mirrors from JDA Customs (www.jdacustom.com). The custom-embroidered seat skin accents the Cyber Tribal design, and an extra battery was installed to power three sets of white neon light strings and 50 more LED bulbs operated via remote control. Engine modifications are kept simple, limited to BMC air filter, Factory Ignition Advancer and jet kit along with a Hindle high mount full exhaust system. "I find pleasure in knowing that I've done most of the work to this bike myself," Sharitz says. Some people buy a bike and send it off to be plated and painted and then sit on it and take all the credit. Some of those people can't even change their own oil."