Suzuki GSX1100 Radical Custom by Ed Turner Motorcycles

On the surface, it might look like Karl Renoult of Ed Turner Motorcycles went a bit sticker crazy on this cut down 1980-model Suzuki GSX1100 but it was all a part of the plan. If you push the stickers to one side for a moment, you’re left with an incredibly extreme looking Suzuki, with a beastly engine poking out of the sides of a very narrow frame, a baby sized gas tank and a whole load of fun.

Ed Turner Motorcycles is a French custom garage with a penchant for the extreme; Karl Renoult (the ‘Ed Turner himself) has a portfolio filled to the brim with eccentric and wild customs including some stylish Hondas, souped up BMWs and his latest creation: the Suzuki GSX1100.

His client for this build was a designer slash thrill seeker, someone looking for a machine capable of some serious speeds but with a flare of artistry and class in the mix too. It only took two phone calls between Karl and his client for them to agree on idea – big engine plus a radical design – sure, it was a simple brief but Karl knew exactly what to do. He got his hands on a good old fashioned four cylinder, sixteen valved 1980 Suzuki GSX1100, with a serious output of around 100 hp and got started.

As with all builds, the Suzuki went through a thorough tear down before any of the real work began. Originally, Karl was only going to fabricate a new rear loop for the bike but while taking the bike apart, he quickly realized that the best way to highlight the bikes enormous engine was to pare down everything else around it. With a new direction, he decided that the vast majority of the original frame would have to go and started work on a new one.

With a new frame, the bike needed a new, smaller gas tank; he tossed the old one and stuck a smaller, 6 liter fiberglass model under the frame. Up front, he swapped out the original shocks for a set of USD numbers from a Buell, mounting them with custom built triple trees, adorned with an elegant Stars And Stripes motif at the top. The Buell also supplied the Suzuki with a set of 17� rims, which Karl shod with Maxxis Goldspeed tires. At the back, Karl wanted to give the Suzuki a mono shock, so he fabricated a new swing arm to accommodate the new Hyperpro spring. If that wasn’t enough, he also added a few choice parts to convert the original belt drive unit to chain drive instead.

The engine was treated with a row of velocity stacks to suck in enough air to power the newer and meaner looking exterior. The exhaust was also built from scratch and now sports a furious four into one assembly. To give the bike a real, drag racing feel, Karl fitted the Suzuki with a set of rear sets and re-purposed an old set of Renthal handlebars and gave them a new lease of life as a set of clip-ons up front.

To compensate for the new riding position and the lower tank, Karl knocked up a new custom made tail piece to compliment the lower lines of the fiberglass tank. It gives the bike a sharper and more aggressive profile and also holds on to a rear light that formerly hung above a prison cell, of all things. we must mention the beautiful leather upholstery on the seat by Karl’s mate Fabrice from ASD. Karl also used some unique leather fastenings to hold on to the headlight, which comes from a Ford Mustang.

Rather than paint the tank, Karl and his client agreed on bringing some old school, skate cool to the project by using skate brand stickers to cover the tank before locking them into place and protecting them with more than a few coats of clear.

Source Gearheads.org