2009 Kawasaki ZX-14 - Market Trendy

Tucker Rocky and Myrtle West team up to show off with a custom Kawasaki ZX-14

From the May, 2010 issue of Super Streetbike

Some bike builds are cut and dry without a lot of drama or circumstance. And that's OK. After all, not every cool custom bike rolling the streets needs some sort of magical story about its inception in order to demand street cred. Quality speaks for itself.

And such is the tale of this tidy custom Kawasaki. There weren't any celebrities involved or a major debut planned; instead the plan was simple. One of the country's largest aftermarket parts distributors, Tucker Rocky, approached Jonathan Martin and his team at Myrtle West with the idea of building a bike that would showcase its catalog, and the end result is pretty special.

Jimmy Jackson, Myrtle's in house spray man, laid down a sick mechanical theme that was originally rendered by Canni Designs. Even the frame was incorporated into the scheme, something many painters shy away from. The stock bodywork's "vents" were smoothed out, side spoilers added and even the windscreen molded into the upper fairing to make the bike a bit more special than a basic bolt-on build.

The ZX-14's naturally bulbous stance was given a seemingly mandatory 330-rear wheel and swingarm kit courtesy of Myrtle West's own inventory, and it helped make the profile a bit more natural. Then a host of additional performance and bling bolt-ons were added to round out the build.

Some might initially consider the bike nothing but a marketing tool, but after considering all of the custom work, it takes on a new stride. Clean, sophisticated and totally ridable; who could argue with that?

2009 Kawasaki ZX-14

Front end: PM calipers, Galfer Waver rotors and brake lines, Myrtle West "#6" wheel

Rear end: Air ride, Myrtle West 330 kit, PM caliper

Motor: Roaring Toyz exhaust, K&N air filter, Power Commander

Paint/Bodywork: Jimmy Jackson and Alex Tucker at Myrtle West, Adam Canni at Canni Design

Accessories: PSR steering damper, Vortex rearsets, levers, sprockets, Myrtle West axle and fairing spikes, reservoir caps RIS Design grips and clutch cover

Builder: Myrtle West (Keith Cordera, John Rehm, Ryan Smalls, Jonathan Martin) myrtlewestcycle.com