The moment he dropped a gear and hoisted a beautifully controlled, one-handed wheelie over the finish line at Wheels & Waves’ Punks Peak hill climb, is a memory that will live long in the mind of Sticky’s Speed Shop founder, Matt Coulter. It took some time getting there. The budget was busted and friendships strained to hit an immovable deadline—but get there he did.
Matt is well-known in custom circles for building in-yer-face, four-cylinder superbikes (and the odd twin). When the opportunity to build a single landed, he partnered up with his regular collaborator, the English artist and illustrator, Ryan Roadkill, to create the concept. The commission itself came straight from Royal Enfield—and the bike on the chopping block was the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450.
“The idea we came up with was a teenage wet dream, an early-90s supermoto from an era me and Ryan can sometimes get stuck in, but that also reflects our style,” says Matt. “The inspiration was memories of seeing photos of the fluoro race bikes in magazines, and the early days of freestyle motocross films on imported VHS tapes.”
The transformation from Guerrilla 450 to Urban Guerrilla SM450 is so complete, few people can pinpoint the donor bike without clues. The key to the whole look, according to Matt, is the 1987 Yamaha YZ250 tank—a one-year-only model that was hard to find. Matt had given up and started buying alternatives to try, when he finally found a battered one on eBay.
After all that, the rare tank was only ever going to be a guide for Coba Valley to use to make an alloy version. Matt cut the plastic YZ tank into quarters, crudely widening and lengthening it with wooden strips, until it fit the Guerrilla’s stock main frame. That was enough for Coba Valley to work with. The result is perfect.
A crusty Yamaha YZ125 frame was bought and cut up for its subframe, which was made to fit the Enfield main frame, before being powder-coated white. Enfields are made to survive years of abuse on Indian roads and trails, so they are sturdy rather than lightweight. Matt cut out a big frame brace and removed brackets, saving a bunch of weight, then welded in new cross members to mount the custom mono-shock to.
“My mate, Gary Saunders Fabrication, did a lot of the fab,” he tells us. “Between us, we sussed out the suspension alignment. The lower linkage is from a Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD.”
The rear shock, as long as a pogo stick, was another non-negotiable for Matt. It had to be right. Call after call went nowhere until he spoke to Ben at the Öhlins specialists BG Motorsport. “He didn’t really get what I was doing, but he was accommodating.”
Paying for the resulting yellow and gold unit was an eye-watering undertaking, but Matt wasn’t about to cut corners on the first bike he’d ever built as a collab with an OEM. It was ‘make a statement’ time.
Another statement is the billet Steelheart Engineering swingarm. No welding, all bolted together, and length-adjustable, thanks to blocks that can be swapped out to stretch or shorten the wheelbase by 150 mm [6”]. It was a big learning curve for all involved, but the result is chef’s kiss. (The ‘SUS-PECT’ sticker down the swingarm’s side is a Sticky’s Speed Shop take on the acronyms that flew around 80s and 90s motorcycling like wasps on a dropped ice lolly.)
The massive fork legs are from an 80s or 90s Husqvarna, picked up at a swap meet, “I think they’re the biggest right-way-up forks ever fitted to a production motocrosser,” says Matt. He clamped them in purple XTrig CRF450 yokes, having sleeves made to suit.
“The pink fork gaiters were essential,” adds Matt, who has a thing for pink and purple. They came from Australia and cost nearly as much as the forks, once he’d paid for shipping and import taxes.
The whole lot rolls on Talon hubs and Excel rims, wrapped in sticky Michelin wets for the supermoto race aesthetic. The discs are KTM spec, while the rest of the braking system is from UK-based HEL Performance, which Matt has relied on for most of his recent custom builds. “They sent the calipers and master cylinders, but I painted the logos in pink myself,” he says.
CP Racetec even made pink brake hoses for Matt. And have you noticed the chain? I think this bloke might have a problem…
A YZ rear fender and radiator scoops were found brand new, as was the Acerbis Elba headlight unit. Now Ryan Roadkill’s graphics could be laid on. Sticky’s business, Image Worx, produced the graphics, Alex at AK Paint sprayed the tank, and B-Trim upholstered the seat. (All are based in Essex, UK.)
“My favorite thing about the whole bike is the way the graphic runs from the rad scoops to the tank to the seat,” Matt tells us. “It starts as a vinyl graphic, then it’s paint on the tank, and leather on the seat.”
The Guerilla 450 has a ride-by-wire throttle as standard, but Matt fitted a cable throttle, after having the wiring loom remade by Gareth at Williams Motorsport Development. This meant that the ABS could be ditched too.
On advice from the Royal Enfield DTRA dirt track team, Matt fitted an IgniTech ECU and JenVey throttle body. The button that switches riding modes is hidden under the ‘R’ of the Renthal bar pad cover. The stainless steel exhaust tubing is actually a cut-up Harris paddock stand, and the silencer was another flea market find.
Luckily, Matt only lives a couple of hours from the Royal Enfield UK Technology Centre, one of the company’s two development and design centers (the other being in India). It meant he could spend a long day setting up his Urban Guerrilla on their dyno, with one of the company’s technicians on hand.
Plenty of niggles were ironed out, and Matt didn’t leave until midnight, 12 hours after arriving. A few days later, the bike was racing at Wheels & Waves—one-hand, one-wheel over the finish line.
Sticky’s Speed Shop Instagram | Images by Thomas Kettlety | Wheelie photo by Kati Dalek
