Ransom – the baddest GIXXER ever?

What is you may ask? You already know that it’s bad-ass, not only bad-ass, but bad-ass and beautiful, so much so that it makes you stare and slip into a dreamy state.

Well which one am I talking about? The baddest GSXR1000 I’ve ever seen, that makes your jaw drop as you fantasize about taking it for a ride, or the fastest female in the world, Texan Leslie Porterfield who current record stands at a supersonic 234.197mph, who also makes your jaw drop…

Guess I’m talking about both of them, but let’s start with the bike. This crazy, mean machine is called The Serpent. Its muscle is a very powerful stock 2008 Suzuki GSXR1000, and the rest is handcrafted by a very gifted and creative Wayne Ransom from New Jersey, USA.

The first time I saw The Serpent, it was on stage in a nightclub sometime during Daytona Bike Week. Yes OK I was filling myself up with bourbon and was getting a little worse for wear, not helped by the fact there was a “shake the booty” contest going on. The second I saw the machine I suddenly felt sober and the T&A no longer was of interest, now I focus was finding out about this mean machine.

In the mêlée I somehow managed to swap contacts with the owner and arranged a one on one meeting where I could get to ride it. The blessed meeting ground was the awesome and recently opened New Jersey Motorsports Park. As its creator was wheeling the machine out of the back of a trailer, I was already getting excited. This bike is totally unique and somehow it didn’t seem real.

This incredible creation was intensely worked on for six solid months. Wayne twisted, shaped and welded the curvy tubular trellis steel frame, leaving it with a rather ambitious 39-degree rake angle and a wheel-base of 68 inches – 13 inches over standard –giving it a lengthy, and you have to agree, awesome look.

The one-piece tank, seat and tail section is like a piece of fine art. This complete section also houses instruments, battery, electronics and some flush bright red lights that look like a pair of eyes when viewing them from the rear.

Through a secret series of hidden switches instead of keys, The Serpent fires into life and the growl that comes out of the 4-2 Ransom exhaust system is like no other, it grumbles and rumbles as it ticks over. This is exchanged for an aggressive howl once the power kicks in, thanks to those Ransom canisters.

The huge 300 rear wheel and single-sided swingarm give The Serpent even more presence (if this was even possible) and with the aggressive radiator shrouds blending into the bodywork, this machine looks like it was made for the next “Mad Max” or “Batman” movie, not cruising the East Coast, eating up V-Twins for fun.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get first go on The Serpent. This was left to world record holder and fastest female in the world, the very leggy and stunning Leslie Porterfield. She got to straddle the Gixxer and let rip while I had to sit on the sidelines and watch her go up and down the strip in her tight leather pants. This should have been a moment most men would stand there happy and content on viewing 2 bad-ass beauties but no, not me. I was sulking, I wanted a go.

While astonisingly waiting for Leslie to nail the cover shot for 2WT and finish her test ride (where she appeared to be enjoying herself whipping The Serpent around), I chatted with Wayne about the build, his background and bikes in general. I got a true sense of his hard work, determination and vision.

His motorcycles go against all norm and rules, and this instantly separates him from the gang. I mean, who puts an inline 4 into a cruiser type chassis? Who listens to people telling him that he’s got it all wrong, it will fail, it won’t work, and then goes ahead and does it anyway?

Wayne has an interesting past. His dad got him into bikes when he was just 3 years old. Sadly, his dad passed away when Wayne was a mere 7, and then it was left to Wayne himself to keep the motorcycle passion alive.

Wayne found the tool chest from a very young age and has worked on bikes, more through necessity than anything else, as he rode Moto-X, freestyle and even raced quads. After an ill spell when he was 19, Wayne started repairing and maintaining motorcycles to pay his medical bills and a year later opened a small shop. Here, he got his first taste of fitting performance and custom parts to sportbikes and even making some of his own.

But that wasn’t enough, and Wayne went in search of more. With only basic welding skills, he set off on building his first full custom motorcycle on his own. He calls this a gift from God who answered his prayers and showed him the way. Wayne studied hard, reading books and researching online, enabling him to tackle his first custom at 24 years of age. Seven months later, custom motorcycle No. 1 was complete. Sounds simple, eh? Think again. All of the necessary skills needed to build, shape, blend and sculpt a custom Japanese inline 4 sportbike cruiser are not for the faint-hearted – you’d need a bucket-load of natural skill, courage, patience and determination.

“It was miraculous man, it really was. With that first bike I was just doing it on the fly, I really didn’t understand how I was doing the things I was. I was just doing it and it was working for me.” Wayne says. He perfected his craft over time, and several builds later, we have The Serpent.

Finally it was my turn on the bike, and it felt like the build-up to popping your cherry, it had been a long time coming, and I was nervous as well as super excited. Once aboard, it was like settling into a slightly reclined street fighter: flick the throttle and you instantly know you’re in for some serious 2-wheeled madness and thrilling fun.

I just couldn’t resist blasting away and as I did, the fat 300 just spun up and smoked itself all the way out of first gear. Awesome! I enjoyed that bit so much I quickly turned around and started again several times. If The Serpent had been mine, I’d be doing that bit all day.

Once on the road, you get quick sensation that this is a great bike. It rides really well. But the Ransom build isn’t what you would expect; it’s very comfortable and lets you feel in control of the beast. The enormous rear tire naturally gives it a rather docile straight up to leaned over/cornering feel, and the long rake slows things down even more.

Yet flicking the bike into the corners was very precise for a somewhat chopper-style fork design, and it wasn’t as slow as I’d expected it to be. The instant connection between the throttle/motor/rear tire was perfect and lets you get hard on gas on the exit of bends. You can feel the limit with ease and get on it with confidence.

Combine all that with the fact that you damn well know that you’re on a bad-ass mother f**king machine with 185HP and a 300 Avon that likes to spin, and you are only grinning from ear to ear. I didn’t want to stop, and half considered just waving goodbye and riding off into the distance. Thinking back, I should have.

I’m used to all kinds of motorcycles but mainly sportbikes, and my only gripes would be a quicker turning front end and a slightly smaller tire on the rear. But The Serpent wasn’t built for me. It was built for a lucky son of a bitch who likes to cruise, and if that your thing, it’s insanely perfect.

This is no longer a Gixxer, it’s a Ransom called The Serpent that has a GSXR1000 engine, and bad-ass only half describes it. It made an impression, and only because it is an incredible machine. Both Leslie and I agreed and said it out loud: “I want one.”