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
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
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."