We know the Germans are pretty handy when it comes to building wild streetfighters, and oftentimes they go beyond anything sense and reason suggest. Wild upswept tails and monstrous plastic headlight moldings are pretty standard, but it appears that SP Fight Machines has grown tired of the typical.
Shop owner Phil Schubert started his professional career as a car mechanic, but once he discovered the world of two-wheelers he knew where he truly belonged-slashing and dicing bike parts together.
His shop has produced some pretty special machines, and his Buell XB9SX is not only fresh and innovative, but also a highly unlikely source for a project. German streetfighters are traditionally air-cooled Gixxer 1100s and old CBR900s for the most part, so when we learned of this special Buell, we figured it would be worth the investment in a few German courses to get the scoop.
What we deciphered is that the 2006 City X model was essentially stripped to the bare frame and given a healthy injection of attitude, innovation and style. The stock bike is a somewhat dorked-down version of the more radical Lightning, but this version clearly blows both away.
SP Fight Machines has partnered with some pretty handy builders, because its swingarm and wheel arrangement would do any ride nicely. In this case it stretched the otherwise stubby Buell out nicely and fattened the rear with a 330-section deep-dish fatty.
The matching front wheel eliminated Buell's trademark rim-mounted caliper for a Braking Wave disc instead. It's unique in this case because of the work done on the forks to make it fit, but it's one piece of the original we wouldn't have minded if it stuck around. In proper streetfighter form, all of the cables and clutter have been hidden and integrated into the controls for a tidy finish.