Back in the late 90's Suzuki brought out the outstanding TL1000S V Twin Superbike. As the proud owner of one of the first models, man, no steering dampers here, I was blown away by the performance and the "wonky" suspension set up that received such a slating from the unbelievers in certain areas of the mainstream motorcycling press. As a firm believer in the building and riding of modified bikes I soon decided that nobody else would be brave enough to use such a "laughable excuse for suspension" in any custom bike.
During early planning stages with my very good and clever friend Pete Sutton we designed a bike around the said suspension setup, and I started collecting parts. The project originally had a Z1300 engine which was my first choice for power.
Several years passed during which time a lot of shitty water passed over and under a great many of my closest friend's bridges during which time the whole idea was shelved and all parts, except those suspension bits, were sold.
Next stop 2006, all the shit was out the way and we started again, dusted off various bits and bobs and acquired a Triumph T140 engine as donor for the dry build. A one off aluminium frame was fabricated by Pete around the TL swingarm drop outs and rear end. The whole thing took a long 350 hours over 6 months before engine rebuild and finishing, and Pete and I still remain very good friends!!
