Project one: The Stunt Bike
Baseline: 1999 Yamaha R6 / Budget: $3,000
Of the three project bikes featured in this issue, the stunter is probably the most specialized of the lot. Once you add uber-tall, wheelie-ready gearing, complex handbrake setups and lean angle-limiting crash cages, you end up with a bike that has relatively little utility away from the stunt spot. Even if it won't be the most versatile bike, though, it will be the cheapest project of the three, by design. You never want to drop too much paper on a stunt bike (especially if you're just starting out) because "stunting" is often just another word for "controlled crashing," and any stunt bike is almost guaranteed to hit the pavement with some regularity. With that in mind, we had no intention of wasting a perfectly good, brand-new sportbike by converting it into a stunt rat. Luckily, the perfect donor bike was waiting in the shop in the form of Zamora's cast-off 1999 Yamaha R6 racebike. This bike had hardly lived a charmed life-starting out as Zamora's streetbike, it was first lowsided during an open track day at California Speedway, then converted to a full-time racebike and eventually thrown away again in a 100-mph get-off at Buttonwillow Raceway. Last time anyone touched the bike was to disassemble it and do a half-ass job polishing the frame, and then leaving it disassembled in the corner of the garage. In other words, the perfect candidate for a stunt piece, despite outdated carburetion and a weak subframe that would have to be accounted for. The clapped-out, zip-tied stunt rat look is weak and something that we really hate to see here at the magazine, so we wanted to build up a clean, pro-looking bike without busting the budget. We planned to adhere to a variation on the road racer's old "50/50" rule, which says don't spend more than $50 dollars on the appearance, and just make sure it looks good from 50 feet away. Rather than using expensive OEM bodywork and paint, we'll use rattle cans and vinyl graphics to achieve a photo-worthy stunt piece for minimal cash outlay. Building a stunt bike means adding items like gearing, hand brakes, pegs, cages and stabilizers. For that we enlisted the help of Racing 905 in Chula Vista, California, to handle the assembly, along with Powers Stuntworx, Full Throttle Inc., ESD-Manufacturing, GPR, Vortex and others to provide parts. This one is going to be fun, as long as we don't break any bones on it when we're done!
Racing 905 Fairing Stay
Facts: Aftermarket fairing stays are stronger than stock, for better support during tricks performed with feet over the bars, and also stand up to crashing better than stock pieces.
Cost: $199
www.racing905.com
Kill Switch Safety
Facts: Drilling a small hole through the top of the kill switch and inserting a safety pin prevents you from unintentionally killing the motor mid-wheelie if you're swinging over the bars.
Cost: $.05
www.racing905.com
Dented Tank
Facts: Denting the tank creates a cupped surface to better support the rider during stunts that require sitting or standing on the tank.
Cost: Thirty minutes of your time.
www.racing905.com
Powers Stuntworx 12 O'clock Bar
Facts: A 12 O'clock bar keeps the tailsection from being crushed when a wheelie goes past vertical, and allows the rider to perform bar tricks.
Cost: $125
www.powersstuntworx.com
Full Throttle Inc. Handbrake kit
Facts: Handbrakes allow the rider to use the rear brake to control wheelies without requiring his feet to be on the footpegs.
Cost: $405www.fullthrottleinc.net