Before we discuss the motorcycle in Grease 2, let’s have a look at the basic plot as a way of understanding how the bike comes into play.

We are taken back to 1961–two years after the cast of the original Grease have graduated high school. It’s the first day of school. Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer), has outgrown immature ex-boyfriend Johnny Nogerelli (Adrian Zmed), leader of the T-Birds. A fresh love interest comes into her life in the guise of Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) who is a relative of Sandy (Olivia Newton-John). At a bowling alley Stephanie becomes angry with Johnny and kisses Michael. He asks her out only to find that her ideal man must ride a motorcycle; thus he buys one to rebuild. And so, we segue into the bike itself.

Whew, finally there!

Grease 2 Motorcycle:  Honda CL77 Scrambler

Honda CL77 305 Scrambler

The bike that Micheal buys–therefore, the motorcycle in Grease 2–is a Honda Scrambler. The exact year and model are hard to decipher. The bike appears to be a Honda CL77 as best we can tell. The CL77 was also known as the Scrambler 305. It was built as an off-road-ready version of the more commonplace Honda C77 Dream and CB77 Super Hawk. The bike’s production run lasted from 1965 to 1968. Of course, this is a bit of a movie “goof,” as the film is supposed to be set in 1961.

All scramblers are altered from their street bike cousins. In the case of this bike, high exhaust pipes were used along the left side to allow for additional ground clearance. Additional frame strength came in the form of larger tubing with a front downtube that ran all the way through to where the starter box would have been in the sport bikes. Scramblers did away with the electric starter to allow for additional frame clearance and a lower wet weight. Other modifications included a smaller fuel tank, fork boots, 19-inch front and rear wheels, universal tires, handlebars with a cross-brace, and shortened fenders.

Interested in bikes like this? Check out more Custom Scramblers here!

The biggest change was the larger engine. Where the base model sport bikes were powered by a 250 cc engine, the CL77 featured a 305.4 cc overhead cam parallel twin powerplant with a redline of 9000 rpms, an extreme contrast to the low-rev bikes of the time. The power of the engine was nicely complimented with a louder exhaust note achieved by using straight pipes with internal baffles.

Sometimes a build comes along that’s truly innovative–a potential game-changer in the custom scene.  The LM-0 NX650 street tracker is one such bike–a collaboration between Simon Dabadie of Dab Design and one of our favorite builders, Cafe Racer SSpirit of San Sebastian, Spain.

LM stands for “Lin Fiber Motorcycle.”  This is the first bike featuring lin fiber for the tank, fenders, and number plate. Lin fiber (or flax fiber) is a natural fiber which is is made from the flax, with comparable strength and lightness to glass fiber and carbon fiber. It is a green alternative to traditional materials. It is used in surfboard industry, furniture, ski & snowboard, etc. But this is one of the first motorcycles ever built utilizing this green material.

Simon completely designed the bike in 3D, part by part, then 3D-printed the molds used to make the lin fiber bodywork. Lin fiber has a beautiful texture, and there are other advantages:  for instance, the LED headlights are hidden behind the lin fiber number plate. When turned on, their light passes through the fiber!

We will let Simon of Dab Design give you the full story on this build.

NX650 Street Tracker:  In the Designer’s Words

(By Simon Dabadie, with our highlights.)

I decided to create Dab Design directly after the end of my engineering and design studies in October 2015. I wanted to mix my skills with my passion for motorcycles. I’m based in Biarritz, France.

During my studies, I’ve worked in several industry (furniture design company, 3D printing manufacturer in Singapore and the world leader of 3D Design software named Dassault Systèmes). When I still was a student, I contacted (honestly, it was just for fun at the beginning) several custom builders to help them to visualize their future build, by using the 3D technologies and integrating the 3D modeling into the creative process.

This is how Dab Design was born. I wanted to give to the custom builders the ability to test what-if scenarios with their bikes or parts in 3D, helping them to validate their plans and identify any problem with design quality. This is how I met Cafe Racer SSpirit from San Sebastian: I provided them a 3D model of one of their motorcycle in order to choose the future colors of the bike.

Linen Fiber Rear Fender

Then I started to work with famous names of the motorcycle industry like Roland Sands Design (Los Angeles), Skully Systems (San Franscisco), VIBA Motor (La Rochelle, France). Most of the time I am working on custom part designs, 3D photo-realistic pictures and animations, etc. For example, for my first project with RSD, I had the opportunity to work on the range of Roland Sands Design accessories for the Ducati XDiavel, which was displayed last year at EICMA 2015 (November 2015) at the Ducati stand.

