Ruthless Customz transforms Erik Buell’s XB9R into an urban beast

Michelle Liew

December 18, 2019

Ruthless Customz and Sergei Papyan took on the XB9R and gave it a total makeover.

Ruthless Customz take on the XB9R | Photo credits: Pipeburn

iMotorbike is back with the amazing custom bikes and concepts! This time, we have taken the liberty to show you this amazing creation by Rotterdam natives Sergei Papyan and Ruthless Customz. The two have brought Erik Buell’s bikes to the city’s streets with a huge makeover. They selected the XB9R and transformed it into a beast that is ready to tackle the streets.

Sergei has previously worked on a Yamaha XV and is familiar with the unconventional, mono-shock, V-twins. Sergei stumbled upon the XB9R in white- the Firebolt- by Erik Buell. The bike has a short wheel base, 21 degrees of fork angle and a low weight. This meant that the bike steered differently from any other American twin. It features a capacity for 14 liters of fuel and come with a challenging swingarm.

Photo credits: Pipeburn

Sergei took the tank up a notch by covering it with steel. He then topped it off with a frame hugging the sides to maintain the narrow lines. He attached to the bike a Motogadget Mini and an array of LED dash lights. A new start button too was put in underneath the mounting support.

“We wanted a different sound on the Buell so we built a custom muffler on the bike. We liked the original pipes so we tried to make the muffler look a bit old so it could match the pipes,” says Sergei as quoted from Pipeburn.

Photo credits: Pipeburn

He intended to maximise the aural experience of the bike by inserting ligher pistons and rods. Ruthless Customz also managed to weld its signature unit. It has a round tube throughout with a mix of smooth and angular curves and angular curves. It finishes half way over the rear tyre.

The bike is then finished off with powder to match the frame. They then equipped the bike with a hand-shaped seat that was made in house and covered with black diamond stitched leather. Last but not least, the masterpiece was topped off with a crystal white coat with blue graphics.

Photo credits: Pipeburn