Recently we found a bunch of bike enthusiasts with the exact same mentality of modification that we have for our cars, but they apply it to bikes. Obviously they don’t have an interior but the rest of the things that you can do is the same, you can buy aftermarket wheels and stickier rubber, get a paintjob, get new body panels even get them made out of carbon fibre, get custom handlebars made with incorporated clear indicators. For the more hardcore you can even up the engine output and power, change the suspension and the ride height.

The most appealing aspect of the streetfighter movement is that most Japanese sportbikes will destroy the quarter mile in under 11sec and will have an epic power to weight ratio, are nimble and they can be bought for round $5000. Chuck another $5000 worth of mods you have an individual piece of machinery that will make a mockery of most street cars in a straight line, cost hardly any gas to run, look uber cool and the best part they are ridiculous fun to ride.

We caught up with Darren Lines and the lads from NZstreetfighter.com for a chat and a photo shoot recently, the five bikes that they brought to the shoot showed how individual this scene is, and how different everyones bike looked from each others. These boys attitude is what blew us away the most, their passion for the scene was worn on their chest like a badge for all to see. And it wasn’t a serious scene at all, in fact it was very social. It was the boys getting together for a laugh and a ride on the weekends. The core aspect was the individuality, most the streetfighter boys were sick of having a bike that looked the same as everyone else’s, and they have come together through that common interest.

With parts getting easier to access and the price of fuel on the continual rise combined with the New Zealand mentality to do something different, we can only see this scene go from strength to strength.

For more info log on to www.nzstreetfighters.com

1992 Yamaha V-Max – Glen Harland

Name: Glen Harland
Age: 39
Occupation: Design Engineer
Location: Tauranga

Model: 1992 Yamaha V-Max

Engine: 1200cc V4

Suspension/brakes: Standard suspension fully rebuilt and powder coated black onyx, 6pot Tokico brakes from a late model sports bike with custom alloy adaptor plates

Wheels/tyres: Standard wheels powder coated satin black, Front tyre Pirelli sport demon 110/90-18, Rear tyre Bridgestone exedra 170/80-15

Exterior: I custom made the body myself using potters clay, then covered the clay in fibreglass, and got it ready for painting over a few beers with the boys. And with the help from Tony (who owns corporal punishment) painted it a PPG Candy Orange. The rest of the frame was either sandblasted or paint stripped and got a black Onyx coating, all parts that could be polished were given the buffing treatment. While apart the Frame and rear swing arm were strengthened. All the rubber mounts were upgraded to solid items to reduce flex. The front handle bars were custom made to move the seating position forward to aide handling, and the rear of the bike was raised up 40mm to quicken the response of the steering. The headlight is off a scooter, and the surround is custom made.

Why this bike? I was at the drags at Baypark when I was just a boy, saw a V-Max and I’ve always wanted one ever since. I wasn’t really happy with the way a  standard V-Max looked so I figured I could fix that with some enhancements

What do you like most about your bike? That it’s different to any other bike in the world. I can park it anywhere and no other bike is going to turn up that looks anything like it

Is there anything you would do differently if you could do it again? No not really

Is there any particular bike or scene that has influenced your mods? Mags from the UK that cover the Streetfighter scene over there. It’s huge in Europe. I just wanted to create the bike I had in my mind, Its getting close just need some more money

What plans do you have in store for it? Upgrade the suspension and more modern bigger wheels so I can run better sports tyres

What was your very first bike you owned? a 50cc my dad gave me on my 15^th birthday, XR dirt bikes, 500cc 2 stroke road bikes, I raced a zxr400 in the f3 class for awhile, and had a few big bore road bikes, my current rides are a Kawasaki KX85 motor cross bike my 9 year old son rides and my Yamaha YZ450F motor cross bike.

If you could own any bike in the world what would it be, and why? it would be my V-max (as long as I could spend another 10 grand on it)

What makes a bike cool to you? Being different, the owner doing there own thing and not worrying about what other people think. If the owner as put some of themself into their bike and it makes them happy then it’s a cool bike in my eyes

Would you like to thank anybody? NZStreetfighters, my wife and family for letting me spend so much time in the shed, and my work for the use of their equipment

1996 CBR900RRS Fireblade – Darren Lines

Name: Darren Lines
Age: 27
Occupation: Sign writer
Location: Auckland

Model: 1996 CBR900RRS Fireblade

Engine: 900cc

Wheels/tyres: Z3 Metzeler

Engine: Twin K&N filters, Relocated Ignition to side of frame, stumped micron carbon fiber can exhaust, full Pro-bolt engine kit, stainless bolts throughout, later model Fireblade radiator, polished frame sliders.

