Photo: Guillaume Petranto
A custom bike doesn’t have to look good if it’s made for setting dank lap times and leaning over apexes, am I right?
More often than not, custom motorcycle builders aim to strike a harmonious balance between function and form, but you’ll sometimes see them focusing solely on one or the other. For instance, the Frenchmen over at Bad Winners threw the “form” side of things straight out the window when forging The Apex – a stripped-down track weapon based on a 2000 MY Yamaha FZS600 Fazer.
Obviously, this bad boy doesn’t give a damn about looking pretty because its sole purpose is to go fast on the racetrack. BW frontman Walid Ben Lamine says the bike is a whopping 146 pounds (66 kg) lighter than stock, weighing in at just 271 pounds (123 kg) dry. As you can probably imagine, achieving this gargantuan weight reduction was no walk in the park, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
After they’d discarded just about everything besides the engine and frame, Walid and his crew proceeded to transplant the higher-spec running gear of a 2012 Yamaha YZF-R6 onto the Fazer. Fitting the wheels, brakes, and forks was a straightforward ordeal, though the same can’t be said for the rear suspension arrangement.
Much tweaking was required before the R6’s swingarm could be properly mounted, and the whole operation proved to be one of the toughest stages of this project. Once it was out of the way, Bad Winners’ experts turned their attention to the motorcycle’s powertrain, installing higher-spec ignition hardware, a custom air filter housing, and stainless-steel exhaust pipework for some extra grunt.
To keep the engine’s temperature in check, its cooling system received a smaller yet more powerful radiator. In terms of electrical upgrades, The Apex carries a trimmed-down wiring harness, Motogadget’s m-Unit control module, and a lithium-ion battery. Its cockpit flaunts digital aftermarket instrumentation and a Renthal handlebar, which is adorned with premium grips from Domino.
Furthermore, one may find a set of 1,600-lumen fog lamps and LSL foot pegs on the bike’s flanks, while its R6-sourced wheels are cloaked in Metzeler racing slicks. The transformation was concluded with the addition of a new fuel tank, bespoke fenders, and a minimalistic tail section, all of which were fabricated in-house.
Obviously, this bad boy doesn’t give a damn about looking pretty because its sole purpose is to go fast on the racetrack. BW frontman Walid Ben Lamine says the bike is a whopping 146 pounds (66 kg) lighter than stock, weighing in at just 271 pounds (123 kg) dry. As you can probably imagine, achieving this gargantuan weight reduction was no walk in the park, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
After they’d discarded just about everything besides the engine and frame, Walid and his crew proceeded to transplant the higher-spec running gear of a 2012 Yamaha YZF-R6 onto the Fazer. Fitting the wheels, brakes, and forks was a straightforward ordeal, though the same can’t be said for the rear suspension arrangement.
Much tweaking was required before the R6’s swingarm could be properly mounted, and the whole operation proved to be one of the toughest stages of this project. Once it was out of the way, Bad Winners’ experts turned their attention to the motorcycle’s powertrain, installing higher-spec ignition hardware, a custom air filter housing, and stainless-steel exhaust pipework for some extra grunt.
To keep the engine’s temperature in check, its cooling system received a smaller yet more powerful radiator. In terms of electrical upgrades, The Apex carries a trimmed-down wiring harness, Motogadget’s m-Unit control module, and a lithium-ion battery. Its cockpit flaunts digital aftermarket instrumentation and a Renthal handlebar, which is adorned with premium grips from Domino.
Furthermore, one may find a set of 1,600-lumen fog lamps and LSL foot pegs on the bike’s flanks, while its R6-sourced wheels are cloaked in Metzeler racing slicks. The transformation was concluded with the addition of a new fuel tank, bespoke fenders, and a minimalistic tail section, all of which were fabricated in-house.
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