The best custom motorcycles have a coherent look—a visual balance and flow that literally stops the traffic. And the modifications should perform on the road as well as in front of the camera. So this bike, a mix of Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki parts from different eras, shouldn’t work. But strangely, it does—and very well too. The core of this custom is a 1975 Suzuki GT550. It was created by MotoHangar, a Virginia-based workshop run by Pat Jones. Pat wanted to combine the old with the new, with particular attention to the suspension. “The bike handles like a modern sportbike, but with the charm of a vintage two-stroke,” Pat reports. “I wanted a more ‘road worthy’ two-stroke.” Suzuki GT550 MotoHangar completed the mods entirely in-house, including the paint and graphics. They gave the GT550 a custom subframe, and fitted the tail section from a Kawasaki GPZ. The air-cooled triple is bored .50 over, and has been boosted further with modified Kawasaki H1 expansion chambers. The seat is crafted from elk leather, and sits in a fiberglass seat pan. A Honda headlight sits up front, and the rear suspension is from a Kawasaki ZX-6R. The swingarm is a Suzuki SV650 item, and at the other end are GSX-R forks. It all helps to reduce weight, along with the GSX-R wheels. Suzuki GT550 The instrumentation is a little more down to earth, with just a tachometer and voltmeter providing information. And the oil reservoir, adding a twist of humor, is a German “Pilot’s Beer” aluminum beer bottle. This GT550 is one of the most ambitious customs we’ve seen recently, but somehow, Pat Jones has made it work. And I bet it’s a blast to ride, too.

I know a couple of people who’ve owned Yamaha RD350s, and both remember the 1970s air-cooled twin with great fondness. I bet they haven’t seen an RD350 like this one, though. Called “S2RD”, it was built by Tony Prust of Illinois-based Analog Motorcycles. (If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Prust also built the lovely CB550 sidecar combination we featured six months ago.) This bike started as a 1973 RD350 that was halfway towards a café racer conversion when the current owner bought it. After the bike sat around for years untouched, the owner commissioned Analog Motorcycles to finish the job. Custom Yamaha RD350 “I started by cutting off the neck tube and welding on a Ducati S2R neck,” says Prust. “This allowed us to use a set of S2R forks and triples, and to complete the suspension, I also mounted a pair of Progressive Suspension shocks.” The original RD rear rim was then laced to the front hub to accommodate a wider front tire. Custom Yamaha RD350 The rear hub and rim come from a Yamaha TZ250 GP bike, so that the stock drum brake could be replaced by a disc. The front and rear rotors and calipers are Brembo (both actuated by the right rear foot lever). Custom made black stainless brake lines from Hel are also fitted. Custom Yamaha RD350 The clutch was converted from cable to hydraulic, using a Suzuki Bandit slave cylinder, while one-inch drag bars hide the internal throttle assembly. “All this was done to give a clean and streamlined appearance at the controls,” says Prust. The engine is mostly stock, but has been treated to lightweight DG expansion chambers for a power boost. Uni pod filters and a high output RDDreams Chinoy digital ignition help performance still further. Custom Yamaha RD350 Prust de-tabbed the frame and fabricated a battery tray to fit under the custom seat pan. The upholstery is combination of leather and Alcantara, with exposed white stitching. The final touch is the deliciously glossy black and white paint, applied by Kiel Sawusch of Crown Auto Body in Lake Bluff, IL. The RD350 has lots of fans without any mods, but the Analog S2RD takes it to a whole new level. Sleek, compact and fast, it’s as close to two-stroke perfection as you can get.