Exterior: Painted satin black and smoothed off, one off Subframe to suit tail section and painted satin black, polished footrest and hangers, front forks Painted satin black with carbon fiber vinyl, shaved Ignition and relocated and painted satin black, one off stainless steel drag handlebars with Harley grips, Koso XR-SR Speedo incorporated into fuel tank, carbon fiber front mudguard, all fairings removed, modified petrol tank, custom seat, made in hell tail, house of custom pan, Hardcore customs headlight, rear SV1000 integrated indicators, battery relocated under fuel tank, PPG Sapphire liquid crystal blue over black base, polished wheels, braided brake lines, CBR1000r Fireblade shocks.

Why this Bike? It’s a good looking frame and popular overseas for fighting.

What do you like most about your car? It’s totally unique and you’ll never see another like it on the road, no matter where you are it grabs people’s attention.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could do it again? More so what I’d like to do in the future. Id add a later model front end, remote brake reservoirs, a few other small bits then start on another fighter

Is there any particular bike or scene that has influenced your mods? NZ Streetfighters, Style wise i’ve gone for the German streetfighter look, kicked up tail, cool light kit, big wide bars etc.

What plans do you have in store for it? Drags, burn outs, and just getting her out as much as possible

What was your very first bike you owned? CBR250RR

If you could own any bike in the world what would it be, and why? A Spondon framed blade with all the bells and whistles

What makes a bike cool to you? Power to weight ratio, style, performance, handling what more could you want and this hobby doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg.

Would you like to thank anybody? www.nzstreetfighters.com , House of Custom, Bodyline Panelbeaters and Painters, Phoenix Fabrication, Webster Engineering, Drury Performance Centre, Carbon Fiber Designs, The Missus and Daughter for putting up with my countless hours in the garage!

“Corporal Punishment”1985 Suzuki GSX750S Katana – Tony New

Name: Tony New
Age: 39
Occupation: Student/NZStreetfighters Ltd, custom motorcycle parts and accessories
Location: Tauranga

Model: “Corporal Punishment”1985 Suzuki GSX750S Katana

Engine: 1985 GSX750, Air/oil-cooled 747 cc inline-4, DOHC, TSCC, 16 valves big bored to 816cc with Wiseco pistons, DNA pod filters, custom stainless steel full exhaust system 4:1:2, aftermarket oil cooler with one off stainless steel guard and braided lines with anodised fittings, Pro-bolt anodised aluminium engine case bolts, producing 60kW at the rear wheel with a dry weight around 200kg. Polished aluminium rocker cover along with all side cases.

Driveline: Honda VFR400 NC30 single sided swing arm (chain drive)

Suspension/brakes: Front end is 90’s Suzuki RF600 with twin discs and 4 pot callipers with Kawasaki ZZR master cylinders, rear shock is 2009 Kawasaki ZX1400, braided brake lines all round, rear sets (foot controls) GSXR1100.

Wheels/tyres: Front  Suzuki RF600 120x70x17 running Michelin Pilot Road, rear Honda VRF400 NC30 160x55x18 running Michelin Pilot Road2

Exterior: Mid 90’s Suzuki TL1000 tail section with carbon fibre touring rack, 99 Yamaha R1 front guard modified with corporal stripes cut in, custom one off stainless steel chain guard, one off hand built gas mask headlight unit constructed in fibreglass with twin 55w projection headlamps, Koso digital speedo, and blue LED highlights over the engine and under the tail section, 80mm bar end mirrors, fat bar riser and MX fat bars, custom airbrushing, There is a continuous sentence running around the frame that reads; C754264 Royal NZStreetfighter Squadron.

Why this bike? Like all bike enthusiasts I spend a bit of time browsing our local internet auction site looking for bargains and dreaming about bikes I’d like to own. I’m a big fan of modified bikes, in particular streetfighters, so when I came across this 1985 Suzuki GSX750s Katana I just had to have it. It was already well modified with a Honda VFR400 NC30 single sided swing arm, TL1000 tail section, GSXR rear sets, one off seat, braided brake lines and those sexy one off header pipes. The paint was silver and the frame lime green. The bike was in the South Island so I rang the owner, had a good discussion about the bike, negotiated the purchase price and bought the bike sight unseen praying it was as good as it sounded and looked in the photos. It was!

What do you like most about your bike? That its old skool cool, it’s a load of fun to ride and it’s a physical exercise to ride it unlike a lot of modern sports bikes. It’s also quite a small bike so it fits me well being a bit vertically challenged

Is there anything you would do differently if you could do it again? This bike is my keeper so I will probably do everything again at some point. A streetfighter project is never really finished so you are always looking for further mods. Since I’ve owned it, it’s on the third speedo, second front end, second paint job so it pretty much gets tweaked continually.

Is there any particular vehicle or scene that has influenced your mods? The German streetfighter scene has influenced me the most and those guys are the king of bling with amazing engineering ability.

What plans do you have in store for it? Next winter it will get a full strip down and I will powder coat the frame, give it a new paint job but retain the military theme, polish the swing arm, and build a new headlight unit.

