Source: Bike Bound

Street-Legal Slingshot 1100K Racer from Nigel’s Creative Customs…  

Our new friend Nigel “Nigello” Weber of Germany had quite the auspicious start for a racer and motorhead:

“My passion started very early, you could say before my birth. My dad took my mum (pregnant with me) for a lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in his Porsche 911 RSR racecar. Naming me after F1 driver Nigel Mansell sure did its work too.”

Both his father and grandfather were privateer racers, and Nigello completed his first build, a Yamaha FT50, when he was just 13! Since then he’s maintained a great passion for both Italian and Japanese bikes — owning, building, tuning, and racing quite a few.

“I just don’t want to ride something that everybody has, I prefer to express myself with the stuff I build. So customising a bike is like painting for me. It’s art.”

Nigel races as an amateur under the banner of Fuzzy Racing, and more recently he decided to turn his passion into a living by opening his own workshop, Nigel’s Creative Customs aka NCC (@ncc_bikes). The bike you see here has its origins with his previous track bike, a race-spec Honda Bol d’Or he’s owned since 2016 but never really been happy with.

“After a really disappointing weekend at Spa Francorchamps I just had enough of that thing.”

Fortunately, a friend who specializes in vintage Suzukis had a 1989 GSX-R1100 available. As some of you know, 1989 was the first year of the “Slingshot” 1100K GSXR, so-named for the shape of the semi flat-slide carbs, and it was an absolute beast. The frame was a new stiffer aluminum alloy version based on the previous year’s GSX-R750, and the 1127cc boasted a factory output of 143 horsepower.

“The new GSX-R isn’t a race-only bike, but it’s close. That’s part of the GSX-R manifesto: to design racebikes, and then adapt them to the street, rather than vice versa, as the case often used to be.” –Cycle World, 1989

For Nigel, the bike was the perfect donor for a street-legal racer he could flog on the track and test on the street, swapping between race and road setups as necessary. He opted for an endurance racing look inspired by the machines of the 70s and 80s he loves so much, and he made sure the bike would meet the rules for classic racing in Germany.

The bike is now running GSX-R750 forks (conventional instead of upside-down both for a period look and to pass race scrutineering), and the suspension at both ends has been outfitted and tuned with K-Tech goodies and tuned thanks to Marcel Richter of MR Motorsport Service. The rearsets are from Germany’s Gimbel Racing, and the bike is running a set of Metzeler M7 RR tires — legal for vintage racing in his class.

For now, the engine is stock except for K&N filters and an open Devil 4-in-1 exhaust, with the carbs dialed in for these mods, but Nigel has Yoshimura Stage 1 cams, Mikuni TMR carbs, and a different ignition box ready and waiting on the workbench.

Then there’s the bodywork and paint. Nigel used a fairing from the original “slabside” GSX-R, complete with Fiberman “outtakes” that divert hot air from the oil cooler and an optional AMA-style number board for the track, also by Fiberman. The tail section is an FZR1000 unit, and the livery is inspired by Nigel’s father’s race bikes. 

Renn is German for “racing” and Nigel has aptly named the bike his “Renngixxer.” Although he hasn’t had it on the dyno or scale yet, he put it through its paces on the Nürburgring GP course this summer.

“At the moment I can only say, it’s fucking fast for an ’89 bike and I was able to annoy some guys with modern bikes on the track ;)”

That’s what we like to hear! Bravo, Nigello, for an amazing GSX-R and keeping the spirit of these air-cooled, analog warhorses alive and well on the street and track.

Below is our full in-depth interview with Nigel for those who want to delve deeper into the build and story behind it. We can’t wait to see more builds roll out of Nigel’s shop, and we encourage you to follow this young new builder at @fuzzyracing and @ncc_bikes.

GSX-R1100 Restomod: Builder Interview

• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

My name is Nigel (nickname Nigello), I’m 30 years old and from Bergisch Gladbach (near Cologne), Germany. My passion started very early, you could say already before my birth. My dad took my mum (pregnant with me) for a lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in his Porsche 911 RSR Racecar. Naming me after F1 driver Nigel Mansell sure did its work too.

After already being passionate about cars I got my first motorcycle when I was 9. It was a Yamaha FT50, which I restored with my dad when I was 13. So I somehow did my first project bike that age. At 16, when I was old enough to ride legally on the street, we started building a Yamaha AS3 in the style of a production racer like the TA 125. Sadly this project was never finished due to problems with a street legal registration for being allowed to ride it when 16. (In Germany you were only allowed to go 80Km/h with a 125cc bike.)

 

Anyway I was soon old enough to ride a bigger bike at 18, so I did a custom Cagiva Alazzurra 350, quite similar to a Pantah, which I built in the look of the old NCR Ducatis (still got that bike). I always was passionate about Ducatis and still am, but I also liked Japanese bikes.