Defending Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, champion Ryan Villopoto looks hungry. Down more than 20 pounds since dedicating himself to the boot-camp program implemented by renowned trainer Aldon Baker, the 23-year old from the outskirts of Seattle rarely misses a meal; he's hungry to become the sport's most dominant athlete. His path to success has been anything but smooth. When faced with adversity on his climb to the top, Villopoto used misfortune to stimulate his motivation. A five-month rehabilitation program, which was a precursor for the 2011 season, put life into perspective for the defending Monster Energy Supercross champion. During the St. Louis stop of the 2010 Monster Energy Supercross championship, Villopoto, who was trailing Ryan Dungey by 12 points in the season standings, moved into the number-one position on lap 9. Two laps later, with Dungey on his back wheel, Villopoto dismounted from his motorcycle, which violently flipped through the air, nearly missing Dungey, as 59,882 fans simultaneously sighed for air. On the ground, Villopoto lay motionless, but pain ran feverishly through his right leg. The force of the crash made quick work of his tibia/fibula, causing bone brakes that required three surgical repairs. A win that evening would have moved him eight points within Dungey's lead with three races to go. "I didn't know exactly what happened, but after we figured it out, I knew I was able to come back but it would take a long time," said Villopoto. "Everyone has a goal to win the Supercross Class championship, and that is what I set my focus on." The next five months would characterize the real Villopoto. Detached from the high profile lifestyle that goes along with million-dollar athletes, Villopoto enjoys ducking out of the limelight. "There isn't a whole lot of down time, so when I have time to myself, I really appreciate being at home. I'm a pretty laid back guy." After being carted off track at the Edward Jones Dome, Villopoto mapped out his return to racing. The same way surgeons pieced together the shattered bones, Villopoto and Baker mapped out a plan to return to excellence. "Because his leg didn't have the mobility it once had, he thought it was over and he would no longer be able to compete at the level he did prior to the injury," said Baker. "What amazed me through this process is that he not only believed in his riding skills, but he was willing to take the rehabilitation process one step at a time." Instead of rehashing classic clichés about going the extra mile or putting your whole heart into your efforts, Villopoto never second guessed his commitment and puts in the work on the good days – and the bad. "Not many guys can say they provide the full commitment on a daily basis," adds Baker. "He's keenly aware of the ups and downs of this sport, where anything can happen, and he's motivated by that. In 2011, Villopoto literally won everything, including the Monster Energy Supercross championship, the 450cc Motocross championship, the Motocross des Nations (Motocross' version of the Olympics) and the Monster Energy Cup, which awarded him $1 million for dominating all three main events. What's unique about Villopoto's run for the sport's biggest prize was the way he single handedly controlled the points race in what's considered the greatest season ever. Although five riders bid for the championship, it was Villopoto that controlled the points lead in 14 of the 17 tour stops. His season shared traits of a well-diversified stock portfolio. Even when he became the first points leader to fail to qualify for a main event in the sport's history, he remained calm, knowing that this season was about trends. Despite the 25-point loss he suffered in Jacksonville by not qualifying, he used the point cushion he built in previous races to counter balance the deficit. Like so many racers before him, the move from being a dominant Supercross Lites Class rider to the premier Supercross Class was anything but easy. Only four riders in the history of the sport have been able to earn back-to-back championships. Is Villopoto up for the challenge?

Stewart/Gibbs Team up for 2012 Monster Energy Supercross Championship AURORA, Ill. (December 21, 2011) – In arguably the biggest move in the off season, James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., signed a five-year agreement with the Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX team. Stewart will make his debut on the Joe Gibbs Racing machine January 7, 2012, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., when the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, begins. Stewart, a two-time Supercross Class champion, has created mainstream in-road for the sport of supercross since turning professional in 2002, becoming the first-ever African American to win a major motorsports title. The highly-publicized move to the Gibbs team garnered national media coverage, including the front page of USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and ESPN’s Sports Center, to name a few, for the 25-year-old phenom. The winner of 42 Supercross Class main events, Stewart suggested he will eventually make the transition to four wheels under the Joe Gibbs Racing banner. However, he hasn’t lost sight of becoming supercross’ all-time winningest rider, a title currently held by seven-time Supercross Class champion Jeremy McGrath, who boasts 72 wins. Stewart told USA Today: “My No. 1 focus is get to 73 wins, and after that, we can hit (NASCAR) full force. We are definitely making steps to hopefully battling with Junior (Dale Earnhardt) and (Jimmie) Johnson. I am looking forward to it as another challenge in life. The cool part is maybe I have a chance to be great in two different sports.” Currently 31 wins away from breaking McGrath’s record, Stewart, whose known as one of the fastest riders on the planet, has only been beat six times in a race that he did not crash. However, he possesses a 92% career win/crash rate, and through his first four seasons, he literally won or crashed. It wasn’t until his fifth season that a competitor was able to beat Stewart in a race that he didn’t crash. Stewart may be his own biggest competitor, but this year’s field is stacked with nine different Supercross Class winners, a stat that’s never been part of this 38-year tradition. The Gibbs family has long been synonymous with winning, having captured three NASCAR titles and three Super Bowl championships. It’s been four years since Joe Gibbs Racing MX was established, debuting on the Monster Energy Supercross circuit, and this year, Team President Coy Gibbs is ready to give his family another coveted trophy. Gibbs stated, “When we started the supercross team in 2008, we had a building phase and a championship phase. We spent the past four years learning the sport and the equipment, and now we are ready to compete at the highest level with an accomplished and talented athlete like James Stewart, along with our founding partners Toyota and Yamaha.” The 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season gets underway in just a matter of weeks, from Angel Stadium on Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, January 7. For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.

After months of planning it is now time for everyone to get their first look at the Dream Ride project. Filmed deep in the rainforest of Cairns, Australia, Dream Ride is the perfect way to welcome Malcolm Stewart to the JDR Family! Stay tuned for some Behind the Scenes videos and the full feature on the 3rd of January...Credit: JDRmotorsports1