This section is dedicated to machines that catch your eye – the ones that are built to stand out and damn well refuse to be normal. The ones that turn heads wherever they go. Many late workshop hours of painstaking patience and precision have gone into each part of these dream machines. They're shaped from nothing more than a vision and are backed with a strong, burning desire to create something different and special. As each motorcycle evolved from the drawing table to reality, each took on its own individual personality. Each builder has ingrained his own DNA into his creation, giving these 2-wheeled weapons heart and soul. Here we bring you a diverse collection of 2-wheeled customs that although are very different, they share class, individuality, style and a desire and enthusiasm to be ridden.
Iconic VMAX > Like to whip around corners with the rear wheel hanging out? What about leaving a stripe of black rubber on the ground and smoke in the air? Your weapons of choice for these things: Gixxer. R1. VMAX. The VMAX?
Yes, the Star VMAX (the only Star you're likely to see in these pages anytime soon). Cruise Missile Customs' Randy Sautner likes to do things a little differently, as evident by his bike. Not only did he take a hard-to-find, heavy and very expensive piece of machinery and mold it into a mountain road-ripper, he also built a very respectable custom.
"I like to turn," Sautner said. Indeed he does. A former dirt-track and road-racer, Sautner likes a bike he can throw around. He loved the old-school-meets-the-future vibe of the VMAX, and through his modifications he sought to enhance it. Since 180 horses at the rear wheel isn't quite enough, he added a host of intake and exhaust parts from FX Tuner, a Power Commander 5 and a custom 4-into-1 exhaust tipped with a Scorpion slip-on that was made for a GSX-R 1000. All told, these mods bring the bike up to a healthy 200 hp. The pipe, along with rearset pegs from an R1, make for killer ground clearance for this big girl.
A paint job from Yamaha's glory days in the '70s and '80s pays homage to Star's parent company, with the brute force of the machine ripping the paint right off and exposing bare metal and flames of hell inside. Robbie Norris' paint doesn't stop there though — in addition to details like silver flake on the side covers, Randy touched darn near every piece on this bike. Through his polishing, lightening and plating, he ended up with the ultimate VMAX. He calls it Iconic.
The Wrath Stunt Custom > Stunters and custom sportbike enthusiasts have been lumped into the same crowd since the beginning, and they may even like each others' company. But it's not that often that an extreme custom will do extreme stunts. Tricked Out Custom Cycles is looking to change all of that. The company is tired of these ratty stunt bikes and customs that go straight from a trailer to a show. They'd rather see tricked-out customs – with all of the stunt accessories – built to ride.
And this bike does get ridden. TOCC's in-house stuntboy Ed 1000 tours with the Star Boyz, performing his full repertoire of tricks (wheelies, stoppies, rolling burnouts, on the seat, tank and bars).
The Wrath (of God) is the second in a series of stunt-capable custom rides, the first being El Diablo. This 2008 ZX-6R carries a 240 rear tire, but only a 4-inch stretch in the Myrtle West swingarm. Paint follows a heavenly theme with angelic winged damsels gracing body panels and brilliant blue powder overlaid with airbrushing on the metal. The wheels are hand-pinstriped over a custom blue chrome.
"The big difference between this and other customs is the stunt equipment," TOCC's Steve Kehler points out. There's a full battery of Racing 905 armor, stunt bars and pegs, while the stunt tank has been molded like a real custom. LRC bars and controls complete the Wrath's ability to tear it loose with the best of them.
Think this is as far as stunt bike can go? "I'd love to get a 300 on a stunt custom," Kehler declared.
Sycotic Hayabusa > You can learn all sorts of things in the military: how to drive a tank, how to program a computer, and, yes, even how to airbrush. That's where Johnny Philips got his start. Airbrushing was a hobby during his six-year enlistment, and he's been at it for 12 years now. The Army is also where he found his love of sportbikes. He's progressed up the displacement food chain over the years, starting with an Interceptor 500, then a CBR600F2, a GSX-R 750, a GSX-R1000 and finally, the 'Busa you see here.
While he's been painting for years (he's known for his skulls), earning others magazine features with choppers and trucks, this is the first bike he's gotten into a magazine – and it's his daily rider. He's a painter first and foremost, so he kept the chrome to a minimum. A notable (and subtle) exception are the "dog-collar spikes" that hold the plastic on. He also did a ton of trick fab work to the metal and plastic: smoothing the top of the tank, wrapping the tailpiece all the way around the subframe and extending it to wrap around the passenger peg mounts. Naturally, paint covers all of these surfaces. As a homage to the military, he's got his jump wings and air assault wings painted on the tail section. "If it gives the troops a cool bike to look at while deployed, sweet!" he quips.
Unlike some of the other bikes here, this one isn't even close to being done, despite its show-winning resume. Next up are a set of Ace grip controls to clean up the bar area and a rearview camera.
Transformers 636 > Anybody can slap an Autobot logo on a windscreen, right? If you really want to kick ass, you need to make your whole bike turn into a giant robot. (Well, as close as you can, at least.) Epic Customs' David Amodei was watching the original blockbuster robot combat movie when inspiration struck: A "Transformers"-themed bike is what he'd build from his '05 Ninja 636. Making it high-tech was key. To this end, he headed to his garage with simple hand tools got to work. Everybody told him he couldn't do it – but this only made him more determined.
All of the custom plastic and metal molding David put on by hand: the molded 3D Autobot insignia, the trio of inset digital displays, the hidden stereo system and most impressively, the dual "transforming" gull wings. A pair of electric actuators flip the wings (middle fairing panels) out like the bike is beginning a transformation.
After David laid down the base white paint, airbrusher C. Harris took care of the details. Everything from the forks to the controls to the shock and subfairing continue the bike's white and red theme, while a pair of spikes jut out from the front of the fairing like a weapon. There are numerous pieces of aluminum that got anodized red as well.
Electronics (also strung by David) are on tap as well, with a full red LED setup, light-up eyes in the Autobot logo and an iPod hookup to run audio and video. It's all controlled by a switchboard in the fairing.
Obviously a lot of work went into this bike. David almost gave up on numerous occasions, but his parents and girlfriend encouraged him and pulled him through. The results are worth it. |    
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