XtraPix: Streetfighters - First Look

God bless the Brits, who over the years have given us gravity, the sandwich, the Beatles, the miniskirt, Kiera Knightley and more germane to our case, the streetfighter motorcycle. Never mind that the national dental plan seems to be little evolved from a length of string, a doorknob and a hearty shove...

In the current June issue, we explore the state of the streetfighter in a "Hooligans Rule!" special section. Our man in Merry Olde, Gary Inman, rides the 2008 version of the ultimate factory streetfighter, Triumph's Speed Triple. We've also got Roland Sands' latest custom, a totally butch version of the Ducati Hypermotard. Next comes the Speed Rod, Frenchman Jean Francois Vicente's super-sano take on the now-discontinued Harley Street Rod. If Milwaukee built one like this, they'd still be in the lineup.

How 'bout a pair of Yamaha specials from two of our favorite builders? Richard Pollock rolled his Mule Motorcycles XS650 street-tracker our way, and Gregg DesJardins contributed his outrageous GC Hellion, based on a Warrior V-Twin. Both use custom-built frames and exhibit workmanship that would do a NASA clean room proud.Finally, there's Kawabusa II, a Kawasaki ZRX1200-based chassis stuffed full of Suzuki Hayabusa motor by British expat Norm Wilding in his Mid-Missouri Motorcycle Customs shop.

All in all, proof that the streetfighter is a universal concept.