My dad was a privateer racer back in the 70’s and 80’s and nearly won the German Championship (but that’s another story). Also my grandpa used to race on the Nürburgring after WWII, so I somehow needed to get on the track too! So we got a race-spec Honda Bol d’Or and I started doing trackdays in 2016. Never been happy with that Honda and after a really disappointing weekend at Spa Francorchamps I just had enough of that thing.

I noticed some guys with old Gixxers all around me going out on track, having a good time without problems. So after this weekend I called a friend who is a specialist for old Suzi’s and asked him if he had a bike for me and he did! That was the beginning of my Gixxer. Funny thing is that my Dad has an ’85 first generation 750 GSXR and used to take me for a short ride up the street when I was little, so I somehow got in touch with these old Gixxers very early.

I’ve always been interested in building bikes and customised every bike I got, because I just love to personalize them. I just don’t want to ride something that everybody has, I prefer to express myself with the stuff I build. So customising a bike is like painting for me. It’s art.

As doing this just brings the most joy to me I soon figured out that’s what I want to do for living and the idea of becoming a custom bike builder grew. Now I’m at the point where I’ve started my dream with my shop “NCC,” which means “Nigel’s Creative Customs.”

I already got an Insta account for the shop (@ncc_bikes) where I post project bikes I’m doing for myself, trying to check out if people would like what I build and it seems they do. So, you will see a lot of my stuff in the future!

Most important to me: I love old bikes and their character, which is why I always prefer riding an old bike operating all by myself without electronic help. I want to keep that spirit alive for my generation and the generations coming up. I want to fire that old spirit of endurance racing up again!

• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?

It’s a 1989 Suzuki GSX-R1100.

• Why was this bike built?

I wanted to build a reliable low budget racer for myself for having fun.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

I wanted to do an old-shool racer in the style of the old endurance racebikes of the 70s and 80s, which I love the most. It also should be street-legal for testing. That’s why I built it so you can easily swap from street to race mode with a nice AMA-style number plate (made by Fiberman in Ireland).

As always I wanted to build something different to the original style, so I used an early GSXR fairing and an FZR seat because I like the line the bike gets with these parts. The colours are inspired by the race design of my dad, which mainly was that dark blue and I combined it with some gold and red creating the colour scheme for my hobby racing team “Fuzzy Racing.”

Again I wanted to do something special, looking like it was straight out of the 80s racing scene but in a style that was never there before.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

In first step I left engine stock, because I wanted to get to know the bike, its character, and also its handling before I go for some engine tuning. I worked on the carburetors a bit, adjusting them to use open K&N filters and the open Devil 4-in-1 exhaust.

I fitted 750 GSXR forks, which are better for racing because the 1100 forks are softer for touring. The forks and the original fully adjustable rear suspension were tuned with K-Tech components.

I didn’t use USD forks because of the style and the rules of classic racing in Germany. The rules also say we’re only allowed to use street tyres, which is why I put some Metzeler M7 RR rubber on it, but I’ll try slicks in the future.

After doing the first trackday with this bike on the Nürburgring GP Course back in July this year, I’m really happy with how the bike feels. The character of the engine and the suspension feel really good. Now I’m planning the next steps and have Yoshi Stage 1 camshafts, Mikuni TMR’s, and a different ignition box already laying on my workbench.

Talking about the bodywork, I fitted the slabside Gixxer fairing to my Slingshot, improving it
with some nice Yoshi/AMA-style air outtakes from Fiberman — they look really nice but
also help getting the warm air away from the oil-cooler. The rear end was made by a company called Dimo, who designed the seat for the FZR1000 back in the day. I liked the style of it and
fitted it to my Gixxer, which came out really cool! Footrests are from Gimbel Racing.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

While building it, I always called it “The Renngixxer.”

• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?

As the engine is still stock, but as a first-year Slingshot K generation engine known for being strong, I guess around 130hp at the moment, but I will find out on the dyno soon. It’s still not a light bike but it sure lost some weight removing a lot of the not needed parts, including the unbelievably heavy original fairing. At the moment I can only say, it’s fucking fast for an ’89 bike and I was able to annoy some guys with modern bikes on the track 😉

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

It’s definitively more work than riding a modern bike because it’s heavy and somehow has its own will, but for a 35-year-old bike it rides incredibly well with its tuned suspension. I really love the character and the fact you really have to work to be fast with this thing. The engine is awesome and so is the sound! It’s a lot of fun to race an old Slingshot on the track, and at the moment these bikes and their parts are still cheap, which makes it easier to race them.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

I’m really proud of the whole look I created including the bodywork and the design of the paintjob. I created exactly that old-school endurance racing look I wanted.

• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

I’d like to thank Fiberman for helping out with really nice fiberglass parts, Marcel Richter of MR Motorsport Service for the suspension tuning, and Mikuni specialist Topham, which helped out with the right parts for adjusting my carbs.

Follow the Builder

Hobby Racing Team: @fuzzyracing
Workshop: @ncc_bikes
Website will follow soon!
On Track Photography: www.mazzes-fotomatrix.de (@mazzes_fotomatrix)

More GSX-R1100 Builds

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