2001 Kawasaki ZX-12R - Fired Up

There's no need to clean your glasses; of course this wicked bike looks familiar. Eddie McCoy's ballin' ride has been gracing the pages of Super Steetbike in one form or another since the dawn of the custom age of streetbikes. His 2001 Kawasaki ZX-12R daily rider is incredible in its current form but has worn more outfits than the gorgeous model who accompanies it, and serves as a rolling storyboard of custom streetbike history. Having gone through six iterations since its solid silver beginnings, McCoy's ZX-12R has been a catalyst for the West Coast custom scene.

Custom sportbikes have gone from featuring a couple pieces of chrome and a slip-on pipe to tire-shredding works of art. Eddie McCoy has been there leading the charge since N'Sync was making teenie-boppers' panties wet. His ingenuity and creative vision have driven the market from the "barely there" bike nights into the industry spotlight. Without McCoy's forward thinking and DIY attitude, it may have been years before customized Japanese machines made an impact out in the land of movie stars and wildfires.

McCoy put it best when he reflected: "No one was making parts for these bikes back in the day."

Nearly every component that has been placed on this super scooter was a one-off creation. From the in-house chroming showcased in the bike's early years, to the new production pieces from McCoy's own shop, each part was created to satisfy a specific purpose. Through his professional endeavors, this perennial entrepreneur and self-motivated man set to work on a little project that has affected the landscape of the West Coast's custom world.

With his technical knowledge and access to CNC machines, McCoy took to producing his own trick parts at night-after work hours. And people loved the stuff when he showcased it on his ride. He was nearly mobbed at every bike night he attended, and one day it finally hit him: with all the positive attention his bike was receiving he ought to open his own shop specializing in custom components.

To test the waters he started out selling parts to guys at local bike nights. But the fledgling company really took off when parts distributor Lockhart Phillips caught wind of McCoy's work and began running his parts in its catalog. And just like that he formed a motorcycle customization shop-Eye Candy Cycle Designs.

Though truly a piece of art in motion, this build has been no pleasure cruise for McCoy. The process of creating a bike for which there was no market took a tremendous amount of energy, spirit and determination. McCoy explained why his bike has seen so many different outfits: "I wanted to make my bike represent the peak of performance and style." But each time he got a wild hair to make changes, those alterations would inevitably translate into advances in the streetbike aftermarket. In its infancy, the bike was built as a chromed-out silver steed with side-mounted Muzzys exhausts. It then received a bit of visual spice with blue vinyl flames. The bike's adolescent years were spent with a tangerine touch, which was followed by a short-lived flames-and-skulls look. Unfortunately, that iteration was cut short due to a severe crash. But through its history each evolutionary stage has brought this bike just a bit closer to the edge.

As it rolls today the bike displays the pinnacle of custom design. With 28,600 miles on the clock, McCoy's bruiser boasts the three keys to a custom showbike crown: killer paint, a fat tire and gobs of power that'll peel your eyelids back.

Part one comes courtesy of Mike Vu from MV Designs. He laid down the black base and custom-designed art on McCoy's one-off bodywork. The plastic features include what looks to be the result of a high-speed ZX-10R and ZX-12R collision.