Suzuki Hayabusa Streetfighter

Buying a used motorcycle is always a sketchy proposition--you just never know where the bike's been and what's been done, or not done, to it. Buying a used bike from a world-class stunter is even scarier--the bike's probably seen the old stop, drop and roll routine more times than Smokey the Bear. Buying a used motorcycle from Welsh freestyle pioneer Gary "Showtime" Rothwell, then, has to be something like selecting your next car from the pool of crushees left after the Monster Truck Nationals.

Yet U.K. resident Kirk Claus did just that when he purchased this "lightly used" 2000 Suzuki Hayabusa streetfighter directly from Mr. Rothwell himself. Past use (abuse?) be damned--Claus couldn't say no to the gorgeous flamed paint job (a Rothwell signature) and the huge Jolly Roger-inspired graphics, the trademark of West Coast Motorcycles of Merseyside, England, which built the bike.

To those in the know, a West Coast pedigree offers more street cred than all of 50 Cent's bullet holes. Besides, this bike had a history: Rothwell used it to set several world stunt records, including the absolute skitching (skiing behind the bike on the soles of your shoes) speed record at more than 160 mph.

To ready the bike for stunt duty, Rothwell originally had the lads at West Coast give the big 'Busa the straight-up streetfighter treatment, removing the fairing and replacing it with a tiny fly screen, dumping the clip-ons in favor of Renthal motocross bars and boosting the 'Zook's already prodigious power output a bit more by adding a fully polished Akrapovic 4-into-1 system and a Pipercross high-flow air filter. And because the Hayabusa was intended for very high-speed acrobatic feats, chassis mods to improve stability were also incorporated--a massive, double-braced JMC swingarm and a revalved rear shock absorber.

Given the abuse this bike was subjected to in its past life, Claus prudently freshened up a few pieces and made some improvements of his own. The forks were a bit dodgy, Claus says, so he pulled the 43mm upside-down units apart and installed a set of heavy-duty Progressive Suspension springs. Claus also replaced Rothwell's preferred Renthal bar with a lighter-weight Superbike bar from O'Neal and upgraded the braking system with Kevlar brake lines and a set of EBC discs up front. Claus added two teeth to the rear sprocket as well for better launches during the occasional eighth-mile drags he likes to run--not to mention the occasional one-wheel maneuver.

Surprisingly, Claus says he hasn't encountered any mechanical problems related to the machine's extreme past--a huge testament to the Suzuki's durability. A good thing for Claus, too--he knew he was getting a looker, and he's happy it didn't turn out to be a lemon.