Project: Stevie Ming’s Double Threat Part One

I’ll start off by quoting Mel Brooks from one of his movies.  “It’s good to be the King!’  Indeed it is, and sometimes it’s good to be the editor of a motorcycle magazine, you get to see all sorts of really cool bikes, and get to know the folks who build them.

A case in point, the two beauties below, built by my friend Stevie Ming from Belfast.  We both belong to a UK based group called “Tarmac Junkys.”  I met Stevie through the group and have had the pleasure of watching the construction of these polar opposites.  Both builds were done in a 10’X12′ shed at the back of his house, talk about a tight fit!

custom suzuki gsxr and suzuki bandit
Double Trouble
custom suzuki gsxr and suzuki bandit rear view
Radical customs on the street.
custom suzuki gsxr and suzuki bandit front right side view
Twin Terrors

custom suzuki gsxr and suzuki bandit right side view

ming-project-091

In this two part feature we will give an overview of the build process for both bikes.  The “Blue Bike,”  has been completed for some time now and has already won many trophies.  “Skirmisher,” the military themed bike was just recently finished, and both will be the subjects of a double feature article  in an upcoming issue of Back Street Heroes Magazine.  Both are Gonzo nuts in their own way, and I am pleased to feature them here in The Biker’s Garage.

The “Blue Bike,”a totally mad custom Gixxer street fighter.

Blue bike started life as a 1995 GSXR 750 WS, along the way, it shed some plastic, and in stages, evolved in to the show winner it is today.  The “Blue Bike” was actually Stevie’s first build, considering the level of finish and detail, it’s impressive.

The current details:

  • Stock forks and wheels
  • Polished Hayabusa 6 pot calipers
  • Wavy front discs
  • Thug style heavy duty front yokes (triple trees)
  • Custom headlights
  • Digital speedo inset into billet risers
  • 900 wide 1.25 drag bars
  • Stage 1 tuning
  • One off link pipe
  • Beowulf end can
  • Remote control ignition and starter. ( keyless)
  • Owner made rear subframe
  • Rear seat made by Fringe Parnell
  • Hayabusa 6″ oversize drag swing arm polished
  • Stock rear wheel and spindle
  • One off rear spacers / sleeves for the rear spindle to aid fitting into the Hayabusa swing arm
  • Polished rear caliper and carrier
  • GSF 1200 bandit rear shock and rocker
  • Polished adjustable dog bones
  • Billet polished rear brake reservoir
  • Billet polished front brake reservoir
  • Blue HEL Brake lines
  • German street fighter tail unit
  • One off billet knuckle duster tail light made by Magpie polish
  • Painted by Psychocycles
  • All wiring and building done by Stevie
  • Polishing by Magpie and Stevie

After losing the stock faring and other bodywork, it started out as a mild street fighter.

1995 GSXR 750 WS street fighter
No more plastic.

With an aftermarket tail section, and headlight nacelle, it was otherwise a stock Gixxer.

1995 GSXR 750 WS street fighter headlight detail
For the most part stock.

1995 GSXR 750 WS street fighter low angle left side

Painting the remaining body parts, frame, and wheels, were the first steps to a full-on custom.

gixxer street fighter right side view
The new paint.

In addition to the custom paint, a lower chin faring and “Broomstick” drag handlebars were added.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter broomstick handlebars
Broomstick drag bars by Rawsteel Choppers.
gixxer street fighter right side rear view
The four into two pipes.

Four into two aftermarket pipes were tried, but later swapped for a lighter four into one.  One of the most striking additions was a new headlight nacelle, reminiscent of a bird of prey’s head.  You can buy the nacelle, but you must build your own brackets for mounting and add lights, in this case, Stevie used projector lamps.  The spiked Mohawk was something Stevie did one evening when he got bored, nice addition!

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter left front view
Aggressive
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter right front view
Serious Mohawk
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter right front headlight
Looks so badass!

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter left side

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter left side front

One of the braver moves by Stevie was that after having his front fender custom painted, he had Mark Law cut designs into it.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter front fender
Detail of the design.

While the fender was getting sliced and diced, Stevie removed the swing arm and gave it a good polish to add “bling” to the back end.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter left side front polished swing arm
Polished Swing Arm

At this point in the build the “Blue Bike” had already been winning at shows.  You would think Stevie might leave it at that, but no, he wanted to go full radical and take it to the next level.

The “next level” consisted of upgrading both ends of the GSXR, starting with a fully polished and extended Hayabusa swing arm.

extended suzuki hayabusa swing arm
Hayabusa Swing Arm

Using the Hayabusa swing arm required making one-off spacers for the rear wheel, and using GSF 1200 Bandit rear shock and rocker .  The overall improvement in stance was worth the effort.

hayabusa extended swing arm fitted to gsxr detail
Close up of the Hayabusa arm.

hayabusa extended swing arm fitted to gsxr right side viewPolished Hayabusa 6 pot calipers and wave rotors were also added.

hayabusa extended swing arm fitted to gsxr rear right side view
The longer wheelbase looks good.

A polished end can replaced the previous silencer for a weight savings of roughly half.   Unfortunately, this lighter unit attracted too much attention from local law enforcement, and it was later replaced with the current Beowulf can.

Up front,  the headlight nacelle from phase one was replaced with custom dual headlights, and heavy billet triple trees were used in place of stock.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter top view
Digital speedo inset into billet risers.
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter forks top view
THUG Yokes (triple trees) by Billet Bike Bits.
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter forks front view
Front View

In my opinion, the billet trees and dual headlights make for a cleaner look than the stock bits and two previous headlight nacelles.

The final radical touch for Stevie’s Gixxer was the addition of a German made street fighter tail section.  This required the fabrication of an entirely new subframe.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter custom subframe
New Subframe
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter brat style tail
New German Tail

A billet “brass knuckles” was fabricated and mounted to the back as a taillight.

brass knuckle taillight
Brass Knuckles
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter taillight
Fitted taillight and turn signals.
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter taillight on
Lit Up
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter tail section rear view
Radical

After having a custom seat made to fit the tail section, Stevie’s road burner was finished.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter front right view
Complete
1995 GSXR 750 street fighter right view
Full Right Side

Stevie has every right to be proud of his blue GSXR, considerable time and effort has went in to every part of this top quality show stopper.

1995 GSXR 750 street fighter with stevie ming
Stevie and the Blue Bike

Job well done Stevie!  Cheers!

Words By: Terry Cavender

Images By: Stevie Ming

Next:  Part Two “The Skirmisher”


4 thoughts on “Project: Stevie Ming’s Double Threat Part One

  1. Steve never knew how to polish anything, now he’s one of the best in the UK (thats my view, as good as me) learned over phone calls. Everything this bloke had been through I’m totally amazed how far he has come. Top and unique custom builder proud to call a friend!

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