At the beginning of 2016, I decided to start an internal project which was building my own model of motorcycle: the LM-0 (LM is for Lin Fiber Motorcycle). The objective of the build was to demonstrate the power of the alliance of new technology and the garage craftsmanship.

I wanted to prove that all the current 3D technologies are fabulous tools for customization and give infinite possibilities. My approach has been completely different than the “classic” customisation method: I started 3D scanning the donor bike (Honda NX 650 Dominator) and designed this unique bike in 3D, part by part. Thanks to photo-realistic technologies, I was able to render the picture of the bike before building it: I knew exactly where I was going. Minimalist shapes, functionality, enduro & vintage spirit. During the design stage, I’m considering both the technical and aesthetic constraints in order to design together the finest product.

One of the most exclusive characteristic of the LM-0 is its bespoke bodywork in natural lin fiber. It is the first bike using this material on the tank, fender and front plate. To do that, I have first 3D designed the tank, fender and plate on my computer, and once I got the right shape, I have directly 3D printed the mold which will be used to make the lin fiber parts. This is quite a innovation in term of manufacturing process because traditional molds are very expensive and are dedicated to big series of parts, mass-manufacturing. Thanks to my 3D printer, I am able to print a mold for a very reasonable price, even for a unique part.

Linen Fiber Number Plate

Lin fiber has good mechanical characteristics but it gives mostly a beautiful texture. If you look at the front plate, when the lights are off it looks like a classic number plate. But when you turn the lights on, the light of LEDs strip passes through the lin fiber and gives a futuristic and minimalist touch.

LED strip shining through the lin fiber number plate.

I also designed a range of parts for the LM: CNC machined upper triple tree which integrates the Motogadget speedo, CNC machined gascap with the Dab Design logo engraved, spacer to replace the mechanical sensor of the stock speedometer on the front wheel, 3D printed flexible grips with « Dab Design » engraved.

3D-Printed Grips

The driving position has been figured out to have a motocross and aggressive position : I’ve mounted a Renthal Twinwall handlebar with a pair of adjustable Nekken risers and a beautiful pair of hand controls (front brake & clutch) from Roland Sands Design (originally for Harley). The stocks 21″ and 17″ rims has been changed for two 18’ rims with Heidenau K67 tires mounted on it. The exhaust has been modified and integrates a very short Supertrapp muffler.

I’ve collaborated with Cafe Racer SSpirit (San Sebastian) for the welding of the subframe and the other more technical tasks. It was very easy to communicate with the team as all the design has been done and validated before on computer. It was very interesting to learn from each others, on one side they showed me how it works in a custom garage and on the other side I was showing them my vision and how we can improve the actual way of customizing a bike.

Got to love that SuperTrapp.

I rode and tested the bike in the Bardenas Reales in « extreme conditions » and it is really amazing to see the bike in this kind of environment–you feel like a fish in water. It is also very pleasant to drive it in the city, as it is easy handling thanks to its huge steering angle.

Testing in the Bardenas Reales.

I am now ready to build similar bikes based on the design of this bike. The building of the LM-0 allows me to understand how I will handle the next similar builds. I want to offer to my next clients a premium experience, and give them the possibility to choose and visualize in 3D their future bikes with the colors and options they want. (We can imagine for example a supermoto version with 17’ wheels or a vintage edition with the original Honda color like I posted on my Instagram page, there are a lot of possibilities.)

Photos by Cesar Abadie (@cesarabd)

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• Cafe Racer SSpirit:  Facebook | Instagram | Web

Amid the army of CB 750 customs, it takes something truly bold to stand out from the crowd. “Xerxes,” built by Ben Davis of Delaware’s Legion Cycle Works, is a drastic departure from the brat-seated, pipe-wrapped, mail-ordered CBs of the last half decade. It’s a statement-making build, no doubt, and you will love the story behind it.

By day, Ben works as a carpenter, and he’s the father of four girls. He got the bug for building custom bikes after watching Cafe Racer TV, and before long he had converted his garage into a shop and started Legion Cycle Works. With this 1979 CB750 Limited Edition, he decided to really push himself.

The scene on the top triple was sketched up by a friend of his who works for DC Comics. The most striking aspect is certainly the front fairing, slightly reminiscent of something you’d see on a Harley Big Twin. Ben wanted the fairings to be all-metal, but he had no previous sheetmetal experience, so he took the brave path and simply ordered a bunch of books online and started hammering away. All the work was done by Ben except the paint, working on nights and weekends.

We’ll let him give you the full story.

