James Bond's Arch Enemy Would Be Happy To Sit Atop This Performance Special.
Hot Road Rides In The Spotlight Christopher Cross has been building bikes and winning trophies since 1999 with his chromed-out 1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R, but by early 2005 he determined it was time for an upgrade. "I wanted a new bike. I wanted something bigger and to change things over to a race theme. I didn't want anything chrome or really flashy. Instead, I decided to use only aftermarket performance parts. I had done the bling thing for a while and I wanted to go with a different aspect."
Cross fell in love with the 2005 Yamaha R1's styling, looks and performance. The day North County House of Motorcycles in Vista, California, had a unit in stock, he quickly snatched it up and started his motorcycle makeover. The project was put on a seven-month hold after Cross, a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, was deployed overseas to the Western Pacific. "I got deployed for seven months after buying the bike. But when I came back I had parts waiting for me from all over the world."
The first major modification was scrapping the stock blue-and-white paint scheme in exchange for a more vibrant yellow and blue. The color choice came after he attended the Laguna Seca MotoGP in 2006. "I am a huge Rossi fan and his team colors are yellow and blue. I got a grand tour of the paddock, and getting that close to the race bikes was all the inspiration I needed."
The rest of the modifications followed suit with gold, yellow and blue to match the paint and graphics. The wheels were the final piece and transformed the bike into race-inspired art.
Buyer's Box 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1 Front End: Crown Performance brake lines, Vortex triple tree and pre-load adjusters, Cyko Racing G-Zero SL wheel, GPR stabilizer, Sato Racing clip-ons, Pazzo gold roll click levers
Rear End: Crown Performance brake lines, Galfer Wave rotor, Cyko Racing G-Zero SL wheel, Vortex anodized 530 sprocket, EK 530 chain, Sato Racing rearsets
Motor: Graves Motorsports engine and sprocket cover, BMC air filter, Taylor Made exhaust, Factory Pro velocity stacks, Power Commander III, Akrapovic "Y" pipe
Paint: Christopher Cross
Polish/Chrome: N/A
Bodywork: LED front turn signals, carbon-fiber side tank panels, R1 clutch slider, Lockhart Phillips toe guard and carbon inlay frame sliders, Clear Alternatives blue integrated taillight
Accessories: Avon Viper tires, Oberon Performance gas cap, Lockhart Phillips gold windscreen and anodized bar ends, Harris grips, custom seat covers, Hotbodies rear hugger
Owner: Christopher Cross
Builder: Christopher Cross
Coast To Coast John Diaz grew up in the Southeast and is familiar with the fat-tire look. When he relocated to the California Bay area his goal was to bring a piece of the dirty-dirty to the Golden State. He began building his 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000, but was careful to avoid having a bike with too many accessories that would only add clutter. "I am originally from the South and the whole stretched-and-dropped scene is big on the East Coast. I wanted to bring that flavor out here. I've always been into the clean-and-subtle look though."
Keeping with the high-class motif, Diaz leather wrapped pieces of the bodywork, seat, grips and bottles. "Everybody leather wraps the seat. I wanted to take it a step further. I tried to do it in a classy way to tie it in with the bike. You have seen bikes with paint jobs with Gucci prints. I thought, 'Why not take it one step further and wrap the bodywork?'"
When choosing his paint, he was especially careful to avoid having a bike that was hot today and not tomorrow. Sideline Customs from Sacramento, California, created a simple yet effective scheme. "There are a lot of hot paint jobs that go over the top. It's a flavor of the week. After a while the paint starts to take away from the bike. I wanted my paint job to still be stylish and classy a year from now."