Suzuki GSX-R goes retro | Customiser creates one-off Slabside for diehard 1100 fan

The ’80s are back… thanks to a London-based custom builder who’s blended old-school bulbous Suzuki style with modern performance in a one-off GSX-R1100 Slabside.

Marc Bell, who owns and runs Haxch Moto, started with a 1988 Suzuki GSX-R1100J model and has spent the past year modifying it into the striking machine seen here. It’s now undergoing final dyno testing following an engine rebuild before being sent off to its GSX-R-fixated owner.

“The customer saw the first one I did a few years ago and he really wanted a Slabside built,” Bell told MCN. “He saw the bike when it came out as a kid, and it was always a machine he really wanted.”

Bell says the Swiss-based enthusiast was seeking a special machine that also managed to remain close to the ethos of the original Suzuki.

Haxch Moto’s original Slabside build, which can be seen on the @haxchmoto Instagram page was finished around three years ago. If Bell’s name sounds familiar, he also recently combined the chassis and performance of a 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 with the look and feel of old Suzuki Slabsides and Slingshots in a special build dubbed the ‘Slabshot’ which gained him international acclaim.

Bell believes the standout section of this latest build is the tail, which now features aluminium bodywork produced following extensive cardboard stencilling, yet still houses the original fitment lights for a nostalgic touch.

“I cut the stock subframe out and made the mounting points for a new aluminium subframe, which houses the battery and the electrics,” Bell explained. “It takes the look from quite a sunken rear end and makes it feel much racier.”

Although seen in these images without road trim, the bike is now legal to be ridden on the highway. Other features also include Maxton suspension at the front and rear, plus a special set of Dymag rims made to order for this bike.

In fact, the front end has been taken from a newer GSX-R750 SRAD, with Maxton reworking the internals before anodising the top and applying cerakote ceramic coating to the base components. This is paired with a set of top-spec Brembo M4 radial calipers and a Hel brake master cylinder.

“I’ve done a few test runs and it pulls really well,” Bell added. “When you feel that braking force pull through an old frame like that it feels a lot more lairy than normal.”

Visit haxchmoto.com for details on the full build.