(PHOTOS COURTESY OF 2WHEEL TUNER)
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IT DOESN'T MATTER whether you're into sportbikes, cruisers or off-road vehicles: At some point in time, you've seen a bike
and thought, "Oh, that style is so five years ago!" The custom sportbike industry is still young compared to other aftermarket
niches, so trends come and go quickly as the styles evolve.
If you want to offer sage (and stylish) advice to your customers, then you'll need to be in the know when it comes to the
latest trends in the custom sportbike industry. Since the professional sportbike builders are the trendsetters, we turned
to them to find out what the big sellers are now, and what to expect next.
CONTRASTING BLACK AND CHROME FINISHES
When Louis Grasse of H2o, Cycles says something is going to be a hot seller, you'd better listen. This is the guy who first
perfected the copper chrome finish, so usually he's the one starting the new trends. Grasse names black-and-chrome contrast finishes as a trend that's still growing. Roland Sands Designs has a whole line of
Contrast Cut pieces, which feature both silver and black chrome (black nickel finish over chrome) on wheels, frame sliders
and anything else that can get the chrome treatment. "Black is the new chrome," Grasse says.
Expect to see black-and-copper contrast finishes from Grasse in the near future. In the meantime, black-and-chrome parts are
the hot ticket (see above pic).
BLACK IS THE NEW CHROME, PART 2
According to Voodoo Industries boss Rob Uecker, black isn't just for your contrast chrome parts. The stealth look is big,
which is a 180-degree turnaround from the flamboyant chrome-and-airbrush jobs of the not-so-distant past.
The look is known as "murdering," as in, "I'm murdering my bike out." (Cut and paste the previous sentence into your sportbike
lingo dictionary!) Basically, murdering entails powdercoating every shiny bit black, painting the bodywork black, and then
adding more black wherever possible. Uecker notes, though, that contrast black-and-chrome wheels are acceptable for a little
shine.
COLOR, NOT CHROME
If black is too sedate for a rider, then powdercoated parts in any color are better than bolting on a bunch of chrome. Chrome
has been done time and time again. And again. Coordinating a bike with a few powdercoated parts that match the paint scheme
gets extra style points and shows more originality.
The color factor goes beyond powder
coating: Color-coordinated LEDs are popular, too.
240 KITS: SMALLER IS BETTER
Sportbike tire kits started getting wider and wider a few years ago, with rear tire sizes jumping up to 330. Turning is a
task with a tire that size, and anything other than cruising down a straight road is pretty much pointless. Sportbikes are
engineered for carving corners, and fans of custom rides are beginning to remember that.
Louis Grasse of H2o Cycles takes a moment to reflect on his all-chrome creation.
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Wide-tire kits are still popular, but more customers are opting for the more manageable 240 size. We've even seen brave souls
take to the track on 240s, with only a slight hindrance to cornering.
"People are going more toward performance and rideablility, and tire manufacturers have decent 240s now, some of which are
even Z-rated," says Voodoo's Uecker. However, saving a few bucks also plays a part in the 240's popularity: "Widening the
stock wheel is really popular, too. It saves customers about a quarter of the cost of buying a new wheel."
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