Dream Gixxer: Suzuki GSX-R750 “Slingshot Racer”

Wildcard Garage’s GSX-R750 Slingshot, built for AHRMA Next Gen Superbike…  

The Suzuki GSX-R750 was nothing short of a revolution in the superbike world. The original “Slabside” 750 was basically a detuned, street-legal version of a works racer, complete with an alloy frame and rev-happy oil-cooled engine — in essence, a racebike with headlights.

The first big evolution in the GSX-R came with the introduction of the “Slingshot” models in 1988, so-named for the shape of the bike’s 36mm constant-velocity semi flat-slide carbs. 

“Suzuki’s 1988 GSX-R750 isn’t just another streetbike pretending to be a racer; it’s a racer pretending to be a streetbike. And the first clue is the engine redline marked in red on the tachometer face: 13,000 rpm. That’s not only higher than anything else in the 750 class, but higher, even, than on Kevin Schwantz’s 1987 GSXR750 Superbike.” –Cycle World, Feb. 1988

The GSX-R750M was the last (and arguably best) of the oil-cooled Gixxers, featuring a long-stroke engine, upside-down forks, more aerodynamic bodywork, and an output well north of 100 horsepower at the crank. 

Enter Stephen Clark of Wildcard Garage, a Scotsman who’s been mad about sportbikes since boyhood.

“I grew up going to races at Knockhill and constantly begging my brothers to take me on the back of their bikes or to bike shops.”

Today he lives in Idaho Falls and works as a powersports photographer, mainly in the snowmobile industry, but he hasn’t lost his passion for bikes. He’s raced both off-road and on the track, and his nostalgia for “youngtimer” superbikes has only increased as he’s gotten older.

“Recently I launched a YouTube channel called Wildcard Garage focusing on 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s super bikes, which I consider to be the Golden Era of sport bikes. In those days bikes were advancing rapidly and with British and American racers winning on a world stage, racing was at an all time high. I was also a teenager so the nostalgia of this era is very strong. The idea behind the YouTube content and social content is to celebrate this era of bikes through builds and trips with the goal of inspiring others to keep the dream alive for this era of bikes.”

Recently, Stephen decided to build a GSX-R750 Slingshot to race in the AHRMA Next Gen Superbike class. Of course, he chose the best of the Slingshots — a GSX-R750M — as the basis for the build.

“I really wanted to model the bike after the works endurance race bikes from this period and keep as many period-correct parts as possible.

Instead of throwing a bunch of modern parts at the build, Stephen worked to restore the FOX Twin Clicker 2 shock, Yoshimura Duplex exhaust, and Yoshimura rear sets. Meanwhile many of the billet parts are replicas of the parts used on period race bikes.

This Slingshot Racer sports a braced swingarm (using first-gen R1 bracing), ACC billet triple clamps, replica SRS link and adjustable upper shock clevis, rebuilt Nissin 4-pot brakes, GBrakes stainless steel brake lines, Galespeed VRD master cylinder, Mikuni RS36 flat-slides, and more.

The bodywork is from Ricambi Weiss and painted in Yoshimura-inspired livery designed by our old buddy Dan Riley at Gunn Design. Stephen found the process of building a bike of this vintage highly rewarding, as it required so much more personal interaction with craftsmen and enthusiasts.

“Building a bike of this era is quite a bit more challenging than a new bike because of the availability of parts and the process of acquiring parts. Most of the part manufacturers are small mostly one man businesses and the purchase process is much more intimate with phone calls, emails, international shipping, etc. With a new bike you can relatively easily buy parts online with no human interaction; with these old bikes there’s much more interacting with other enthusiasts online, talking with parts manufacturers etc. It’s a lot slower of a process but very rewarding.”

The Wildcard Garage Slingshot Racer is one of the most nostalgic next-gen race bikes we’ve seen, and we can’t wait to see it on the track.

“It feels very raw and extremely loud. The flat-slides make it a very different experience from a new bike as the throttle pull is heavy and you have to open the throttle slowly. But it pulls hard and sounds incredible… The chassis needs more time to get setup so I haven’t been able to push it hard yet, but I can feel that it has potential and I’m really looking forward to continue to develop the bike.”

Below, Stephen gives us the full story on the build, and we highly recommend the above video, where Stephen does a deep dive into the process of building his dream GSX-R. 

GSX-R750M Slingshot Race Bike: Builder Interview

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

I grew up in Scotland and through my brothers was exposed to sport bikes at a young age and was completely obsessed. I grew up going to races at Knockhill and constantly begging my brothers to take me on the back of their bikes or to bike shops.

Since then I’ve moved to the US and followed a career as a powerports photographer. Over the years I’ve owned countless bikes and raced off-road and road raced at an amateur level. These days my winters are very busy creating content for the snowmobile industry and summers are spent with motorcycles.

