Fierce, tough and extremely powerful, this Hayabusa packs one hell of a solid punch. If the dark and mysterious machine doesn’t gain your respect at first glance, just wait until you hear the 1300cc grizzly roar fire out from the VooDoo dual shorty exhaust system. It will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.

Helmet on, engage gear and dump that clutch with a handful of gas, and you’re in for one hell of a wheel-spinning, tire-smoking wild ride that propels you forward like a rocket launcher and will leave you winded from fear.

This is a modern-day Mad Max sportbike that lets you know it means serious business right from the off. It strolls through town like it owns the place — and if you’re the rider, I guess you do, too.

It’s a bike with attitude, a vision from the boys at TapouT who wanted a custom motorcycle that really represented their brand and what they stand for. A meeting at the TapouT HQ in Grand Terrace, Calif., with Rob Uecker from VooDoo Industries would present Rob with an almost impossible task in the time available.

“We wanted a powerful motorcycle. Shine is cool, but we didn’t want that. We wanted a rideable bike that looked fierce without the bling,” says Punkass from TapouT.

TapouT crew member Skyskrape agrees. “Yeah, something that looked like it was going 100 mph while standing still. It had to be black, white and hardcore,” he says.

Build a fierce and powerful motorcycle? No problem, you might say. But it was a little trickier than that. You see, Rob had to get it right the first time around and be quick on his feet, because the TapouT custom motorcycle needed to be ready in two weeks. It would be unveiled at the International Motorcycle Show (IMS) in Long Beach, Calif., the home state of the TapouT brand. Like a man, Rob stood up to the challenge and not only built a knockout-winner of a motorcycle, but he built two of them: One for TapouT, and an exact replica, which is now on display at all of the IMS shows touring the states so you can see it, too. Pretty dam impressive aye?

No one from TapouT had seen the bike until the Long Beach show (mainly because the paint was still drying), where incredibly it made it as a complete and functioning custom machine. It was unveiled on the main Bikes & Beats stage in front of hundreds of fans.

As the cover was removed, the TapouT crew was impressed. “I think it came out amazing, we got exactly what we wanted,” Punkass said. “But now that I’ve seen it, I really want to ride it!”

Skyskrape agrees. “The rims are bad-ass, I love the paintwork and the way the whole front lights up. This machine is sick,” he says.

As soon as the Long Beach show was over, the VooDoo ‘Busa was delivered to the TapouT HQ with zero miles on the clock. As it sat outside it looked even tougher.

Not wasting any time, I climbed aboard and fired it into life, the engine growl making my neck hairs stand to attention. As I got going for the first time, the sheer power being put through the custom Xtreme Machine Talon Black Cut rear wheel made it spin with excitement.

I soon discovered that the TapouT ‘Busa not only looked tough, but in a matter of seconds could go from a cool custom motorcycle cruising down the street that just looks hard as nails, to a loud, obnoxious and terrifying ride that in its eagerness to accelerate into madness, spins the rear wheel and smokes the tire for kicks.

The machine lost plenty of weight in its customization, with a lighter swingarm and Gregg’s GSXR1000 sub-frame/seat. The once-bulky exhaust system was replaced with VooDoo’s hair-tingling shorty. In all, the swaps allowed the TapouT Suzuki to lose more than 40 lbs.

The 5’’-over Roaring Toyz 240 extended swingarm offers plenty of style and also moves the wheel base further back, making it even easier to spin the rear. All of this combined with the awesomely grunty Hayabusa motor and I was in tire smoking heaven, lighting the rear for well over 100 feet as I blasted away on my way to full speed.

After my gentle break in, it was time for Punkass’s long-awaited ride. He quickly took control of the roar warrior and disappeared into the distance, the sound lingering around long after he’d gone.

As Punkass came back into view after a thorough test ride, the dark destroyer by VooDoo looked intimidating, rolling to a stop. Punkass’s wide-open eyes said it all.

“It sounds so insane. Apart from the way it looks, the best part about the bike is when the power kicks in and the exhaust note changes, then it becomes even more fierce,” he said. “When you get on that bike and you’re blasting away, I promise you that your heart is going as fast as it is when you are in a cage getting ready to fight. You can definitely say that sportbikes and our sport go hand in hand. They are adrenaline-filled, alpha-male-type sports. It damn scared me the first time I jumped on it. That’s a lot of power!”

The TapouT Suzuki build by VooDoo was definitely on a mission right from the start. It came across many difficulties, most of all the lack of time to build it. With speedy work from some of the industry’s best companies, Rob was able to pull it all together and get the job done in the nick of time. (Even if it meant that he didn’t get any Thanksgiving dinner because he was in the workshop.)

Customized and complete, the TapouT ‘Busa became a modern road warrior that’s ready for battle; packing a powerful punch and becoming a sure knockout winner.