The lathe in the corner must’ve turned
a thousand shafts, but there’s no swarf to be seen.
The galvanised benches have been soaked in suspension
fluid time and time again yet they’re so clean you
could eat off them. Bike magazines are piled neatly
in order by year, and tools are laid-out in the user-friendliest
way possible. And the bench space, oh the bench space.
Clean and plentiful.
You see, Sean’s workshop is perfectly designed
to suit its purpose. Everything Sean needs
to carry out his work is there. Anything he
doesn’t need isn’t. Its modest appearance
offers the perfect cover for what is a highly
effective and efficient workplace. And that’s
the way Sean likes his bikes. Minimal. Basic.
Highly effective.
His FJ1100 Pro Streeter and his matte black
ex-chaser Charger are testimony to his inkling
towards all things individual. And the turbo
ZXR stunt bike project that is on his bench
is proof that wild ideas never die in the
right hands.
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Sean is a Sydney-based, Irish born, power-lifting
ex-public road racer turned suspension guru and special
projects builder. It’s quite probable that he could
build just about any motorcycle he wanted. So why
not build a carbon-fibre, titanium and magnesium riddled
GP replica? He wanted a stunt bike. A bike to thrash
and crash.
The project started with a damaged 1997 GSX-R1100
that Sean bought for peanuts.
“The bike had been cartwheeled big time and had bent
forks, a bent sub-frame, smashed fairings and smashed
clocks. But for $2200 it was perfect for what I had
in mind.”
Sean ditched the smashed bodywork and any other unnecessary
parts and got to work on.
The frame is re-aligned and heavily braced to cope
with the extra loads that wheelstands and endos create.
And Sean has fabricated a trick sub-frame that incorporates
an alloy under-tray for burnouts and a neat battery
housing that stores the compact heavy-duty Odyssey
battery towards the rear of the bike – perfect for
balance-point wheelstands!
The sub-frame is what gives this bike its tough stance.
It’s hinged at the front mount and height-adjustable
via threaded eyelets on the bottom mount. Sean carried
out all fabrication for the frame bracing and sub-frame,
while S&R Pro handled the alloy welding.
Says Sean, “Getting the sub-frame right was quite
a job.
I wanted the height just right to compliment the type
of riding the bike is designed for.”
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Sean then whipped-up a top triple
clamp to mount the Pro Taper ‘McGrath’ bend
‘bars he’d chosen, machining a one-piece unit
from billet alloy for maximum strength and powder-coating
it satin black. A steering damper is mounted
under the bottom clamp triple clamp. |
The bent, stock, 43mm inverted forks are re-built
with genuine Suzuki stanchions, with the outer tubes
cut down by 30mm and re-threaded. RaceTech 1.1kg/mm
springs sit in Motorex 5wt oil while stunt specific
SOS-modified Ohlins pistons and valving take care
of damping.
The rear shock is a work of art. Says Sean, “It started
life as an Ohlins dirt bike shock body, which I cut-down
to suit. I then machined the shaft to length and re-chromed
it, modified an Ohlins hydraulic preload adjuster
to fit, modified a WP compression canister to suit
and fitted Technoflex stunt specific valving and an
Ohlins rebound adjuster assembly.” Sean continues,
“A 1.3kg/mm linear-rate spring then went on, and I
used 5wt Motorex with 1600kpa of Nitrogen in the canister.
The shock is fitted using SOS stainless-steel stunt
linkages.” The end result is a shock perfectly suited
to its purpose – all for a super cheap $250.00.
Stock six-pot Tokico calipers with braided lines,
machined discs, a modified master cylinder and a stubby
lever get the bike on its nose easily enough, while
the rear brakes run a braided line with no other modifications.
Sean’s mate Dave did a wicked job polishing the original
Gixer wheels, which are wrapped in a Dunlop/Metzeler
combo at the moment. “I pretty much use a Pilot Race
or Road on the front, or a Metzeler Sportech M1. But
on the back I use whatever I can get for free!”
Sean is actually a spray painter by trade but, amazingly,
he went for a matte black aerosol job on the stunt
Gixer. And to get the finish even flatter, he Scotch
padded it once it was dry. Why? Simple. Minimal. And
the fact that this bike is gonna be crashed anyway!
Recognise that rear end? It’s an R6 unit
that has been re-shaped to sit forward of
the rear wheel, and it looks tough as, too.
The headlights are 150-Watt overhead projector
bulbs in machined-alloy surrounds, and the
front fairing is an Acerbic dirt bike unit
modified to give that Darth Vader look.
Controls and instruments are minimal, with
a tacho, temp gauge, oil and neutral light
pretty much it. Even the indicator switch
block is tucked away on the left side of the
bike.
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Engine-wise the bike is quite stock, with only a
handful of modifications to make it more suitable
for stunting. The fan and radiator has been modified
to keep things cool during burnouts, and there’s an
SOS home made muffler and tailpipe fitted. Greg Ball
Electronics modified the standard CDI and S&R
Pro dyno tuned the bike to provide smoother power
delivery down low.
The clutch wears a modified slave-cylinder and a
stubby lever, and the final drive has been converted
to 520 pitch. Gearing is down one-tooth at the front
and up five on the rear! The final word? “I love it,”
admits Sean, “It’s exactly what I had in mind. Lots
of fun, easy to stunt on, and cheap as chips.”
SMASH’EM UP
Cheap wrecked bikes can be had for bargain
prices if you’re patient and you look hard enough.
Talking to wreckers will give you a good idea of which
bikes are the crash flavour of the month, and also
help you to figure out what’s a bargain and what’s
a rip-off. The Trading Post is the bible of wrecked
bikes, so you should study it every Thursday night.
And trading-based bike mags are great, too. Once you
work out what you want and how much to spend you can
even hit the auctions to grab yourself a cheapie.
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE Stock 1997 GSX-R1100 with SOS home
made muffler and tail pipe. Modified CDI, dyno tuned
for low-down power. CHASSIS Braced 1997 GSX-R1100,
custom alloy adjustable sub-frame, SOS billet top
triple clamp, Pro Taper ‘McGrath’ bend ‘bars, stubby
levers, cut-down 43mm inverted Kayaba forks, custom
stunt-specific SOS shock with hydraulic preload adjustment,
stainless-steel SOS linkages, six-pot Tokico calipers
with 310mm discs (f), braided lines front and rear,
modified master cylinder, re-shaped and re-covered
seat, 520-pitch chain conversion.
BODYWORK Acerbic upper headlight surround with 150-Watt
projector lights, re-shaped R6 tailpiece, custom alloy
under tray, custom rear guard, stock tank, matte black
aerosol job.
COST $5200
VALUE You better believe it!
SPECIAL THANKS SOS Suspension, S&R Pro, M&W
Motor Trimmers, Mick Dyer Motorcycles, Western Motorcycles,
Dave, Johnno, Riff Raff, Karl, Straub and Lucy.
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