Biotech Beauty
"A biomechanical dream-or nightmare, depending on how you look at it," is how SoCal's Bradley Jackson describes the insane paint and graphics on his 2000 Yamaha YZF-R1, which was put down by Damian at Parts Unlimited Custom Chrome and Paint in Belflower, California (as of press time, Parts Unlimited Custom has reduced its services to only chroming). Themes of mechanical resurrection and rebirth are evident in the intricate graphics, which tells you a bit about the construction of this custom that came into being back in '04 after Jackson had an unfortunate encounter with a minivan at 65 mph. Jackson brought the wrecked bike down to Parts Unlimited for owner Jim Ballard to inspect; when Ballard reported it was "fixable," Jackson, who is a Marine and was due at the time to ship out to Iraq, worked out some details with Ballard. When he returned from his tour of duty, this masterpiece was waiting for him. In addition to the sick paint, Parts Unlimited also chromed out nearly every piece of metal on the bike (including the frame, swingarm, forks and even the plastic inner fairing panels) and installed a full underlighting system composed of 14 green and blue LED lights coupled with four blue and white strobes. The motor was leaned on a bit with custom carb jetting and a D&D exhaust (a 40-shot NOS system is coming soon, Jackson says) and a raft of bolt-ons, including billet grips from R.I.S. Designs, and fork caps, frame sliders and spools from Eye Candy Designs. In addition to the forthcoming NOS setup, Jackson also has his sights set on a remote-control Hi-Lo air-ride system and a few other tweaks to make his biotech beauty even better on the streets. Just so he keeps his eyes sharp for errant minivans.
Stealth 'Busa
According to the military design brief, the defining characteristic of a "stealth" aircraft is that it is very hard to detect both on radar and by the human eye. Considering the way that most of us ride sportbikes, those would be desirable characteristics for many riders as well. Jeremy Cantwell is one such rider, which is why when he shipped his Suzuki Hayabusa off to Derby City Custom Cycles in Louisville, Kentucky, for a rebuild he specified the low-profile, monochrome black appearance package. The Derby City crew got right down to business, starting with a few motor mods, including a Power Commander ignition module, a K&N high-flow air filter, PAIR valve removal and a Murray Sidewinder pipe. The lower fairing was cut away to clear the sidewinder pipe, a Euro Fender was added up front, and the tail was stretched six inches all before Derby City shot the straight gloss-black paint, with no logos anywhere. Why was the tail stretched? To better cover the new rear chassis, composed of a Trac Dynamics eight-inch-over swingarm riding on a Tricky Air air-ride rear suspension and carrying a 300mm-wide rear tire. Wheels are one of the few parts that aren't stealthed-out-the RC Components "Vega" model wheels have been given a shot of transparent red powdercoating to really make them pop out against all that blackness, and a little bolt-on bling in the form of Vortex rearsets, an adjustable billet kickstand, plenty of spiked bolt covers and a faux ostrich-skin seat about wraps up Cantwell's stealth 'Busa.
The Sleeper
At first glance, Tucson, Arizona, resident Brent Hayhurst's stock-looking 2003 GSX-R600 would barely turn a head. And what's with that "turbo" sticker on the tail-did that come out of a cereal box? But it's no joke-Hayhurst's bike is a wolf in sheep's clothing thanks to a home-brewed turbo kit that Hayhurst constructed from a GT28R Turbo with a billet-aluminum airbox, a liquid intercooler, a heat exchanger, and four secondary fuel injectors all managed by a Turbosmart dual-stage boost controller and protected by a 38mm Tial wastegate and 50mm blow-off valve. The carefully prepared motor also features JE turbo pistons, Carrillo rods, a Yoshimura adjustable cam sprocket and a 211/44-inch full exhaust system with a carbon HMF canister to cap it off. The scorcher in stocker's clothing puts out a righteous 180 hp and 80 foot-pounds of torque at 16 psi boost, insuring that even if it doesn't turn your head, it will accelerate hard enough to snap your neck.