Once upon a time Once upon a time, customizing a sports car meant ripping off the front end, swapping out the handlebars, and calling it a streetfighter. But things have changed for the better. Today, custom builders are taking 80s and 90s sports cars and amplifying their classic awesomeness with well-regarded mods and upgrades.
Craftsmen like Marc Bell are leading the way in this trend. Marc specializes in high-end metal fabrication for designers, architects, artists, and more. But he’s also a race car driver and vintage sports car enthusiast—so you’ll find him building machines like these under the name HAXCH Moto.
His latest project is a subtle revision of the 1988 Suzuki GSX-R1100 The J—often referred to as the ‘slabside’ in Gixxer circles, because of the plastic panels that wrapped around the rear half of the bike—is gone now, but much of the Suzuki DNA of the late ’80s remains.
“The build started with a request from Ossi, a guy in Switzerland who wanted a slab since he was a kid,” Marc tells us. “He was fascinated by them when they came out in ’86, and now, at 50, he decided it was time to order his own custom slab.”
“Ossi had seen a Haxch Moto slabside build before and wanted one of his own. The brief was to keep the classic, race-inspired styling, but to subtly turn it into a standout bike, with every possible performance upgrade to make it as light and sharp as possible. I build a lot of bikes for racing and track use, so I went straight for the suspension and brake upgrades.”
The upgrades start with a set of Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD forks, upgraded with Maxton internals. A Maxton shock was installed at the rear, and the frame and swingarm were reinforced. The GSX-R1100 now rolls on lightweight Dymag wheels, with twin Brembo M4 calipers mounted to custom mounts up front.
Moving on to the bodywork, Marc replaced the GSX-R’s stock panels with aftermarket fiberglass units. Next, he modified the front end to accommodate a pair of LED headlights, housed in a custom aluminum housing. A pair of small Motogadget LED turn signals are subtly bolted to each side of the panel.
A Koso panel sits behind the Suzuki windscreen, while the handlebars feature a quick-acting Domino throttle, HEL clutch and brake levers, and Motone switches. Marc also added HEL pipes, a Billet Engineering ACC rear shifter, and a Motogadget keyless ignition system.
Marc had a more radical redesign in mind for the GSX-R’s rear end. “The lines of the original fairing always bothered me a little,” he explains. “Not to disparage a classic bike, but it felt too concave from the seat back. It wasn’t sexy enough.”
“So I cut out the original (already welded) subframe, welded new aluminum brackets to the main frame, then made a new aluminum subframe to raise the ride height and hold the new tail unit. I designed the tail unit out of cardboard, then made the final version out of aluminum sheet, using English wheels and various traditional sheet metal working techniques to shape the panels, before TIG welding them together.”
The new tail section loses the signature side panels of the fairing, but still feels period-correct. Marc reused the OEM taillight lens at the rear, but installed LEDs inside. Up top, a removable panel reveals the pillion seat (this bike also has foldable passenger footrests and a license plate holder, but they’re not installed here).
Hidden beneath the new bodywork is a new Suzuki battery pack and a Motogadget mo.Unit Blue controller to control the new wiring harness.
Although the engine is hidden behind a cover, it’s not compromised in any way. It’s been rebuilt with stock internals, but now uses a Dynatek Dyna 2000 ignition. A Mikuni RS38 flat-slide carburetor handles intake duties, while a Yoshimura four-into-one exhaust makes all the right noises.
One of Marc’s many talents is his ability to map out the perfect paint scheme for each bike he builds. This bike retains the original GSX-R color scheme—but with a more modern design.
“I wanted to make it unique, to pay homage to the original without being completely faithful to it,” he explains. “The two thick fabric stripes on the tank are a beloved part of the design, as is the number plate, which gives it a racing feel and includes a number that is special to the owner, Ossi.”
Dream Machine took care of the paint job, while Baz Kay handled the upholstery. Like every HAXCH creation before it, this Suzuki GSX-R1100 hits every mark perfectly. From the carefully selected parts spec to the stunning graphics, there’s not a thing we’d change.
HAXCH Moto Instagram | Image of Kane Layland
