David Anderson is the raddest custom motorcycle builder that you’ve never heard of. He has zero online presence, and the only two bikes we’ve seen from him were built 12 years apart. But he has a 100% success rate at knocking our socks off.
His last project, a Husqvarna street tracker that he built before street trackers were cool, still holds up today. And his latest creation is equally awesome. Based on a Kawasaki Z1000, but powered by a hopped-up Suzuki Bandit 1200 engine, it’s a glorious celebration of the excess of the 80s.
David makes a living as a copywriter and brand consultant in Sweden, so custom bikes are just a hobby for him. He does it under the banner of ‘Krook Street Racing,’ which he calls his “own little make-believe race shop.”
“Like many Gen X-ers, I love 80s AMA superbikes,” he says. “But the problem is that 80s bikes are a little underwhelming to ride. I wanted that chunky ‘Fast Eddie Lawson’ race look, but in a bike that was lighter and faster.”
David kicked the project off with a 1982 Kawasaki Z1000J donor bike and the pieces of a Suzuki Bandit 1200 engine from around 2001. But there’s nothing stock about the motor now.
“It started life as a garden variety Suzuki SACS oil-boiler,” says David, “but I had it bored out and rebuilt by the Swedish former European Top Fuel champion. It is now ‘extra everything’; bigger valves, ported head, high lift cams, 1,216 cc high comp pistons, stronger con rods, and more. It’s got some shove, to put it mildly.”
Transplanting the Suzuki engine into the Kawasaki frame was a little trickier than what David had initially anticipated. “I think I fabbed four or five different engine mounts before I got the drive sprocket in the correct place, while at the same time allowing space for the flat slide carbs under the tank. Thankfully the Bandit 1200 engine is way lighter to lift in and out than the old mill.”
On the intake side, the Kawazuki’s Keihin carbs suck air through chunky RamAir foam filters. Attached to the opposite end of the engine is a custom exhaust system, from Racefit in the UK. It not only looks rowdy as heck, but it reportedly weighs a considerable amount less than the original system.
David also braced the Kawasaki Z1000J frame in several places, and rid it of any superfluous mounting tabs. The shock mounts were moved forward, while a friend with a large press stamped out new gussets to reinforce the frame triangle under the seat.
With the Suzuki engine taking up less space than the Kawasaki motor did, David needed a way to fill in the unsightly gap behind it. So he fabricated a catch tank to sit in front of the swingarm and welded in an aluminum blank-off plate to round things off. Look closely, and you’ll see a repurposed Yamaha rear hugger tucked away in there too.
The rest of the build’s parts spec just reinforces how good David’s judgment is. Gawk with us at the burly 52 mm right-side-up forks, swiped from a Yamaha V-Max and treated to a black anti-friction coating. Then cast your eyes to the rear of the bike, where new Öhlins shocks (finished in black) connect to a custom swingarm.
“It was made to my specs by GIA Engineering,” David adds. “I wanted to keep the original wheelbase, and most modern aftermarket swingarms are just too long.”
17” forged Aprilia wheels sit at both ends, wrapped in grippy Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tires. Getting them to fit involved executing what David calls the “AC Sanctuary mod,” which involves ‘widening’ the chain line to clear the wider rear rim. A skateboard wheel chain roller adds another stylish, albeit subtle, touch.
The brakes come from David’s compatriots at ISR, who were also kind enough to machine the yokes he needed to hold the massive V-Max fork stanchions. The cockpit sports wide ProTaper bars, with ISR brake and clutch levers that feature push buttons integrated into their mounting clamps. Under the hood, David rewired the bike with a Motogadget brain and installed a lightweight Lithium-ion battery.
A smorgasbord of smaller custom parts ties everything together—like the rear brake mount, handlebar risers and fork brace, and a pair of ‘wings’ that protect the radiator. “One of my favorite things about tinkering with bikes is looking over the shoulder of people who, as opposed to me, actually know what they’re doing,” he tells us. “This time I managed to pick up enough tips to do some TIG-welding and CAD-drawing of my own.”
“I designed many of the parts on my computer and then had them milled or printed. I wanted to keep the iconic ‘angular; original front fender, but like all of the original components it was super heavy, and didn’t conform to the curvature of a 17” wheel. So, I made a mold in Fusion 360, had it 3D-printed, and then did a carbon fiber wet layup.”
The fact that everything sits together so well with the Kawasaki’s blocky bodywork, is a testament to how sharp David’s eye is. From the wide ProTaper handlebars to the endurance-style fuel filler and twin taillights, there’s nothing we’d change. Even the olive green and orange paint job, which sounds awful on paper, is inspired.
And if the chunky carbon fiber number board and headlight arrangement remind you of Bottpower’s work, you’re right on the money. “The look and placement of the lights, and the second oil cooler under the number plate, was heavily inspired by Bottpower’s amazing Buell XB Racer,” David confirms, “which is still my favorite bike on Bike EXIF, ever.”
“It annoys me a little that I didn’t weigh the bike before I started, but according to the MOT man, it now weighs 202 kg with oil and half a tank of gas. I like to pretend that it could give Eddie’s 1982 race bike a run for its money at Laguna Seca—if only I could send it back through time.”
Although we’ll never know, what we do know is that this monstrous mash-up is another smash hit from Krook Street Racing. We’re itching to see what David comes up with next—we’re just hoping we don’t have to wait another 12 years to find out.
Images by CarlMagnus
