Slabside Splendor: Suzuki GSX-R1100 Restomod

First-Gen Gixxer 1100 from Haxch Moto…  

In 1985, the original Suzuki GSX-R750 revolutionized the superbiking world. Never had one of the Japanese Big Four unleashed a mass-produced sportbike that was so track-focused and uncompromising — the closest thing to a street-legal racebike ever available to the common consumer.

A year later, the big-boy GSX-R1100 appeared, boasting a 120-bhp inline four that was not only 10 ponies more powerful than the existing GSX1100E mill, but the big-bore “slabside” (as the first-gen Gixxers are known) was a staggering 90 pounds lighter!

The great Roland Brown remembers his first ride on the 1100 slabby with particular vividness:

“The Suzuki GSX-R1100 was so fast, I had to recalibrate my brain…” -Roland Brown, Hagerty

Of course, suspension, brake, tire, and chassis technology have come a very long way since the first Slabbies ruled the streets and circuits. Builders have taken to modifying these old air-cooled warhorses with more modern tech, and one of these wizards is Marc Bell of London’s Haxch Moto — a furniture designer, fabricator, and racer who’s made a name for himself with his race-inspired retro superbike builds.

We’ve featured his ’88 slabside GSX-R1100 machine built to compete in the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CMRC), as well as his show-stopping GSX-R1000 “Slabshot” — a star of the Bike Shed Moto Show.

Slabside Thunderbike: ’88 Suzuki GSX-R1100 Racer

Now he’s back with another slabside 1100, this one built for a Swiss client, Ossi, who was 12 years old when the original GSX-R1100 debuted, sparking a lifelong dream of owning a custom slabside of his own.

Marc gives us a full rundown of the build below, but highlights include a braced frame and swingarm, lightweight Dymag wheels, an inverted GSX-R750 SRAD front end, Brembo brakes, Maxton shocks / fork internals, rebuilt engine, Motogadget electronics, Hel braided lines, and a custom subframe and one-off aluminum tail section that Marc shaped and welded himself. You know the setup will work well on the track, because it’s similar to Marc’s own street-legal GSX-R1100 racebike.

Dream Machine Superpaint handled the gorgeous livery that Marc designed, while Baz Kay (@B.M.K_creative) upholstered the seat. The bike’s looks are to die for, especially for those of us who grew up beneath the reign of the early Gixxers, and then there’s the sound…

The bike is now at home in Switzerland, and owner Ossi is one damn lucky man! Below, Marc himself gives us the full story and details on the build.

Suzuki GSX-R1100 Custom: In the Builder’s Words…

The build started off with an enquiry from Ossi, a guy in Switzerland who’s wanted a slabside since he was a kid. He had a fascination with them when they came out in ’86, and now aged 50 decided it was time to commission his own custom slabby. Ossi had seen a previous Haxch Moto slabside build and wanted his own.

The brief was to keep it classic in style and race-inspired, but to make it subtly a standout build and with all of the possible performance upgrades to make it as light and sharp as possible. I build a lot of bikes for racing and track use, so went straight to suspension and brake upgrades: lightweight Dymag wheels and SRAD front end with adapters to run radial Brembo’s.

The lines of the stock slabside always bothered me a bit. Not to knock a classic, but it feels too low / sunk from the seat backwards — it wasn’t racey enough, so I made a new custom sub-frame, chopped off the stock sub-frame which is welded on, made and welded on new aluminium brackets to the main frame, then made a new aluminum sub-frame to raise the ride height, store the M-unit and battery, and more importantly hold the new rear tail unit.

I designed the tail unit in card then made the final version in 1.5mm aluminum sheet, using the english wheel and various traditional sheet-metal work techniques to shape the panels before TIG welding them together.

I’ve used an original stock slabside tail light in the new tail unit, but have mounted an LED panel in there rather than using the old-style bulb, keeping the look true, but with a brighter and longer lasting upgrade.

The tail unit has a removable cap that hides a pillion seat for the very, very occasional Sunday ride, and I have foldaway pillion footpegs to mount still, which aren’t in the photos. I also need to mount the Swiss number plate too, again not shown in photos.

The paint scheme keeps the stock colours of the slabside but I’ve reworked the design to modernise it, make it unique, and pay tribute to the original without sticking to it exactly. The twin thick pinstripe over the tank is a favorite part of the design, and the number board which brings the race feel and houses a number which is special to the owner, Ossi.

Once I had the design sorted I handed it over to Dream Machine to carry out the paintwork; they did an incredible job on the finish.

Build Sheet

Bike: GSX-R1100-J 1988
Name: Ossi

• Dymags wheels
• Maxton shock
• Maxton fork internals
• Full SRAD 750 front end
• Braced frame & swingarm
• Radial Brembo M4 black calipers
• Motone switch gear
• M-Unit blue system with new wiring loom
• M-unit keyless fob/lock
• Koso RX2N clock with plug-in GPS speed sensor
• Dyna 2000 ignition kit
• Mikuni RS38 flatslide carbs on 32mm bellmouths
• Engine fully rebuilt but standard internals
• ACC billet engineering rearsets
• HEL braided lines
• HEL master cylinder brake & clutch
• Tein LED headlights
• M-unit blaze discreet indicators
• Domino quick action throttle

Builder Thanks

Paintwork: Dream Machine (@dreammachine_superpaint)
Seat upholstery: Baz Kay (@B.M.K_creative)
Photography: Kane Layland (@kl_cycles)

Follow the Builder

Web: haxch.co.uk | haxchmoto.com
Instagram: @haxchmoto

More Haxch Builds

---