How many times have you been cut up by a mindless cager and shown your appreciation with the ol' one-finger salute? That's just what happened to Steve Lowe on his 2004 CBR1000RR. "I was getting off work in San Francisco. A car cut me off and I gave him the finger. He chased me down after we were doing about 80 mph and swung his car over the median. I slammed on the brakes and hit him in a stoppie. I broke my arm and wrist. When I got up, I tried to take off my helmet and got punched in the chest. The next thing I knew I woke up in the hospital."
After all the legal woes were settled, Lowe was left wondering what to do next. Rather than get mad, he got even. "The bike was totaled. It was just sitting in my garage and I had already replaced it with a 2006 model. I took the bike to EMA in Pleasanton, California, and asked what could be done with it. EMA said the frame and engine were good, so we just replaced everything else."
After EMA was done resurrecting the CBR Lowe was left with a classy and functional piece of motorcycle art with a second lease on life. As warning to the next guy who chooses to chase him down, Lowe had a custom license plate made that simply states "htmeisu" (hit me I sue).
Buyer's Box
2004
Honda CBR1000RR
Front end: PVM 10Y wheel, Galfer Wave rotors, Fren Tubo Pantera carbon-fiber brake and clutch lines, CRG brake and clutch levers, Pro-Grip 724 grips
Rear end: PVM 10Y wheel, Galfer Wave rotor, Robby Moto Engineering SBK rearsets, TransLogic QS2GP quick-shifter, AFAM 520 chain and sprockets
Motor: Laser slip-on
Paint: Stewart's Body Shop of Richmond, California
Bodywork: Sharkskinz bodywork, Eurobikes GP undertail
Accessories: Gregg's Customs mirror block-off plates, Clear Alternatives LED tail-light integrator kit, Robby Moto Engineering 1/4-turn gas cap and quick throttle, R&G Racing frame sliders and bar ends, Zero Gravity double-bubble windscreen
Builder: EMA http://www.ema-usa.comOwner: Steve Lowe