What is a Streetfighter?

There are as many descriptions of a streetfighter as there are people building streetfighters. The reason for that is that a streetfighter is a very personal thing. Each person who decides to turn their stock bike into a streetfighter does so for different reasons, and has different ideas as to what looks cool, and where their priorities are.
In short: a streetfighter is a sportbike that has been stripped-down to it's bare essentials and built back up into a badass custom motorcycle. Streetfighters forego any plastic fairings and bodywork to keep the style as minimalist as possible.

From Wikipedia:

The term "streetfighter" appears to have been originally coined by two drag racers, Odgie and Lil' Mark, whilst they worked at BSH (Back Street Heroes - a UK custom bike magazine) in the early 1990s. They applied the term to motorcycles which were modified to enhance their performance and handling, as opposed to the custom scene which preferred style over outright ability.

Can't take credit for this one, it was Steven Myatt who invented the term, to describe what the guys like Irish Stewart and Huffy were building at the time - late 1980s. They were kinda like what we used to call lowriders, only crossed with drag-strip styling, using big Jap Four motors, long low rigid frames, small tanks, nose cone fairings - nothing like the streetfighters of today - and still very much a custom styling thing, albeit with a performance twist. Odgie

The term has since been diluted somewhat, and is now regularly applied to any bike with motocross style handlebars, no fairings or other typical customizations. In recent years, the term has also come to be applied to motorcycles manufactured without fairings in this style, usually based on the same engine/frame combination as an equivalent fully-faired motorcycle in the manufacturer's product line-up.

It's unclear when and who built the first of the modern streetfighter. Though it has its roots in the Café racer culture of the 1950s and 1960s, there is a substantial gap between then and the modern streetfighter scene. The current trend in naked sportbikes seems to have started in Italy in the late 1980s, where owners of crashed superbikes started opting to leave off the damaged plastic as the plastic fairing is quite expensive to replace. This is what often gives streetfighters an unfinished or haphazard look.

Currently, (Race Replicas), like the Suzuki GSX-R Series and the Honda CBR series, that have been damaged in accidents or through hooliganism are generally the starting basis for a streetfighter. The GSX-R 750 was initially often favored, due to its light weight and flexible engine. A side effect of the use of the [1980]'s GSX-R was the retention of the dual headlights in the subsequent streetfighter. This feature is now a common trait in both custom bikes and factory streetfighters like the Triumph Speed Triple.

In 1993 Ducati introduced a new naked sportbike called the Monster. Since that time it has been a perennial favorite amongst streetfighter enthusiasts. In 1994 however, Triumph Motorcycles introduced the Speed Triple, based on its Daytona sportbike. This was an immediate success and rapidly eclipsed the Monster in sales. The Triumph is now the current favorite among factory streetfighters due to excellent performance, low ownership cost, and high reliability.

In the intervening years both bikes have been substantially improved, and have been joined by a rapidly growing group of other manufactures producing naked sportbikes. These include: Benelli, Aprilia, Bimota, BMW, Moto Guzzi, Moto Morini, MV Agusta, and Buell, a subsidiary of Harley Davidson. Even the "big four" Japanese motorcycle manufactures, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha, have tried to enter this market, but with limited success to date. Some of the Suzuki models do, however, remain a popular "base" for the build-up of a custom streetfighter motorcycle, such as the Suzuki Bandit and SV series.

Modifications commonly made to custom streetfighters

• Clip-on handlebars replaced with motocross-style handlebars
• Raised rear subframes
• Most fairings removed, modified or replaced
• Distinctive paint schemes
• Loud aftermarket exhaust systems
• Aftermarket headlights to replace often heavy headlight setups
• Large rear sprockets to sacrifice top speed for more acceleration
• Larger brake discs than stock
• Improved brake calipers
• Improved springs, shock absorbers, and various other parts to improve the chassis
• Various performance improvements to the engine: superchargers, turbochargers, nitrous oxide, increased cylinder bores, custom porting, revamped fuel injection and timing, etc.

Ironically, some examples are so highly customized as to actually exceed the cost of the original repairs. Chromed and/or modified frames, expensive engine work, re-routed cables, various appearance accessories, and custom paint are also often seen.

What is the Streetfighter Blog?

The Streetfighter Blog (TSB) is a collection of news, reviews, opinion, and our own personal thoughts & projects relating to streetfighters and the larger world of motorcycling.

The Streetfighter blog brings you all the info you could want about streetfighters. Beyond our blog articles, we also have an ever-expanding image gallery of products, events we cover, and reader-submitted pictures.

In the very near future, we will host a podcast with one-on-one interviews with professionals in the streetfighter industry and round-table discussions with other streetfighter enthusiasts around the world.
We have to iron-out some logistics for the podcast, and get some recordings done and edited, but look for an announcement in the news section for when this goes live so that you can subscribe.

Why are we doing this? Because we love streetfighters and want to share the streetfighter world with others.

Who is behind The Streetfighter Blog?

Right now The Streetfighter Blog is a one-man-show. Matt Gilbert is the owner, writer, and editor for the site. We are always looking for new talent and submissions, so be sure to hit the contribute section to see how you can help us with stories and pictures.

Read about the Editor, Matt Gilbert >

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