“Xerxes” CB750:  In The Builder’s Words

(Written by Ben Davis, with our highlights.)

I’m the father of four little girls who works commercial construction during the day as a carpenter. I grew up riding dirt bikes and sport bikes, then as an adult I saw Cafe Racer TV and I was hooked on the soul older bikes have. I got rid of my sport bike and bought my first older bike. I converted my garage into a shop and created my company, Legion Cycle Works. I worked on anyone’s bike who would let me. I didn’t know much and wasn’t worried about profit at that point, but wanted to learn.

After I started getting better and making money, I picked up a 79 CB750 Limited that was going to be my cafe racer. The original plan was to throw on clubman bars, loop the frame, and bolt up a prefabbed seat pan from Dime City Cycles, and call it good. I looped the frame and life happened and I threw it in the corner while I worked on other people’s bikes. I kept seeing these really gnarly bikes online and I decided to push myself and see what I could build. And right around that time is when my budget went to hell.

The front end is off of a 2008 GSXR 1000. I hate how sloppy the 750s front ends handle and the brakes are even worse. I really dig spoked rims, so I had a conversion hub machined to run spoke rims, using the GSXR rotors and calipers. The stock Gixxer top triple tree was too gadget-y looking for what I wanted, so a new one was made with a billet top nut. After I threw it on I kept looking at it and thought wouldn’t it be cool if… I contacted a friend of a friend who works for DC Comics, and had him sketch up an idea to fill in the new triple. The Warriors fighting is actually engraved into the triple. Then I fitted a Motogadget mini speedo to the bottom side and the front end was done.

The mono shock was the hardest part for me. All the math and geometry and stuff is never easy to figure out. After a day and a half of working on it, I stepped behind it to look down it and it looked like it would hit the chain…I had to take it off to make mock up easier. Threw a chain on and damned if I didn’t run right into what I had just spent hours working on, so I had to start from scratch. The swingarm is inverted, I didn’t want to cut the stock shock mounts out for the monoshock, so inverting the swingarm allowed me to use the shock mounts as swingarm spool mounts instead. I also welded up mounts for billet rear sets to take care of the riding position.

I always knew I wanted to build something a little more aggressive than other bikes, and I didn’t really know what I was going to do until I had the front end swap and monoshock done. I cut up some poster board and started taping it all up until I found something that fit what was in my head. I wanted it to be made of metal, but I didn’t really know how to do sheet metal work so I ordered some books and tools offline and hammered away until it came out like I wanted. The front and rear fairings are handmade of sheet metal, the grills are metal also. 2 LED light bars tucked behind the front grill light up the road.

I wanted a little umph in the motor so I threw in an 836 bore, a set of CB900 cams and some CR29s to help out. A MAC tri-Y header with Cone Engineering stainless tip helps give it the growl.

There’s a Ballistic battery under the seat, and the starter button is a hidden push button under the seat as well. I really tried to keep it as bare as possible. There is literally nothing stock left on the bike. All total, I have a little over 300 hours into it.

Photos by Ryan Cerminara of Hold the Memory Inc.

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Andrew Wales, the owner and creator of this incredible ’78 CB750, is a machinist/millwright and fabricator out of Calgary, Alberta.  Though this bike may look like the product of a high-rent, name-brand custom shop, it’s actually the work of Andrew and a few select buddies. In fact, the Canadian fabricator hardly even considers himself a “builder,” but rather a “Significant Motorcycle Modifier.”  He says:

“To me a builder is someone that has a customer base or builds for someone with the goal of profit. This bike was more so just a vision I’ve mentally rendered over the last few years as bit of a personal accomplishment towards my capabilities and personality of sorts.”

To add to the story, Andrew went through a fairly serious accident with this bike, which he calls “truly bittersweet,” as it gave him the opportunity to complete his full vision for the build. Though he says it might sound a bit cheesy, the motto “Modern Mind, Classic Heart” has stuck with him for many years. He thinks this bike, being 38 years old at heart but with many modern upgrades, fits the bill.  We would certainly agree.

CB750 Mono Build:  In the Builder’s Words

(Written by Andrew Wales, with our highlights.)

I’m Andrew Wales, machinist/millwright and fabricator out of Calgary Alberta with my 1978 CB750 I’ve currently dubbed I4HV3.0 (Inline 4 Honda Ver. 3.0).

Originally, I purchased the bike in the winter of 2013 from a older couple that used it for hauling a micro camping trailer around Alberta and BC. The bike came with a Windjammer fairing and king/queen seat and luggage rack and trailer hitch. Over the course of a weekend at my buddies shop, I swapped out the seat and bars, and added some plastidip paint for a “weekend-built cafe,” haha (Version 1.0).

