Sundance Enterprises Inc. in Tokyo, Japan, is the lovechild of Zak Shibazaki, who makes custom bikes that focus on overall performance, rather than only on looks. The term “Custom Builder” is not an image he really identifies with. If anything, “Custom Engineer” more closely identifies his approach to bike building. When his friend and editor of Japan’s Hard Core Chopper magazine, Makoto “Makonabe” Wantanabe, took a wrecked Dyna Super Glide Sport to him to finally have his dream bike built, Zak was not thrilled. This model is not one he particularly likes due to the rubber-mounted engine, but he’s no prima donna builder and will work with a customer while getting his own ideas into the mix.
Building and tuning an engine is always the main point of Sundance’s bikes and Makonabe convinced Zak the Dyna project would be the perfect platform for an engine he was building that incorporated his Super XR heads. Originally starting from Harley XR1000, Zak has designed his own cast aluminum Super XR heads, porting and hand milling each and every combustion chamber for optimal efficiency and compression. The resulting high power comes without losing any reliability and runs on regular pump gas. Both Jerry Branch and Harley’s late great racing manager, Dick O’Brien confirmed this by stating they moved air better on their flow benches than almost anything they’d tested. After building over 100 Evo Sportsters and a half-dozen big twin Evo Super XRs, his prototype Twin Cam Super XR would now find a home in Makonabe’s bike, Tequila Sunrise. It’s not just a set of heads though, but a complete engine upgrade. Super XR NiCaSil-plated billet cylinders and a 4 5/8” S&S stroker crank upped the displacement to 105” while an S&S/Andrews geared cam drive with Sundance ground lobes makes sure the 1.94” intake and 1.65 exhaust valves keep the heads filled and emptied. Sundance/Wiseco pistons squash the mixture from the twin, swept back 43mm Sundance/Keihin FCR flatslides with dirt track-style K&N filters fighting with your legs for space, but looking so cool while doing it. XR-style heads not only provide a different carb(s) setup, but the left-side exhaust ports mimic one another. Zak’s stainless header pipes snake forward and around the downtube before heading back to the collector on the 4” aluminum silencer. With 120rwhp and 116 ft-lbs of torque, Makonabe must be on a constant prowl for unsuspecting sportbikes at stoplights. The five Andrews gears in the stock case are matched with a set of Barnett carbon clutch plates and a Tak’s Performance Products variable pressure clutch to ensure fast trippin’ with no slippin’. A lightweight, but strong Sundance/RK chain cuts in on this dance and sends the belt packing.
Sundance bikes are not just boulevardiers, as Zak says, “Everything is built to be ridden and ridden well, not just straight-line cruising.” What’s in his resume to ensure he knows what he’s talking about? Well, he’s won some Battle of the Twins races at Daytona on a bike called Daytona Weapon, so he knows what makes a bike corner and stop, period. The sole frame change was modifying the stocker’s head angle to 42-degrees, but by using beefy adjustable billet triple clamps he increased the trail by shortening offset to 2”. The stock forks were reworked with Sundance TracTek springs and feature a high-tech titanium-nitride coating to guarantee smooth operation. Tossing the rear shocks, Zak installed a pair of black anodized Sundance/Quantum billet shocks, also with Titanium-nitride coating, that have 3” of travel for superior ride and handling qualities. A pair of Sundance wheels, a 19” tri-spoke up front shadowed by a 17” solid aft, sport a pair of reasonably sized Dunlops to handle the extreme lean angles this bike can produce. Both wheels carry Beringer brakes, not Zak’s first choice as he’s engineered his own (are you surprised?), but a nod to his customer’s wishes. As Mick sang, “You can’t always get what you want,” but as a Sundance customer, you can within limits.
The aluminum Stingray tank adds style, cuts weight, and features Sundance’s Full Metal Jacket cast aluminum ornamentation and an aircraft filler to spice things up. The seemingly strutless fear fender has another pair of cast pieces called “over fenders” (inspired by the fender flares on a Pantera) which take the place of traditional struts and save weight. The shorty front fender has the same treatment and the metal look compliments the Sunrise Red paint by Alfa Rays Design.
