Suzuki Bandit Brat – Blackout Custom Design

From the Czech Republic with love
We told you to remember his name back in November!
At the time we published a post on his BMW K100RT and warned you that Marcel Galuszka would be back with more.
Well, here he is. In just a couple of months he has yet again created a very nice piece of machinery.

Suzuki GSF600 Brat BCD
Marcel gave us a call last week to announce that he would be sending us material on his latest build. He told us: “I named this motorcycle Brat Cafe, but the final form deviated a bit from the original idea and it’s more of a Brat Tracker. But you know what, the boxing is not so important, the final decision of the owner was important here, so in the end the handlebars in the style of cafe racer exchanged for more comfortable heights, which allow for a smoother ride.”

Continuing: “This is a 2002 Suzuki GSF600 Bandit, which the proprietor had left outside for a couple of years, covered up but still left to battle all kinds of weather. It was very clear that the bike had been struggling to survive many seasons of rain, snow and trying not to melt when the sun was burning mercilessly. Your can say it really scarred the Suzuki.”

Worst case scenario
As you might have suspected our courageous Czech was challenged beyond his worst nightmare when he set out to rescue the Suzuki.
The motorcycle had really suffered from the lack of TLC. The tank was perforated on the left side and it was repaired very poorly. The frame was beaten on the same side also, crooked, which resulted in work on the motorcycle lasting way longer than anticipated. Unfortunately for the owner it began to affect the investment that he was ready to make to keep it at a reasonable level without having to face the wrath of his wife.

‘Make me a café please’
When work began Marcel had no idea about the condition of the bike. The owner bought this motorcycle as his first ride with the intent to learn to ride properly.
Once he had the hang of it and he had been riding the bike for years and left it outside as described, he thought it to be a good idea to convert to the Suzuki into a caféracer. When he briefed the builder he actually wanted just minor modifications to do the trick. On his wish list was the overall caféracer look, but still have room for a pillion passenger.

From caféracer to brat
Once the work began and the concept turned into a real bike, thoughts and ideas began to shift. And so from the classic concept of caféracer, concessions gradually emerged to this final form. It had become quite a bit of a struggle for Marcel. Apart from not being very please with the state that this bike was in to begin with, he commented: “It should also be mentioned here that this Bandit is not exactly a great donor for the transformation to a cafe racer! I have grown some extra grey hairs during work on this project hahaha!”

From tank to bottom
The whole tank is completely overhauled and painted with beautifully pearl paint. The frame is completely repaired and entire rear part is redesigned to accommodate two passengers. It is sandblasted and powder-coated to stand the test of time and weather.

LED light in front, miniature Kellerman lights in the rear combining rear light and brake, but it also comes with integrated turn signals.

Nice little touches are:
– Motogadget MO.Blaze Disc turn signals in the handlebars
– Motogadget grips
– Motogadget Tiny speedometer
– Custom seat
– All electricity hidden in the space under the seat.

In short, everything that needed to be mended and taken care of was done and some nice modifications were added.
The result is a city motorcycle, which should be fun to take out on longer rides.
When compared to its original state it looks diametrically different and is very pleasing to the eye.

Says the builder: ‘Most important of all, the owner is satisfied and is riding around town with a big smile on his face. (The opening picture of this post is featuring Marcel Galuszka, not the owner – ed.) What else can I say? I’m very excited about the way the Suzuki turned out and I like it a lot!”

Builder details:
Builder: Blackout Custom Design
email: blackout@blackoutcustom.cz
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Above: the Suzuki GSF 600 Bandit before and after