What was your very first bike you owned? First road bike was an 80’s Suzuki GSXR250, first dirt bike 96 Honda CR250.

If you could own any bike in the world what would it be, and why? It would be something like a KTM RC8 all stripped and streetfightered.

What makes a bike cool to you? Quality of the finish and workmanship, something that’s an engineering masterpiece.

Would you like to thank anybody? NZStreetfighters Ltd, Glen Harland for the stainless work, the wife for putting up with all the hours spent in the garage.

2000 Honda VTR1000f Firestorm – Tony New

Name: Tony New
Age: 39
Occupation: Student/NZStreetfighters Ltd, custom motorcycle parts and accessories
Location: Tauranga

Model: 2000 Honda VTR1000f Firestorm

Engine: 996cc, V-twin four stroke, 110Hp (80.3kW) @ 9000 RPM, 97 Nm torque @ 7000 RPM, top speed 250 km/h (155.3 mph), liquid cooled, 6 speed gearbox, weight 192 kg, power to weight ratio = 0.5729 HP/Kg, gold Pro-bolt anodised aluminium engine bolt kit, hydraulic clutch, stock exhaust with 175mm removed from each tail pipe with the end caps re-welded on and the welds polished out.

Suspension/brakes: Stock VTR with twin disc front with Nissin 2pot callipers, single disc rear. Gold Pro-bolt anodised reservoir caps all round

Wheels/tyres: 120x70x17 front with Michelin Power race tyre, 180x55x17 rear with Power Pure tyre.

Exterior: Ps design headlight unit imported from Germany with 55w twin projection headlights, micro LED indicators front and rear, Koso XR-SR digital speedo imbedded in the fuel tank, heated grips, cut down aftermarket fibreglass belly pan, hand built fibreglass radiator shrouds modelled off a Honda CR125 dirt bike, 80mm bar end mirrors, solid billet aluminium custom top yoke with zeta risers and KiwiX MX fat bars, polished foot peg hangers, Paint is a Mazda colour.

Why this bike? I was looking for a bike to build, the VTR came up on trademe as a deregistered insurance company write off. I was keen on building a v-twin and like the nice torque they provide out on the road. So I went and looked at it in Hamilton and everything that was broken on it was stuff I would have ripped off anyway because my intention was to streetfighter the bike, so it was going to be naked with an upright MX style riding position. The bike took 80 hours to build then put through the re-certification and VIN process. The paint is very similar to the original factory colour and a fuel gauge was inserted due to the low range tank this model comes with (16L). The bike was originally intended to be built and sold to fund the next project but I like it so much I’ve decided to keep it.

What do you like most about your bike? That it’s a good all round bike, from weekend sports riding, commuting and then it can be loaded to the hilt with a passenger and all your camping gear and go touring around NZ.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could do it again? Reposition the speedo in the tank as the angle is a bit shallow for night riding so it requires a screen to dull the light emitted.

Is there any particular vehicle or scene that has influenced your mods? The brief with this bike was to build a subtle streetfighter as opposed to our previous extreme builds. It needed to look like it could have come from the factory but it had to ooze attitude too.

What plans do you have in store for it? Since the photo shoot a dash between the headlight and top yoke has been built and a radar detector wired in. Plans now are just to learn how to wheelie it and do some more touring on it.

Would you like to thank anybody? The bike was built by NZStreetfighters Ltd.

2002 Honda CBR900RR2 – Tinkz

Name: Tinkz
Age: 42
Occupation: Mechanic
Location: Taupo
Model: 2002 Honda CBR900RR2

Engine: 954cc, fuel injected, controlled air-box & exhaust powervalve

Wheels/tyres: standard wheels, colour coded & polished edges

Exterior: Cut down top faring & repainted

Why this bike? Very few people buy a bike with the intension of streetfightering it…its usally a result of crashing it and not being able to afford new fairings so you go down the fighter road….often spending more money than if you’d put it back to standard.

What do you like most about your bike? It turns heads…especially when its on one wheel

Is there anything you would do differently if you could do it again? Do it again?…a true streetfighter is never finished, its always evolving

Is there any particular vehicle or scene that has influenced your mods? The streetfighter scene is massive in the UK where I’m from & I hope we can really get it going here in NZ

What plans do you have in store for it? Spoked motard wheels and a turbo…like I said it’s evolving

What was your very first bike you owned? Honda C50..i was 12

If you could own any bike in the world what would it be, and why? Something with wide motocross bars and 110kW on tap!

What makes a bike cool to you? It has to be individual, that’s what makes it cool. It doesn’t matter what others think, they don’t own it.

Would you like to thank anybody? Brent from Lake Auto Refinshers in Taupo for the paint, Donnz for putting up with alloy polishing all over the house through last winter.

To find out more about NZ Streetfighters, visit the forums at http://www.nzstreetfighters.com/forums

Words: Falgoon Patel Photos: Adam Croy