Another exquisite Sundance motorcycle is completed, but does the owner of Hard Core Chopper magazine use it as it was intended or as a trophy? Zak says, “Tequila Sunrise is used as an everyday commuter.” Makonabe, you lucky. . .
This bike feature originally appeared in Barnett’s Magazine issue #57, September 2007.
SPECIFICATIONS | |
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Bike Name: | SuperXR-TC ‘Tequila Sunrise’ |
Owner: | Makoto Watanabe |
Year/ Make: | 2000 H-D FXDX |
Fabrication/ assembly: | Sundance |
Build time: | Approx. 2 months |
Engine: | 105″ Twin Cam A |
Bore x Stroke: | 3 13/16×4 5/8 in. |
Cases/rods: | Stock H-D TC88 |
Pistons: | 9.2:1 Sundance-Wiseco forged slippers |
Cylinders: | Sundance Super XR |
Heads: | Sundance sSuper XR |
Cams: | S&S/ Andrews gear-drive/ Sundance cam |
Ignition: | Crane Hi-4E; Screaming Eagle Red coils |
Carb: | (2) 43mm Sundance- Keihin FCR flat-slides |
Pipes: | Sundance 1.913 in. stainless 2-into1 |
Air Cleaner: | K&N XR750 |
Transmission: | H-D 5 -speed w/Andrews gears |
Primary: | Stock H-D TC88 |
Clutch: | Barnett Carbon w/ TPP variable clutch system |
Frame: | H-D DynaGlide/ Sundance |
Rake: | 42-degrees |
Forks: | 39mm DynaGlide w/ adjustable billet trees |
Rear Suspension: | Sundance/ Quantum |
Front Wheel: | 19×2.50 Sundance T-Spec |
Rear Wheel: | 17×6.50 Sundance 4-piece billet |
Tires: | 100/90(f) 190/60″/11.5″ Beringer rotors |
Brakes: | Beringer 6-piston(f) 4-piston/ 11.5″ Beringer rotors |
Fuel Tank: | Sundance Stingray 2.5 gal. aluminum |
Oil Tank: | Stock H-D |
Fenders: | Sundance w/ Full Metal Jacket over-fender struts |
Handlebars: | Sundance 1″stainless drag bars |
Risers: | Sundance stainless |
Headlight: | Billet shell/ cast aluminum headlight visor |
Taillight: | Full Metal Jacket cast aluminum with LED lights |
Hand Controls: | Billet aluminum/ Beringer master cylinder |
Foot Controls: | Stock ’98 H-D sportster |
Painter: | Alfa Rays Design |
Seat: | FRP base, carbon-look cover by Backdrop |
Special thanks: | “Super TC-XR” painted on bike is a mistake. Real name is “Super XR-TC” |
Builder: Zak Shibazaki
Sundance Enterprises, Inc.
In 1980, Takehiko “Zak” Shibazaki was drawn to buy a Low Rider because it had “Soul.” His American V-twin passion led him to face what other Shovelhead owners faced, constant breakdowns. That shouldn’t have been a big problem as a lot of those mechanical gremlins were build quality issues and could at least be taken care of at a local Harley dealer. Trouble with this scenario for Zak was that he was in Japan where parts were extremely expensive and knowledgeable H-D mechanics were tough to find. As a car mechanic and tuner, he took it upon himself to not only learn to repair, but improve the Shovel. In 1981, he designed and made the first cast aluminum Shovelhead cylinders to help cooling. Of the 15 sets he made, 10 of those original bikes are running today. He ended up opening a shop in 1982 which has led to a series of bikes since, running the gamut from late model performance makeovers to a modern recreation of a 1936 Knucklehead called Super Real Knuckle which has cast aluminum heads and hidden “Active Rigid” rear suspension to a Knucklehead FXST. Simply beautiful.
Zak does not think of himself as a custom builder, but a Shokunin craftsman. Shokunin means not only having technical skill, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness and an understanding of how to produce very highly respected products that emphasize beauty. Sundance bikes encompass all of this in being rideable performance motorcycles that have a special look of their own. Check out his website at www.sundance.co.jp and copy the written part to your favorite translator like www.babelfish.altavista.com while Zak gets his site up in English.