A man has transformed a motorbike into a funeral hearse that comes with a sidecar to carry the coffin.
Darren Abey has spent the last two-and-a-half years converting the racing bike into a ride fit for a funeral.
The 56-year-old bought the 186mph Suzuki GSX-R1000 for £4,000.
However, he says the DIY project set him back £25,000 in total.
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After purchasing the bike, Darren, of Fleetwood, Lancashire, completely stripped the body before completely rebuilding it.
This included installing brand-new wheels, forks, sprockets and chains
He also built a special suspension unit for the sidecar,
His friend, Dan Armer, helped install the sidecar – which took a lot of trial and error to make it strong enough to carry a coffin.
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The motorbike is based on British motorcycle racer Barry Sheene’s famous Heron Suzuki.
It has been wrapped in red and white colours.
It features hints of fluorescent green paint on the mudguard guard and fairing.
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There is a range of quirky stickers on the bike including a portrait of Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister.
The sidecar has been finished in a vinyl-wrapped image of the Isle of Man TT race course on the deck.
It also features images of race legends who raced the Isle of Man TT.
Motorbike fanatics also have the option of being buried in a Barry Sheene-themed coffin.
The casket has been vinyl-wrapped in images of the late motorcyclist and his racing number, 7.
Darren says the side-car hearse has done two funerals so far.
But he is looking forward to launching the service to the rest of the public in early spring.
”I’ve only just finished the bike after about two and a half years of working on it,” he said.
“With it being a full-blown race bike the reality could have been it never happened because of the style of bike.
”I bought it for £4,000 but it ended up costing £25,000.
”Everyone said to me from the start it wasn’t going to be a straightforward project, hence nobody has ever built one and now I understand why.
”If you look at the colours, it’s almost the same as Barry Sheene’s Suzuki.
”But I did it with a twist so it looks classy.
”People say it’s amazing and it looks the part.
”I’ve always wanted to do something nobody’s ever done before.
“As I always state to families – a funeral is a celebration of life and we’re all unique. “
Darren has worked in the bizarre burial business for the last 13 years.
He set up Only Fools And Hearses after purchasing a Robin Reliant Supervan 3 in 2011.
He spent almost £10,000 kitting out the yellow three-wheeler to resemble Del Boy’s van.
It comes with a matching yellow trailer that holds the coffin itself.
He also offers a range of eccentric personalised coffins including a leopard Only Fools and Horses vinyl wrap, Sex Pistols, Elvis Presley and Motorhead.
The service is so popular that Darren says he did 70 Only Fools and Horses- themed funerals last year – averaging around one per week.
The 56-year-old is willing to travel anywhere in the UK to provide his wacky send-off service and says the job makes him feel rewarded.
Darren said: “Some of the rewards you get are just priceless – I’ve done some amazing funerals.
“Families are laughing and crying because it’s a special way to be sent off.
”I must admit it’s always going to be sad at a funeral, but things are very different today, and families want something different as a lovely memory.”
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