Colonel Butterscotch: Icon 1000’s sweet Suzuki Bandit

A new bike from the crew at ICON 1000 is a bit like a Mike Tyson uppercut: it arrives without warning, and it’s a knockout. ‘Colonel Butterscotch’ is the latest machine to roar out of the Portland, Oregon garage. And despite the twee name, it’s a real bruiser. Based on a 1999 Suzuki Bandit 1200, it shows the potential of a bike often unfairly relegated to the ‘econo-cruiser’ pile. Like most customs that have been massaged by ICON’s design director Kurt Walter, the Bandit was a tired and unloved workhorse. Almost two decades old and showing it, this GSF1200 was...