“This entire bike was done by hand with markers.”

 

When Mary Heatley of Bloomington, Indiana got her Honda 2007 CBR 1000RR it had some cosmetic damage but she wasn’t quite ready to buy a repl­acement fairing kit for it.

Then one day she saw a post on ­Facebook about the talented artist Allison LaValley who customized a Nissan Skyline completely with Sharpies. “That was when the light bulb went on,” Mary said, and she became inspired to do her own bike completely with Sharpies.

“The artist in me appr­eciates things that aren’t commonly seen­, and I knew I didn’t want something tha­t everyone else had.”

 

The reaction to her customized bike has been overwhelmingly positive. She’s had to convince a lot of people that it is in fact all hand done with Sharpies, because they don’t believe it when they first see it. Mary takes pride in the fact that it often gets mistaken for a wrap.

One day, while waiting for her family, a couple people approached her about her custom Sharpie work and asked to take some pictures. It almost caused multiple accidents from rubberneckers trying to get a good look while not paying attention to their own driving.

A labor of love

Initially, Mary did a test piece on a spare fairing she had. Happy with the result, she moved forward. She says she wanted to make it truly unique with the influential things she’s loved throughout her life.

The bike has a lot of popular references—everything from Star Wars to Hello Kitty.

Her rear cowl is made entirely of signatures from MotoGP racers. She says “I was excited to be able to have my solo cowl signed by Valentino Rossi, Alvaro Bautista, Collin Edwards, and Bradley Smith at MotoGP in Indianapolis.”

The entire sharpie art project took about 223 hours over the course of 10 months to complete.

Additionally, Mary modified the bike with aftermarket items, including a Ti-Force full titanium exhaust system—modeled after the MotoGP style, HID headlights, fender eliminator, integrated trail lights, flush mount turn signals, adjustable levers, and Trex frame sliders.

 

A few of Mary’s favorite things

“I have been fortunate to live near one of the best riding roads in the area, and I ride it frequently when the weather permits. But my absolute favorite place to ride has become the track. Last year I was fortunate to have done three track days, including Femmewalla at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in California.”

 

“Femmewalla was incredible. The atmosphere of the entire day was something you cannot explain or put into words. There was so much encouragement between the riders and staff, and you didn’t feel pressured to be faster than those you were riding with. The instructors were awesome.  And if you needed advice or help, both on or off track, they were there without hesitation to help you. It was also a wonderful feeling to know that you were not only enjoying an amazing day out on the track, but you were also helping support and raise money for The Unforgettable’s Foundation, which assists with burial costs to families who have lost a child. All of the proceeds went to this donation and they had raffle tickets available for some incredible prizes. I traveled 1,900 miles to this event, and I have no regrets. I would do it a million times over and I am already looking forward to next year’s event!”

 

Mary, who is also a freelance photographer in her spare time, provided all the sharpie bike photos. Mary can be found on Instagram at @mary1krr

Also, be sure to check out her GirlsOn2 Zazzle store which has cool products for “real women ride their own.”

Do you have a bling’d out bike? Are you fashionably styling while you ride? Then check out How to get featured as a Biker Girl Bling’n It.