SURESHOT doesn’t build customs for coffee runs or Instagram likes. Takuya Aikawa’s approach is rooted in engineering, identifying the weak points, redesigning, removing weight, adding strength, and repeating the process. It’s a workshop mentality closer to race paddocks than show halls. So when he decided to resurrect his own long-dormant project for both the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show and future track duty, the brief was clear: build the fastest, lightest version possible of his personal 1998 Buell S1W. The result is Magami, the Japanese White Wolf.
There is an extra creative freedom when the bike is your own. And Aikawa-san has had the Buell in his possession for more than 15 years, and ridden it hard enough to earn its scars. Eight years ago, during a high-speed run from the police out on the highway, the engine detonated and the Buell went quiet. Most bikes would’ve been parted out or sheepishly hidden at the back of the workshop under a cover. Instead, the bike sat and waited, ready for its resurrection. The brief, brutally simple: build a machine worthy of the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show, but engineered to go straight from the show floor to the racetrack and turn endless hot laps.
The engine work sets the tone. Rather than chasing displacement, SURESHOT kept the original bore and stroke and focused on efficiency and response. Inside, a high-lift camshaft wakes the valvetrain, the cylinder heads are fully ported, and the entire rotating assembly is balanced to reduce vibration and free up revs from the big air-cooled twin. It’s old-school hot-rodding done properly, letting the motor breathe, spin cleaner and waste less energy fighting itself.
The exhaust is where the engineering gets obsessive. A full titanium system was fabricated in-house, with equal-length front and rear headers carefully measured to keep pulse timing consistent between cylinders. The layout tucks tight and high, shaving weight while preserving ground clearance. Time on SURESHOT’s chassis dyno dialled the fuelling and ignition until the curve flattened out, not just chasing peak numbers but usable drive. The result is 90 horsepower at the rear wheel and a thick, table-top torque spread of 102 Nm, exactly what you want from a big twin that’s meant to punch hard out of corners.
Where Buells traditionally stumble is the rear suspension. The stock under-engine shock loads the crankcase and can feel vague when pushed. Aikawa-san treated that as Magami’s primary weakness and engineered it out completely. The new setup uses a Racing Bros shock mounted diagonally on the left side of the frame via a custom linkage system, removing stress from the cases altogether. Because the engine is rubber-mounted, every pivot point and angle required careful calculation to control movement and keep geometry stable under load. It’s the kind of problem you only solve with a calculator, a jig and a lot of late nights.
Out back, things get even more serious. The swingarm is an upside-down, single-sided design inspired by the Ducati S4R, extended 30mm over stock for added stability and traction. It visually lengthens the bike and physically plants the rear tyre harder into the asphalt. Up front, specially tuned lightweight Racing Bros USD forks are clamped by one-off triple clamps machined for increased rigidity, tightening feedback through the bars. Together, the changes drag the 90s-era chassis into modern superbike territory.
The bodywork follows the same function-first mentality. The tank is hand-formed from aluminium sheet, slimmed and flattened to achieve Aikawa-san’s “flat and skinny” silhouette. The seat rail and integrated cowl are fabricated from 7N01 aluminium alloy, a material more commonly seen in bullet trains for its strength-to-weight ratio. There’s a race filler up top, a full-length wraparound leather seat, and even the air-cooled oil tank is custom-made and rubber-mounted. Nothing stock survives if it costs weight or compromises packaging.
Then come the finishing blows: Marchesini forged aluminium wheels to slash unsprung mass, and Brembo GP4-MS monoblock calipers delivering true race bike stopping power. Every gram, every bracket, every fastener feels considered. Magami isn’t pretending to be a race bike, it genuinely is one, just finished with the polish of a showpiece. The entire machine is a testament to Aikawa-san’s determination to leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of perfection. The man’s a genius, and if it should ever come to it, he won’t be losing any future pursuits.
[ SURESHOT ]