An aluminum box frames, round headlights, three-spoke wheels and bold graphics; nothing epitomizes the dawn of the ’90s like 1990 Suzuki GSX-R750. The 115hp Slingshot was the first GSX-R with upside-down forks and the last to feature twin lights with full-screen display. It demands attention, even today—so if you’re going to customize one, you’d better make it unmovable.
That is Michel Szozda’s theory, at least. He customizes his motorbike like cool kids custom, working in a space he shares with other creative friends in Haarlem, near Amsterdam. His style is anything but conventional, and his bikes are often wrapped in eye-catching armor.
This project ended at the Cool Kid workshop by accident. Michel’s customer pre-ordered his Yamaha Ténéré for refurbishment and chose the GSX-R for daily running while the Yamaha was being built. But when Michel saw the Suzuki, he suggested it would be a better option for a custom build.
The customer agreed and the ‘Rad Racer’ project is underway. But Michel has more work ahead of him than he expected. “The Suzuki looked clean when he returned it,” he told us, “but upon closer inspection, it was damaged in almost every way.”
Some of the bodywork could not be repaired, so Michel ordered a body kit that replicates the entire racing bike with a single seat. But there is no way it will continue without at least some modification. For starters, the front fender covers only the top, with the belly section removed to reveal some of the GSX-R’s working details.
The headlights are also in poor condition and look dated. So Michel installed a modern LED headlight on one side and a 3D printed visor on the other.
Much work has to be done again. Once Michel had fitted the aftermarket tail, he decided it was too long for the style he was after. So he downsized it, leaving him with a gap to compete.
He told us: “I decided to use cast clay to design the back. “Then I made a template and copied it with chopped carbon fiber.”
Shredded carbon fiber is composed of small pieces of carbon fiber, rather than plates of it, giving it a unique texture. New parts include a boxed piece to close the back and an insert vent on top. Michel built the X-shaped LED taillights to finish things off; a concept he’d been wanting to try for a while.
He told us: “Once we finished the tail, we needed more carbon parts to fit it. “So we created a custom carbon windscreen and made a replica of the ’90s Yoshimura oil cooler vent that I had laying around.”
The wheels, brakes and fork of the GSX-R are still usable, but the rear shock absorber is leaking. It has been replaced with a newer GSX-R part, leaving very little space left for the old and big battery. Michel built a new battery tray under the saddle, moved all the electronics there, and installed a small Lithium-ion battery.
Down below, Michel also removed Suzuki’s airbox. Its Mikuni ‘slingshot’ carburetors are now inhaled through a K&N filter and they have been tuned with new beams, springs and needles.
Moving to the cockpit, Michel threw the OEM speedometer into the barrel (it had a broken needle). A digital KOSO unit sits in its place, attached to a custom carbon fiber dashboard. The original clamp-and-switch handlebars have been combined with a new fish-scale grip, while the original mirrors have been replaced with slender CNC machined products.
The Suzuki also gets stainless steel brake hoses and new Pirelli Angel GT tires. For the exhaust, Michel painted the original 4-in-1 pipe ends black, then fabricated a stainless steel link tube. Silencer of unknown origin; “I don’t know the brand, but it looked cool—so I stuck it on there.”
Michel needed a little encouragement to wrap a sports car with bold graphics, but this vivid paintwork was really requested by his client. “He just had a small, 300 x 300 pixel photo of a pattern he liked,” he told us. “After searching all day, I couldn’t find a better version. So I fired up Adobe Illustrator and made it myself.”
It takes moxie to wrap a custom motorcycle in pink and gold, but the design feels like the 1990s. Michel does it himself — from the matte black base, to the geometric shapes and patterns. .
Outrageous and inappropriate, Cool Kid Custom’s Slingshot looks like a sports car from its Vanilla Ice era and the parachute pants should be; basic.
cool kids custom | Facebook | Instagram | The picture of Duy Vu Dinh
