We’ve always put it out there that if you have a special motorcycle and you would like us to feature it then drop us a line. And, that is exactly what Greg did:
“Hey Team RideFast, I have seen some of your coverage and see that your magazine covers a lot of track-ready superbikes. I was wondering if you cover custom superbikes. I have a bike that was just finished by 300 Plus in Centurion and it is definitely one of a kind for South Africa. If you are interested in any details on the bike, let me know. Cheers, Greg Strozier” Our answer:
“HELL YES!” We would love to feature your ‘Busa”. And so, it came to be.
SPECTACULAR! Doesn’t even begin to describe the bike that Greg Stozier showed us.
Long, low, sleek, muscular and menacing. Greg enjoys taking the ordinary, (Hayabusa… ordinary?), and making extra ordinary. Back home in the USA he has a Dodge Station wagon, Mom’s Taxi, that kicks out more horsepower than a Hellcat and he regularly destroys Dodge Chargers with it. He has also built a CBR 600RR with an extended swing arm, big wheel, and engine mods that easily kick 750’s butts. The party piece on that bike though is the 2,000-watt sound system and all the tech built into it…
With his job taking him all around the world for several years at a time, he keeps most of his toys at his home in Atlanta, Georgia and in Europe. When he found out that he was being reassigned from Israel to South Africa, he felt a little itch coming on. A custom Hayabusa sized itch, so he hopped on the net, found the correct model and colour he was looking for, made the payment and asked them to drop it off with the the guys from 300+.
A few short weeks later and all sorts of luscious custom bits, from all over the world started arriving for Ash and his team to get cracking on Greg’s zero km brand new ‘Busa, (basically throwing the 2-year, unlimited mileage warranty out of the window).
We met Greg in a parking lot in Pretoria and were more than a little blown away when he rolled in as were most of the bystanders, who quickly wandered over to click a selfie or two with the bikes and ask a plethora of questions about it.
That was to be the theme for the rest of the day wherever we stopped for pics, even on a lonely mountain top… Flip, even the Air Force flew by for a closer gander. Slapped down just a millimetre or two off the tarmac and propelled by a beeeeeg 330 section wheel sticking far out the back, it pretty much stopped everybody in their tracks.
In our humble opinion, even though they are gorgeous in any colour, the black and gold Hayabusa is the one to have. This bike is fitted with a dual system airbag suspension like none we’ve seen before from Platinum Air, (https://platinumairsuspension.com). It works a treat with hidden micro switches under the seat and is more useful than you might think, especially when parking on a bit of a slope. Some of the places we stopped had uneven surfaces, and as you know this can get a bike quite wobbly on its side stand, but with a few snorts from the air suspension, the effects of the uneven terrain were negated. The whole system is bolted together and to the chassis using lowering linking from Brock’s performance, (https://brocksperformance.com/), who also supplied the Alien Head blacked out full exhaust system with sound suppressor, (but still as loud AF), risers and the air filter.
Along with the performance exhaust and air filter, there is an ECU Unlock and tuning by Moore Mafia, (https://mooremafia.com/), and Greg reckons it will shift along at a really rapid pace – and once he gets over 1,000 kays on the engine, he will go explore exactly how fast it is. At the time of this shoot, it only has just under 200 clicks on the clocks. Brock’s Performance and Moore Mafia are really well known for making bikes go really fast, so we do imagine it is going to break a few hearts if anybody tries to challenge Greg to a drag, especially considering he used to race back home.
The most noticeable modification to the big Suzuki is the swingarm and wheels. The swing arm is a bespoke, once-off, handmade, single-sided unit from Garwood Customs, (https://garwoodcustomcycles.com/). Generally, all the long swing arms are either bolt-on extensions or 3D printed aluminium jobs, not a look that Greg is a fan of. He requested something a bit prettier and a lot more unique.
The 330 custom and colour matched wheel set is by All Things Chrome, (https://www.allthingschrome.net/) and are wrapped in Avon rubber.
You have to see this set up, especially when viewed from behind – the combo of that wide wheel with those sexy taillights slung down right on top of it is quite something to behold. And that absolutely, stunningly beautiful rear wheel really deserves a single-sided swing arm – just look at it.
The engineering on the swing arm and final drive is top shelf stuff and runs a dual sprocket system. The drive comes off the gearbox via a short chain onto the first sprocket mounted onto the inside of a hub. On the outer side of said hub is another sprocket which drives the rear wheel via a chain.
Greg was keen on keeping everything neatly tucked away, not only for aesthetics but also for safety as well…. imagine getting your riding pants or shoelaces tangled up in that lot if it were all exposed…
Other little details really adding to the whole look are the colour matched suede seats by MADgarage/m.a.d. studio out of Ukraine, (https://www.ebay.com/str/madgarage), they are really eye-catching.
Then there are the chrome and orange F3 shorty levers by ASV Inventions, (https://asvinventions.com/), and colour sliders by T-Rex, (https://www.t-rex-racing.com/).
Greg is a bit of a tech-geek and he has loaded his ‘Busa with some very cool stuff like Android Auto/Apple Carplay, GPS and a dual camera system by Bosuda. The camera replaces his rear view mirrors quite effectively but also works as an action cam or dash cam. To make sure he can always see behind him he has ordered some bar end mount mirrors.
Coupled with this lot is a USB-C handlebar adapter/charger and mount with a bespoke short charge/data cable by Koso North America, (https://kosonorthamerica.com/). It all seems to work very well.
Now, the question everybody is asking – “How much did it all cost?” and it is one of those situations of “If you have to ask you probably can’t afford it.”
Greg coyly bowed his head with a shy grin and mumbled “a lot” under his breath. Then again, can you put a price on passion?
How does it ride?
Well… do you ask to borrow your mate’s bride? At the guesstimated value of the bike, we weren’t keen on taking that burden of responsibility. It looks like a whole hell of a lot of fun to ride and is more capable in a corner than that fat takkie on the back might infer. Greg was quite comfortable tilting into sweeps as well as bumbling around the city suburbs on it. He did give it a little bit of gas here and there especially when we found a secluded mountain road nearby.
And everywhere we went everybody wanted to get near it, touch it, photograph it, chat about it, find out more about Greg and what made him build a bike like this.
We asked him that exact same question. “Well, I wanted to do something different, something special. Not the normal extended swingarm big wheel superbike, or the usual Café Racer or stretched out Chopper. I have always enjoyed the Hayabusa’s styling and its double seat configuration. The ZX14 was also a consideration but I don’t like the banana seat setup. My other bike is currently in storage in Europe and seeing how we are going to be in South Africa for a number of years I wanted something to enjoy the African sunshine with.”
“I also just want to say kudos to Ash, Roy and Vince from 300+ for making my vision a reality”
Well Done Guys! you have built a beautiful machine.
If you have a bike you would like us to feature, drop us a mail at info@motomedia.co.za
