Bill Dixon's Perfect Stunt Bike

Ever since 2009 XDL champion Bill Dixon started competing professionally, he dreamed of building the perfect stunt bike. Last season Bill joined forces with Bob Ranmen, and they set about building the perfect stunt machine. The motorcycle was built from scratch based on a 2005 Yamaha R6 (don't be confused by the plastics from the newer model: if you look closely, you can see that the frame and swingarm are from the 2005 R6), and Bill put all his competition and training experience into it. Dixon estimates the project at $30,000 and 600 hours of work. He called the result «the perfect stunt machine».

Like any professional stunt bike, Bill's R6 is fully protected. Absolutely everything is protected: the engine, gearbox, footpegs, switches, controls, tail, swingarm and even the front end. This means the rider pays nothing for crashes and mistakes, which allows faster progress. Before cages appeared, every crash cost a lot of money plus 2–3 weeks of downtime for repairs. Today a rider can drop the motorcycle 30 times a week without consequences while learning new tricks.

Bill's motorcycle has a FREESTYLE INGENUITY cage. The tail is custom-made and has an adjustable 12 o'clock bar with a titanium plate, a steel subframe that is much stronger than stock, and pegs welded in the most comfortable position. Bill's rear sprocket is 10 teeth bigger than stock, with the owner's signature and a unique pattern. Bill prefers to set the idle at 3,000 to 4,000 rpm so he can do tricks without holding the handlebar.

The highlight of Bill's motorcycle is an exclusive spider welded from steel tubes. It protects the damper, triple clamp and controls, and is also used for tandem performances. Bill's motorcycle is even protected from flipping over in a stoppie. Look closely at the photo: if it flips, the bike will rest on the spider and the 12 o'clock bar, and since the tank is recessed, it stays untouched. Bill uses a thumb throttle, like on an ATV. And, like all riders, he has the clutch and rear brake levers on the left. The clutch lever is positioned higher, which is typical. Bill uses a master cylinder that halves the clutch pull.

Thanks to a rear brake on the handlebar, riders can control the motorcycle on the rear wheel in any position: sitting on the tank, standing with both feet on the seat and so on. It was Bill who worked out the optimal formula for the rear brake: a two-piston caliper + a 13 mm Magura master cylinder, and HoHey made a bracket for an oversized brake disc. The brake fluid reservoirs are metal and integrated into the top triple clamp. The orange brake hoses are from HEL, made specially for Bill.

The motorcycle has a custom FMF muffler, like on the newer models; it is protected by the pegs and the cage. The plastics and lights also came from the newer model. The fork was taken from an R1 along with the front wheel and brakes. A magnificent motorcycle of a magnificent rider!