The Suzuki GSX-R has been in production for almost 40 years, but the first-generation bike is still a banger. The round headlights, slabby bodywork and 80s color scheme look as good now as they did then. As far as we’re concerned, it’s ripe for customization.
Victor Wilkens of Seattle, Washington shares this sentiment, so he’s gone all-out with his 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750. This retro superbike wears a slew of mods?including an engine swap and an appropriately bonkers livery.

?I have this habit where I buy cheap bikes to commute with and then I tinker, buy new parts and keep tinkering,? explains Victor. ?Rinse, repeat, and the bike quickly transcends into a precious artifact. A couple of years ago I fell into this trap again and built this.? After months of searching through classifieds, this GSX-R popped up for sale in Monterey, California. It had lived a hard life until it was adopted by Victor; it was raced in the 90s, had been through a number of owners, and was then parked outside for years in the salty Monterey air. But Victor saw potential in the old Gixxer?plus it had a few period race parts.

Those parts included a set of Dymag magnesium wheels. But Victor knows that magnesium tends to corrode after a few decades, so he got in touch with Dymag for advice.
There was good and bad news. The bad news was that Dymag advised him not to use the wheels, due to their age and condition. But the good news was that Victor was able to sell them (presumably to...