There are custom motorcycles, and then there are mechanical provocations—the kind that challenge not only the limits of engineering, but the very definition of what a motorcycle can be. With the HF355, Max Hazan has built something closer to a rolling thesis: a one-off machine that wraps a naturally aspirated Ferrari V-8 in carbon fiber and conviction.

Los Angeles–based Hazan was looking on eBay for a BSA 650 when a listing for the motor caught his eye. The next day, he drove to nearby Anaheim to see it in person. The motor was wheeled out on a furniture dolly. He straddled it, lifted it slightly, and realized something that would define the mission: it was smaller than expected. From that moment, the project was inevitable. “You can be taught all the skills you need—but you can’t be taught an idea,” Hazan says.

The HF355—named for its 1999 Ferrari F355–derived 3.5-liter V-8—produces about 400 hp at the crank, revs to 8,500 rpm, and is geared for a top speed of 187 mph. With a dry weight of 585 pounds, the bike has a power-to-weight ratio that pushes into hypercar territory. Yet beyond rarity and badge adjacency, value lies in the audacity of the idea and the precision of its execution.

This is a reimagination of motorcycle architecture. There is no traditional frame. Instead, the engine acts as a stressed member: a chromoly front trellis bolts directly to the V-8, while the transmission and rear suspension mount to its rear and sides. The result is a 63-inch-wheelbase machine with near 50/50 weight distribution. And nearly every component was conceived, machined, and assembled by Hazan himself.

It’s a level of authorship that has made his work highly sought after among collectors worldwide, with motorcycles held in private collections and institutions such as the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery, and exhibited at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Working without CNC equipment, he relies on manual mills and a 6,500-pound Moriseki lathe, shaping components by hand, guided by calculation and instinct. Custom spline shafts—designed to mate the Ferrari crankshaft to a Motus MSTR six-speed sequential transmission—were tested, broken, and remade to withstand the demands of a high-revving V-8.

The Ferrari power plant shares little electronically with its original application. Hazan built a bespoke fuel-injection system, ignition mapping, and sensor array from scratch, running through an AMP EFI MS3Pro ECU that logs and monitors everything the engine is doing in real time. And yet, when the engine fired for the first time, it did so flawlessly.

“It sounded like an Indy car in the pits,” says Hazan. “At full throttle, it’s absolutely wild—like warp speed in a sci-fi.” The first time he pushed the bike, he thought he was at full throttle—only to discover he was barely halfway there.

Despite its unconventional layout, the bike remains remarkably composed. On a tight track, Hazan found the ergonomics intuitive and the handling predictable; at lower speeds, it’s manageable—even civil. It’s only when the throttle opens that the machine reveals its true nature.

Riding the HF355 is, in his words, “very sensory heavy.” Eight velocity stacks sit just inches below the rider, pulling air with urgency. You hear each cylinder. You feel every input. There are no rider aids, no digital filters—nothing to soften the experience—an approach that feels almost defiantly analog in an era of electronically mediated superbikes. For all its engineering ambition, the bike is equally an exercise in design. “For me, function and form have to exist in balance. It has to work perfectly—but it also has to look absolutely right,” notes Hazan.

The bodywork—16 custom carbon-fiber components—is shaped by hand, beginning as foam blocks refined until the proportions feel inevitable. Each piece was molded and reproduced using carbon-fiber resin infusion, a process more commonly seen in aerospace manufacturing. With guidance from a composites specialist contracting for SpaceX, Hazan was able to precisely control resin ratios and structural integrity.

Each panel was archived, ensuring the bike could be repaired or recreated if ever damaged—a necessity given the complexity of the forms. The exposed carbon weave is left visible in select areas, while a custom-mixed red—derived from a Porsche color and darkened with black—adds depth without directly referencing Ferrari’s palette. The paint was executed by Hitoshi, Hazan’s longtime collaborator and a revered figure in custom automotive paint, who came out of retirement for the project.

Every detail reinforces that same philosophy of balance between function and form: Brembo GP4X calipers, Öhlins FGR forks and TTX rear shock, Marchesini wheels, and a restrained, analog-style cockpit. The cooling system required similar reinvention. Rather than disrupt the visual dominance of the engine, Hazan engineered radiators into a V-shaped duct beneath the bike, forcing air through 196 square inches of cooling surface, assisted by electric fans and a water pump.

Over roughly 18 months, the HF355 went through constant iteration before coming to fruition. Completed, the HF355 exists as a singular object—part sculpture, part machine, part manifesto. “This bike is the best example of full use of every skill I have,” Hazan says. “From aesthetics to engineering to tuning and fabrication—it was the biggest challenge to date.”

For collectors, it represents something exceedingly rare: a one-of-one born from pure imagination. And for Hazan, it sets a new benchmark for how far a single idea can be taken when nothing is left on the table. As for his milestone’s monetary value, it recently sold for more than $500,000.

Click here for more photos of Max Hazan’s HF355 custom motorcycle.