CHRIS JENNINGS' STEELHEART R6

Welcome to our project-themed paradise. A place where readers like you take a few snaps, tell a few tales, and show us what you've been grafting away at in your garages. This month, Chris Jennings explains what he's been masterfully building...

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Why this bike?

I've always been a massive Streetfighter fan and during my formative motorcycling years in the 1990s I lusted after the big tube framed bikes, like Steve Burn's Spondon Monster and Jim Youngs' Harris Mag 4. When the opportunity to buy the Steelheart came, I jumped at it. I've built quite a few Streetfighters over the years and had a couple featured in the old SF magazine, but the holy grail was always a trick aluminium-framed bike.

What's the end goal and why?

As most trick frames get passed on from owner to owner, they tend to get reinvented, so the main goal was to put my stamp on it and make it my own. I'm not very good at leaving things standard, so having carte blanche on a fancy framed bike was very appealing.

How long has it been since you started, and how's it going?

I bought the bike in bits in January 2023, and the initial build was done by about the end of January 2024. The main assembly was fairly straightforward as the motor and front end were a straight fit. I then fabricated a new subframe and seat to suit the new Ducati tail pod and made an underseat exhaust system. The first short test ride threw up a few issues with the rear suspension being less than cooperative, which took a bit of thinking about, and the fuel pump died, which was an easy fix. Since then, it's been a few tweaks here and there and making the necessary adjustments to get it through the MSVA test to get it registered officially. The next step in the process is to get an official frame number and start filling in the paperwork.

Biggest problem encountered so far, and how did you get round it?