Sniper Motorcycle Performance

2010 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building is in second placed Mark Daley of Thunderstruck Custom Bikes. His placing reflects the level of engineering involved in the building of the engine in his entry - Sniper. The Indian Powerplus motor used in the bike has had the inlet and outlet ports reversed, with the heads welded and machined to allow the correct sized valves to be operated by the reverse grind cam.

Pipes multi-piece bolted together, 4 outlets, Titanium ceramic coated. Carbs are Kehin FCR33, downdrafts from a Honda CBR 600. The carburators come out where the exhaust would normally be, and the exhaust where the carb would be - I flipped the valves in the cylinders, leaving their appearance normal, but working backwards; then I had to have a special cam ground to accommodate the modifications, and then had to make a special spigot-style manifold to hold the carbs.

The primary drive is our Thunderstruck 3 belt design with outer bearing support mid controls. Oil tanks, dual gas tanks, electrical, complete billet back bone, billet seat, rocker boxes, cam cover, bars, grips, foot controls, frame vents and sheetmetal work all by Thunderstruck.

Custom AKOO Yamaha R1

Presented at the Magic International Trade Show in Las Vegas, this customized Yamaha YZF-R1 is a collaboration between American rapper T.I. AKOO’s clothing brand and custom sportbike designer and builder Rob Uecker of Voodoo Industries.

Dubbed the AKOO YZF-R1, the bike sports a wooden veneer paint job mixed with what looks like Alcantara or suede on the side and bikini fairings and saddle and mounts a massive Avon 300mm custom rear tire, a unique single swingarm built by C&S Customs and RC Components Czar Eclipse custom wheels.

“What makes this Yamaha R1 so unique is the unusual mixture of textures and materials,” stated Uecker. “When I look at the AKOO brand I see classic, rugged American styling. But I know T.I. is a serious rider, so it was important to me to accentuate the R1’s aggressive street stature. I worked closely with the AKOO design team to translate those aesthetics onto the Yamaha canvas, and the result is the best sportbike I have ever built.”