Photography by Dean Groo...
When a bike builder calls our magazine to tout a hot new custom, it's often a project he's been commissioned to craft for a customer. The creative cabal at Baron Custom Accessories is known for wringing sizzling horsepower out of stock Yamahas, so when John Vaughan-Chaldy (the "Baron") rang to let us in on his latest mutation, we chimed, "Who's it for, and what's the engine like?" We were surprised on both counts. For one, the bike was the builder's own 2001 Yamaha Midnight Star, slated for the beauty pageant circuit, and two, it was mechanically almost bone-stock. But Vaughan-Chaldy rushed to assure us the lustrous custom, dubbed "After Midnight," would not remain sluggish for long.
Owning a current-model machine is handy for a parts builder, since designs can be refined and tested during the production process. Vaughan-Chaldy knew his own Road Star would provide a perfect canvas for the sexy new parts his shop was creating -- it's what he originally wanted us to see. But a host of performance components were also being developed in conjunction with Baron's drag racing team, and the experience on the strip was being translated into applications for Baron's customers. When a batch of these hop-up parts finally cleared the pre-production stage, things heated up considerably for After Midnight. And that's about the time we started aching to finally see it.
The Lowdown
When it arrived at Baron's shop last year, the stock Midnight Star was dressed down to its frame. Signature Baron touches, like a lowered, hardtail-look rear end with a huge tire and flowing fenders were primary design considerations, but the builder also planned to display his trick new bolt-on accessories. The bike's stripped chassis was dropped 1.5 inches utilizing Baron's front and rear lowering kits, with a newly designed rear shock relay arm that maintains full suspension travel while allowing room for new bodywork. Baron's novel swingarm completed the rear geometry with its symmetrical lines culminating in a sharp point at the ends. Billet covers masked the axle bolts, and tabs were welded to the bottom to mount the tiny Bullet turn signals. (Currently, this ultra-cool swingarm is a pre-production unit that's being refined.) The rest of After Midnight's frame was left stock and painted gloss black.
RC Components' Marshall wheels fit the Yamaha, but Vaughan-Chaldy felt the six-spoke configuration was distracting, so he requested a special five-spoke version. The result added just the right amount of airiness to the bike's design. After Midnight also received RC's unique single-sided rear pulley drive with brake rotors to match and an extra-wide brake caliper suspended from the axle. This assembly shows off the bike's right-side swingarm and wheel perfectly. The 18-inch wheels were shod with hefty 200-series Avon rubber in back, while the front received a suitably chunky 18-inch, 3.5-inch-wide application.
Getting Dressed
We were instantly drawn to the bike's sweeping silhouette, thanks to its curvaceous fenders. You might even notice a resemblance to Yamaha's V-Star 1100 Classic bodywork, especially on intricate details in the center portion. That's no coincidence -- Baron's design team was so taken with the V-Star's rear fender that they made a mold of it, reworking the proportions to create After Midnight's more lengthy lines. A special sub-frame (Baron's Phat Frame) was fabricated to fit the portly rear tire and bolted to the stock mounts, allowing use of the stock fender support. (The rear fender and subframe kit will be offered in Baron's 2002 catalog.) Yamaha's own fiberglass side covers meshed nicely with the bike's new bodywork to complete the midsection.
Vaughan-Chaldy chose his details carefully. The seven-inch Mariah headlight is from Tradewinds (an offshoot of Headwinds), but all wiring and external indicators were eliminated except for the Kuryakyn Bullet turn signals mounted on either side of the headlamp. A lower triple tree cover and Bullet fork end caps further dolled up the front. Another accessory making its debut is the Radi'us Drag Bar, fabricated with the help of colleague Steve Ramelot. Because this bar is wider, its grip angle takes pressure off the wrists and elbows, making it more comfortable than a traditional drag bar. A pair of Yaffe mirrors with a devil's tail design added panache to the handlebar, and a beefy set of Baron's 1.5-inch Enferno billet handgrips enclosed the ends. Their milled Enferno Big Air Kit cover and Enferno push-rod-tube covers. A modified Baron license holder and taillight were rigged off the right side of the upper swingarm.
After Midnight's tank was then stretched 3.5 inches -- usually a pricey bit of bodywork. However, the effect was achieved using just a stock fuel tank with an extension Baron has created for those of us who like the look but don't want to spend the money. It's actually a small steel shell designed to fit over the tapered rear section of the fuel pod, which, once aligned, is welded into place. The metalwork is stripped, painted and polished for a nearly seamless, custom appearance. Future generations of this application will be made of fiberglass and installed with a simple adhesive in less than an hour, for under $200. A Corbin Boulevard Solo seat butts up to After Midnight's sleek new tank.
Even after all this primping was completed, there was still some clutter to contend with. Stock Road Stars have a gaping maw where the fuel tank meets the steering head, which reveals a tangle of ugly wires and cables. Baron had a fiberglass extension made that attaches to the tank and covers the gap. This sleeve and the instrument dash cover were painted to match the tank, thus blending both pieces with surrounding bodywork to give the illusion of a single unbroken unit. Stainless steel control lines completed the bike's classy finish.
Paging Michelangelo
This machine is a bona fide beauty, but it needed appropriate paint to convey its one-of-a-kind status. The bike went through many color incarnations at different shows on the circuit. In Sturgis, for example, the machine was covered in a rich maroon color scheme, but for the final frosting, Baron went to longtime collaborator Dan Hatch and asked him to "make it pop."
As an artist, Hatch was thrilled to impart color onto the bike's somber tone, and he chose an iridescent silver base coat for its brilliance. Vaughan-Chaldy tells us the painter even invented several new colors while choosing his palette. On the darker inset panels, Hatch laid down a black base with a marbleized mixture of silver and ebony, applying plastic wrap on top for a uniquely textured effect. The flames in the panels were created with a marbleized gold pearl and tipped with custom DuPont Chroma Chameleon, designed to shift through three different hues. In sunlight, the pearl paint mutates and the Chameleon color rolls from green to yellow to blue. Hatch added Chameleon-paint touches to the spokes of the RC wheels to complete the magical effect.
The added graphics cleverly emphasize the girth of each tire, presenting the illusion of a narrow fender with black and silver pinstripes. The final scheme flows well with the components on the bike, especially the flamed metal covers. After Midnight has already won Best of Show at the Del Mar Mile Star Show and captured second place in the Concept Class at the Del Mar Concourse d'Elegance as well. It's plain to see why.