“Boost is addictive,” says Matt Coulter of Sticky’s Speed Shop. “Insane power delivery and tunnel vision at the same time. I rode a turbo ‘Busa and knew I had to have a turbo bike.”
When Matt makes his mind up it doesn’t take things long to happen. The UK-based builder parted out an Aprilia RSV-R he was trying to sell for a turbocharged Suzuki Bandit 1200, and started a long, expensive journey.
Despite its laughably lame name, the Bandit 1200 became a cult bike in the UK in a way that was never really replicated elsewhere. Following the 600 cc Suzuki Bandits, and smaller 250s and 400s that were never officially imported, the 1200 launched in the UK in 1996 as a naked street bike.…