Recently I launched a YouTube channel called Wildcard Garage focusing on 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s super bikes, which I consider to be the Golden Era of sport bikes. In those days bikes were advancing rapidly and with British and American racers winning on a world stage, racing was at an all time high. I was also a teenager so the nostalgia of this era is very strong. The idea behind the YouTube content and social content is to celebrate this era of bikes through builds and trips with the goal of inspiring others to keep the dream alive for this era of bikes.

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

The bike started as a 1992 Suzuki GSX-R750 Slingshot M-model. It’s the last of the legendary oil-cooled GSX-Rs, so the most developed and arguably the best performance.

• Why was this bike built? 

The bike is built to be raced in AHRMA Next Gen Superbike classes in the future. As I’ve gotten older I’ve become more nostalgic and more attracted to older bikes. Also with racing I really enjoy the more relaxed vibe and the characters in the AHRMA paddock. There’s also part of me that likes a bike with lower performance than a modern bike; the thought is that it will offer a more unique and exciting ride on the track while overall going slower than you would on a new bike. The goal in the future is to do some AHRMA racing with this bike in Next Gen 1 and ’99 SRAD in Next Gen 2 and hopefully someday race them at the legendary Barber Vintage Festival.

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

I really wanted to model the bike after the works endurance race bikes from this period and keep as many period-correct parts as possible. I wanted to avoid using modern parts as much as possible to really pay homage to the race bikes from this era. To this end we restored the FOX Twin Clicker 2 shock, Yoshimura Duplex exhaust, and Yosh rear sets. And the new billet parts are basically replicas of the parts used on race bikes of this period.

 

As with any build you are never really finished and this bike will continue to evolve as we find its performance shortcomings and fix them. It’s very likely we will add additional oil cooling and shielding/piping to direct more cool air into the carbs. It’s always a process building a bike like this and I try to resist the temptation of buying a bunch of trick parts but take a slower, more calculated approach by utilizing as many stock parts as possible and improving it piece by piece as we go hopefully faster and faster.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

The bike itself is a track build using upgraded and period-correct parts. The bike was chosen as it’s the last year of the oil-cooled GSX-R so arguably the best version with the long stroke engine, upside down forks, more aero bodywork, etc.

The factory swingarm was braced using bracing from a first generation R1 swingarm to give a look similar to the factory endurance race bikes of the period. ACC Billet triple clamps, clip-ons, replica SRS link and adjustable upper shock clevis. The stock Nissin 4 pot brakes were rebuilt, and GBrakes stainless steel brake lines added with a Galespeed VRD master cylinder.

The engine is stock with Mikuni RS36 flat-slides and a Pingle Highflow fuel valve. The bodywork is from Ricambi Weiss and painted in Yoshimura inspired livery designed by Gunn Design.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

Wildcard Garage Slingshot Racer.

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

The bike hasn’t been on the dyno so not exactly sure. I believe stock the bike had around 92 hp, so with the exhaust and carburetors maybe around 100 hp on a good day.

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

It feels very raw and extremely loud. The flat-slides make it a very different experience from a new bike as the throttle pull is heavy and you have to open the throttle slowly. But it pulls hard and sounds incredible.

You sit low in the chassis and the clip-ons are wide. The chassis needs more time to get setup so I haven’t been able to push it hard yet, but I can feel that it has potential and I’m really looking forward to continue to develop the bike.

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

The most satisfying part of the build was building relationships through fellow owners and the amazing craftsmen that built parts for the bike. In comparison to working on a new bike where you can easily purchase parts from soul-less online retailers, building a bike of this era is very different. You need to talk, email, visit and sometimes just build the parts yourself.

In a world where many of us are very distanced from actual manufacturing it has been really cool to take a step back in time, build relationships/parts, and remember what it actually takes to build something. Through the process I’ve connected with lots of people around the world and learned so much about what it takes to make parts.

• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

My brother Raymond at Tech 7 Fabrication was a huge help with restoring parts and machining replacement parts. Junior and the crew at BoonDocker Performance were very supportive and helpful with many of the fabricated parts. Rodney Menke has built several of these bikes in the past and his sharing of knowledge was invaluable. Then all the parts manufacturers around the world who continue to build parts for these bikes, without their efforts these bikes would be basically obsolete. So a big thank you to all of them.

Thank you to everyone that has followed the build of this bike and our other bike content on Wildcard Garage, really appreciate everyone that watches our YouTube videos. Also Iconic Motorbikes also deserve a lot of credit for the work they are doing connect buyers to this era of bikes, the service work they are doing and all the inspiration they provide through social channels.

Follow the Builder

YouTube: @WildcardGarage
Instagram: @wildcard_garage
Photography Website: www.stephenwclark.com