In fact, that is how most of the parts we design and manufacture at Ward Performance are born. Through my years of drag racing, I would see a need for a modification on my dragbike or engine and design a part or modify a stock part. Those are the parts we would eventually manufacture and sell to our customers. While our specialty is cylinder heads and engine development, having the equipment we have makes it possible for us to fabricate just about any part on a motorcycle, and over the years we have manufactured a lot of those parts, including oil pans, top-end oiling kits, coil brackets, valve covers, bike weights, tether switches, exhaust spigots, oil filter covers, handlebar clamps, brake caliper mounts, billet cylinder heads, and custom pistons, to name a few.

Having the design programs as well as a flow bench and engine dyno, we don’t have to try to communicate our ideas to someone and hope they understood our vision. We are able to carry out the process in our shop from start to finish. That way when we don’t like how a part turns out, we can grab another piece of aluminum and start the process over. I think that is the advantage we have.

I would say the most challenging part of this build was building the rearset footpegs and controls. It was challenging to design footpegs that would allow the rider to get his feet in drag-race tuck position while fitting the megaphone so that it had ground clearance yet the rider wouldn’t burn his foot on the muffler.

Chassis-wise, the bike retains the stock frame. We removed the original cast pieces on the lower frame that protected the oil pan and held the original mid-mount footpegs and controls. It was then necessary to modify the oil pan to keep it from hanging below the frame rails. This gave the bike an extra inch of ground clearance, allowing it to be lowered even more. We welded in additional tubing for frame support. Ward Performance also designed and CNC machined our own rearset footpegs and controls to allow the rider to be in a natural tucked position for drag racing.

For now the bike retains the stock fuel tank and rear fender. I have carbon-fiber replacements in the works. The bike does have carbon-fiber wheels. It also uses a lithium-ion battery, Suzuki GSX-R1000 inverted fork tubes, Brembo calipers, and lightweight brake discs, bringing the total weight down to 545 pounds. The bike required custom-made billet triple clamps with the correct offset to keep the front-end geometry correct, which is crucial for high-speed stability.