Less Is More
Cliff Randall's Chromeless Cruiser
The expression "custom bike" has become synonymous with too much billet, too much chrome or simply too much. Sometimes less is truly more. Case in point: Cliff Randall's understated, elegant and completely chromeless VTX, aka the Streamliner.
A self-described "bike maniac," Cliff's been modifying bikes of one sort or another since he was 16 years old. For several years he was off streetbikes, preferring to spend his time on the racetrack, where he had a fun if not stellar amateur roadracing career, but as he approached the big four-O he felt the need for another streetbike. His wife, Maralyn, agreed, tossing him a Vulcan 1500 A that didn't stay stock for any longer than it took to get the bike home. Once the custom bug bit, other bikes followed, including a tasty ZX1270 caf racer and a trick $50,000 BMW he donated to the Veterans Honour Ride Foundation (www.vhrf.com), a charity founded by Cliff to honor Canadian war veterans.
As Cliff was finishing his last project, the BMW R1100SS, he began to notice sportbike guys were customizing their bikes along cruiser lines, with inordinate amounts of billet, chrome and polish. At the same time he felt the natural evolution of cruisers would be in the opposite direction, toward a raw, tough, painted look. Accordingly, he began formulating his concept of the chromeless cruiser, a bike that would meld performance, style and practicality in a package "so revolutionary it would knock the cruiser world on its ass." A bold statement, you'll agree, but underscored by a bike-building philosophy that helped Cliff win the 2004 MAX Award, Canada's top custom award given in "recognition for building excellence."
The VTX was chosen for several reasons. Cliff felt the bike's styling potential was unrealized. The planning stage took a year. Cliff then presented his proposal to Honda Canada. They liked what they saw and tossed Cliff the keys to a new '02 VTX C, complete with a spare engine and extra parts. Their only caveat: The Honda logo had to remain on the bike.
Cliff admits his forte is design, assembly and tuning as opposed to standing over a hot lathe chewing out widgets. Accordingly, the bike was disassembled and the various bits sent to the respective specialists.
Swedish outfit MotoSpeed sleeved the VTX's cylinders out to 2000cc and provided high-compression J&E pistons. Meanwhile, John Parker Racing flowed and cc'ed the cylinder heads, assembled the engine and degreed in the cams. While the mill was down, reverse-plating stripped all the chrome from the engine components prior to painting. To further clean up the engine, the water lines to the throttle body and the P.A.I.R valves were removed. Since Cliff invested more than 400 hours in mapping the Dynojet PCIIIR for his hot-rod Muzzys Kawasaki ZX1270, fuel management chores were handed over to a PCIII. A Kryakyn Hypercharger with a K&N air cleaner was modified to act as a true ram air system as opposed to a fashion accessory. That alone took more than 50 hours.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, one of the more ambitious aspects of the project was underway-the creation of the dual exhaust system. The finished system is so well done it appears to be OEM rather than fabricated from a stock right-side muffler and a Kenworth truck pipe. The system is gutted and features adjustable baffles. The guts of the system were ceramic-coated to reduce the heat passed to the outer cosmetic covers, which would eventually be painted to match the rest of the bike.
Radiators present real styling challenges. Cliff dealt with this by removing the radiator cover and grinding down all the external welds, thus reducing the perimeter. He then cut down and balanced the fan so the whole thing could be moved inward to the frame rails. A new radiator screen was fabricated to complement the air inlet.
Next up were modifications designed to enhance stopping, handling and, of course, appearance. Although the frame geometry was left stock, plates were added to the steering head to give it a finished look. Any unnecessary brackets were removed and the frame ground down to provide a smooth finish. Normally the VTX forks are tapered where they slide through the triple clamps. This precludes any repositioning. Since the idea was to drop the fork by 2.5 inches, the tubes were first turned to a constant diameter, then powdercoated. Because the cut tubes no longer fit in the lower clamp, adapters were machined to provide a clamping surface. Installing the powdercoated tubes into the clamps without scarring them was a tedious process using wooden wedges that took several hours, but in the end the coated tubes were unblemished. The only other front end modifications were anodizing the fork legs and adding two-inch spacers for a bit of spring preload.
To lower the rear without compromising ride and handling, Works Performance built one-off nitrogen-charged dampers with custom-rate springs measuring 11 inches eye to eye. These were delivered unfinished so they could be painted to match the bike.
Many of the parts are stock items massaged until they provided the right look. The fairing is an off-the-shelf VTX item, while the fenders were Shadow 1100 items subtly shaped by Vic "the Bodyman" Lefebvre. Vic was also responsible for removing the gas tank seam and flush-mounting the fuel cap and frame neck covers.
Cliff decided the linked brakes had to go. The front/rear plumbing was removed and the front calipers modified so all the pistons are activated from the hand lever. Other brake mods include a hidden rear master cylinder and powdercoated calipers and rotors. HH sintered EBC pads replace the stock items, and yes, the coating was removed from the pad contact area.
The bags are another key focal point on the bike. Standard Valkyrie bags were deepened by "The Plastic Surgeon," who added two inches of plastic. They're detachable and feature a unique, invisible, rare-earth magnetic latching system to keep the lids in place.
Since this would be the "chromeless cruiser," the finish had to be flawless. The bike was painted three times with a variety of paint schemes, powdercoats and finish procedures before Cliff was satisfied. Each time the finish had to be completely removed and the metal and plastic pieces prepped by blasting them with baking soda. The final finish was applied without a clear coat for the deepest possible black. That shine is the real deal.
This truly is a revolutionary, kick-ass custom.