Back in the days of the 1^st century BC the Roman Empire decided to stage gladiatorial contests, where combatants fought to the death in the arena. These competitions became very popular with the blood thirsty Romans and spread throughout the Empire and satisfied their lust for adrenalin. It was a sort of Saturday afternoon matinee thing, to take the family to watch. If you compare that with today’s society, where it is frowned upon for a video game to have too much violence in, then we are indeed a much more civilised race. I don’t know about you though, but I think that we have become too civilised and that the Nanny state is starting to take over and soon we won’t be able to breathe heavily, as this could be classed as being an aggressive act. The whole world is becoming a more politically correct jungle where kids have to play with fluffy toys and not guns, just in case they turn out to be mass murderers. That’s why it’s so refreshing to find projects like this V-Max, which looks so aggressive and makes me feel like I should be heading off to the local Arena and attempting to do battle with my broad sword and shield.

The bike is owned by Michel Dumas from Canada, he should not be confused with Alexander Dumas the famous writer, although in the world of Streetfighter building, he is probably as well known in Canada, attending and displaying this and other bikes in the major bike shows such as The Montreal Motorcycle Show.

This bike was on display at the Montreal Show however it was not 100% finished, the rear flashers were not done and the swivel licence plate had not been powder coated. The whole assembly for the licence plate disappeared on route, due to a loose nut, costing Michel $400 to boot.

The project was already started when it was purchased in 2004, but it had a lot of engineering problems which had to be overcome. Forks are from a Suzuki GSX and the swingarm is from a Honda VFR. You can now picture it as being a Sumada (Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda).

One of the more interesting features on the bike is the paint finish. It’s interesting because there is no paint finish. Take a close look at the side panels, the tank and anywhere else on the bike that you would normally find many coats of lacquered paint and you will see that it is all leather. That’s right - it’s all covered in high quality leather. This bike is the only reason that cows exist - there must be a whole heard of them on the bike. The leather work was done by Michael Retailleau from Sellerie Europeenne partner and friend with ShowYo Moto, you may remember the from last month, with their Alien Tech bike.. The beauty of the leatherwork is outstanding and it make it so much easier to clean, just soap and water.

More bad luck struck after applying an internal ceramic coating sealer inside the fuel tank, some left over dust went into the carbs and that was the end of the days. Rebuild time again.

All the polished alloy is powder coated clear to help preserve the finish whilst keeping maintenance to a minimum, after all why spend hours cleaning the bike, when you could be riding it.

I asked Michel about the build and decided to include it in his own words.

“I will try to describe all the work that has been done over the years on the bike. I bought the bike from a gentlemen who didn't have enough $$$ to finish the project. It took me 3 years to finish it.

- Front wheel is from a Suzuki GSX 17" with brand new Bridgestone (600km).

- Front calipers are from GSX but moved on the same side with custom bracket.

- Front fender is a GSX but leather dressed.

- Head light is from Exactrep but customized to fit the custom alloy yokes and extra mouth piece was also made from an motorcycle helmet in fiberglass.

- Speedometer is also a part from Acewell which also include all the features of the instrument panel that usually sits on the air filter cover.

- Handlebar is more straight then the original ,which gives to the bike a drag bike look.

- Grip, bar ends, mirrors, brake fluid reservoir are Rizoma.

- Engine is from a 1995 V-Max with no modification or oversize. The only thing was to bring the bike on a dyno to readjust the carbs since we have put 4 in 1 Hindle pipes with a MIG truncated exhaust. Don't ask me why and where the original engine is, I simply don't have a clue since it was already like this when I purchased the bike.
- Clear custom clutch window.

- Rear suspension is a custom Penske shock specifically design for the bike. Lot of research and development was put on the back end. It took me 3 sets of shock and linkage to obtain the kind of suspension I was looking for.

- The bike was change from shaft to chain

- Swingarm is from a VFR and adapted with custom linkage to the shock.
- Back wheel is a 17" also from VFX with also a brand new Battlax Bridgestone tires (600km).

Just changed on the bike

- Both tyres
- Battery
- Rectifier
- The entire clutch

What can I say, it's my baby. People are always asking, how's the bike as if it was part of the family. I swear, if you stop for a beer and put the bike align it with 100 others bikes, people will come to this one, its like a magnet, especially for the leather. Kids just love the headlight. So If you don't like to taking to strangers, this is not the bike for you.

I was about to try spinners on front and back wheel, but that's another 5k, so I'll let you think about it!

The bike did the Montreal Motorcycle Show in February 2006 and also one magazine the same year.”

This bike is a bike for the modern day Gladiator and is indeed worthy of the title of Streetfighter. Well done Michel, Great job!

Back to home page