As soon as upon a time, customizing a sportbike meant ripping its fairings off, swapping out its handlebars, and calling it a streetfighter. However issues have modified for the higher. These days, customized builders are taking 80s and 90s sportbikes, and amplifying their retro radness with well-judged mods and upgrades.
Craftsmen like Marc Bell are main the cost. Marc’s specialty is high-end steel fabrication for designers, architects, artists, and the like. However he’s additionally a observe racer and retro sportbike nut—so that you’ll discover him constructing machines of that ilk below the title HAXCH Moto.
His newest venture is a tastefully modified 1988 Suzuki GSX-R1100 J—generally referred to as a ‘slabside’ in Gixxer circles, for the plastic slabs that flank the rear half of the bike. These panels are gone now, however a lot of the Suzuki’s late 80s DNA nonetheless stays.
“The construct began off with an enquiry from Ossi, a man in Switzerland who’s needed a slabside since he was a child,” Marc tells us. “He had a fascination with them after they got here out in 86, and now, aged 50, he determined it was time to fee his personal customized slabby.”
“Ossi had seen a earlier Haxch Moto slabside construct and needed his personal. The temporary was to maintain it traditional in model and race-inspired, however to subtly make it a standout construct, with all the attainable efficiency upgrades to make it as gentle and sharp as attainable. I construct a whole lot of bikes for racing and observe use, so I went straight to suspension and brake upgrades.”
The upgrades started with a set of Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD forks, upgraded with Maxton internals. A Maxton shock was fitted on the again, and the body and swingarm had been braced. The GSX-R1100 now rolls on light-weight Dymag wheels, with twin Brembo M4 calipers fitted to customized brackets up entrance.
Transferring to the bodywork, Marc swapped the GSX-R’s growing old fairings for aftermarket fiberglass components. Subsequent, he modified the entrance finish to accommodate a pair of LED headlights, mounted in a bespoke aluminum housing. A pair of tiny Motogadget LED flip alerts are subtly bolted to every aspect of the fairing.
A Koso sprint sits behind the Suzuki’s windshield, whereas the bars put on a Domino quick-action throttle, HEL clutch and brake levers, and Motone switches. Marc additionally added HEL hoses, ACC Billet Engineering rear-sets, and a keyless ignition from Motogadget.
Marc had a extra radical redesign in thoughts for the tail finish of the GSX-R. “The strains of the inventory slabside at all times bothered me a bit,” he explains. “To not knock a traditional, but it surely feels too sunken from the seat backward. It isn’t racy sufficient.”
“So I chopped off the inventory subframe (which is welded on), welded new aluminum brackets to the primary body, then made a brand new aluminum subframe to boost the journey top and maintain the brand new rear tail unit. I designed the tail unit in cardboard, then made the ultimate model out of aluminum sheet, utilizing the English wheel and varied conventional sheet steel work methods to form the panels, earlier than TIG welding them collectively.”
The brand new tail part loses the slabside’s distinctive aspect panels however nonetheless feels period-correct. Marc repurposed the OEM taillight lens out again, however retrofitted it with LED internals. Up high, a detachable panel reveals a pillion seat (the bike has foldaway passenger pegs and a license plate bracket too, however they’re not fitted right here).
Hiding below the brand new bodywork are the Suzuki’s new battery, and a Motogadget mo.Unit Blue controller that runs the brand new wiring loom.
Although the engine’s hidden behind fairings, it hasn’t gone untouched. It’s been rebuilt with commonplace internals, however now makes use of a Dynatek Dyna 2000 ignition package. Mikuni RS38 flatslide carbs deal with consumption duties, whereas four-into-one exhaust headers and a Yoshimura could make all the suitable noises.
One among Marc’s many abilities is the flexibility to map out the right livery for every bike he builds. This one retains the GSX-R’s authentic coloration palette—however with a extra up to date design.
“I needed to make it distinctive, to pay tribute to the unique with out sticking to it precisely,” he explains. “The dual thick pinstripe over the tank is a favourite a part of the design, as is the quantity board, which brings the race really feel and homes a quantity which is particular to the proprietor, Ossi.”
Dream Machine took care of the unconventional paint job, whereas Baz Kay tackled the upholstery. Like each HAXCH creation earlier than it, this Suzuki GSX-R1100 hits all the suitable notes. From the rigorously curated components spec to the supremely cool graphics, there’s not a factor we’d change.
HAXCH Moto Instagram | Photographs by Kane Layland
