2005 Suzuki Hayabusa - The Tale Of The Dragon

Bike builders tend to become identifiable through their work, much like a painter is known for a certain style on the canvas. Dennis "D-Man" Vazquez from Pit-Stop Motorsports is one artist who's become widely known for fabricating three-dimensional faces into the fairings of his builds. The themes are generally quite wild, as was his breakout piece: the Hayabeasta. Since that first groundbreaking build, D-Man has produced similar terrifying creations with the Widow Maker, Wolverine and King Kong rides.

His latest salvo in the series, the Dragon, wasn't conceived as another study in the theme, but rather it was a twist of fate that brought the Dragon to life.

The first breath came when his shop manager, Jose "JoJo" Vazquez (no relation, though they call each other "brother"), presented D-Man with a Hayabusa for a project. His only request was for D-Man to work within a dragon theme.

"It was like any bike on the curb," recalled D-Man. "It had a cool paint job, a polished frame and some chrome parts-but it was a little boring. We decided to ramp it up based on his budget."

D-Man decided to add an extended swingarm, but instead of replacing the entire piece he welded extensions to the stock arm and then had it chromed. Next was to fabricate a custom exhaust using a Hindle header and Blue Flame cans.

"The exhaust is intended to have four pipes coming out the back," said D-Man. "I thought four was too much for this bike so I fabricated a one-into-three manifold and made three pipes coming out the rear."

Custom wheels were a must, but there was a particular reason for choosing the standard-size RC Components "Wickeds." D-Man explained, "JoJo isn't a fan of big tires because he likes to turn. Aesthetically, I think it would have been a good choice, but with the 200 tire it will handle better for him-and that's what he wanted. The extended swingarm also affects the handling, but he was willing to make that compromise."

With the major components sorted, it was time for the accessories. A Power Commander was mated with the new exhaust-which is housed underneath an Extreme Graphics undertail and taillight assembly. The grips, grab rail, triple tree and bellypan are from RIS Designs, while the rearsets and kickstand are from Yana Shiki.

D-man's signature body fabrication is what really makes the Dragon snarl, but in this first build only the front fender received attention. It wasn't until after a riding miscalculation that the front end needed a serious repair job.

D-Man recalled the incident, "JoJo was cruising with a local-and they were going out for a good blast. There was a red light, and JoJo misjudged it."

Now that the bike was due for a facelift because of the mishap, D-Man decided to really make the Dragon come to life. He went to a local theater prop house and sourced some wolf jaws. At that point he cut the pieces and molded them with fiberglass in the basic position so he could build a face around it. "I looked at some drawings of dragons and came up with my own version. You can be very creative with dragons-there's no right or wrong."

"This bike went from mild to wild to extremely wild," said D-Man. "It was destined to be like it is. It's like the progression I take in my business. It never stops at ordinary; it just gets extremely crazy."

The new version of the bike was done just in time for D-Man's annual public showcase at the New York Bike Show in Manhattan. "People were expecting to see the Genesis bike we built for the Metric Revolution TV show, but we surprised them with the Dragon."

Though D-Man's unmistakable style is perhaps a bit over the top for some, his process and execution demands respect. And like any true artist, his work always has a story.

TheBuyer's Box 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa

Original Make/Model:2005 Suzuki HayabusaFront end: RC Components"Wicked" wheel, custom-cut rotors, braided brake linesRear end: RC Components "Wicked" wheel, custom swingarm extensionsMotor: Hindle and Blue Flame exhaust, Power CommanderPaint: Pit-Stop MotorsportsPolish/chrome: Pit-Stop MotorsportsBodywork: D-Man at Pit-Stop MotorsportsACcessories: Extreme Graphics undertail, taillight assembly, RIS Designs grips, grab rail, triple tree and bellypan, Yana Shiki rearsets and kickst andBuilder: Dennis "D-Man" Vazquez at Pit-Stop MotorsportsOwner: Jose "JoJo" Vazquez