Rode that for a season.

After seeing builds come out of the woodwork over the last few years and being involved in the custom bike scene in Calgary, I was inclined to build something signature. I was perusing Instagram and Bike EXIF one night for inspiration and figured, “I’ve built some sweet shit in my years of manufacturing for other people, I need to build MYSELF something sweet and unique.” At the time, there was the first annual IFK Kickstart Moto Expo coming up the following spring, where it’d be my deadline to work towards to have it built and ready.

Found a deal from a guy selling sport bike parts from a guy in town and opted to see what he had. Went out to pick up a Ducati 749 rear shock and came home with that, and a complete ’04 GSXR 1000 front end. Over the course of the winter I picked up the Cognito Moto stem swap, bent up the rear mono hoop at work, and for a week or so, was fitting and tacking the swing arm setup. Once all was gravy, I took it into work, where I TIG-welded everything up during my lunch breaks.

Once the bike was rolling, I started on controls and wiring. Stumbled across www.bellicomoto.com for my basic wiring setup which was great, although it was weeks of troubleshooting for 04 GSXR right controls, ’09 GSXR600 left controls, Danmoto 180 heads up, Hi/Lo projectors, relays, LED Signals, Ricks Reg/Rectifier setup. It was rad to draw out and follow through with a working wiring harness from scratch. I managed to snag a few looms of 18-32 wire colored cables from work, which was a HUGE benefit for an actual color coded wiring schematic.

The bike ended up about 80% finished by the time IFK Kickstart rolled around, but still made it to the show to display the progress. It was a few weeks after the show till I had everything else sorted out and the bike was finally ready for the road.

I rode the bike for that summer with the mono and GSXR setup until Sept 30th, 2015, where on our weekly IFK (Kenny Kwan @IllFatedKustoms) bike night, a lady opted not to shoulder check before changing lanes and hit the bike, knocking it down and myself, tumbling. Thankfully we were only doing about 45km/h and the bike just spun to a stop while I did all the rolling and tumbling. I was heart-broken to see my labor of love bleeding all over the road. I started immediately envisioning its rebuild.

Over the course of that winter between physio and doc visits I got the bike rebuilt. Version 3.0​:

Version 3.0

New clip-ons were ordered, new R1 rearsets (previously had R6 rearsets), new signals, new tank, new tail section, new seat, new rear fender/plate holder, and new rear wheel, and new rubber.

The tail section was the most work. I started with a fresh sheet for the base, then framed it in with 3/16 rod bent and tweaked with the help of a 4″ tube and vice. Inspiration of the shape came directly from the gas tank. My buddy Paul Miller (@Panicrevcustoms) shared some beer and his TIG to stitch everything up as we just have a flux MIG I used for tacking things together. Once the seams were filled in, I palm-sanded it smooth.

Leather seat work done by Degreeve Auto in town. I had brought them two separate 1/4″ MDF bases and said, 1″ height, brown/tan leather, red stitching and he nailed it with a 0ne-day turn around! After a few chats with Scott Wilson on paint scheme, he took the tins and laid down paint for me, and I was blown away on the result. He even used factory Honda colors, red from Accords and White from Civics.

The bike was ready and complete for this years IFK Kickstart show and showed well with other unbelievable local builds.

The accident was truly bittersweet. It gave me the opportunity to really dial in the full vision of the bike I’ve had, but at an expense of months worth of rehab and recovery.

Full Specs

Full specs and parts are as follows:

• 1978 CB750 K7
• ’04 GSXR 1000 front end
• Cognito Moto stem
• Dan Moto 180 heads up
• Projector headlights, 50W low, 80W high
• LED signals front and rear
• Vance and Hines 4-1 – chopped 6″
• Hot Bodies Moto GP Growler slip on
• Complete custom wiring
• Ducati 749 rear Mono shock
• Custom hoop welded on to stock swingarm
• Custom oil tank (hidden)
• Stainless hardline oil lines
• Aftermarket Oil Cooler
• 1985 VF500 rear wheel with brake setup
• R1 aftermarket rearsets
• UNI pod filters
• 6Sigma Jet kit
• Dyna 3.3 Coils with inline 1k resistor
• MSD plug wires
• NewTronics Electronic Ignition
• Custom seat cowl
• Seat pads by Degreeve Auto
• Paint by Scott Wilson
• Pinstripes by Phil Morley
• Powdercoating by Maxim Manufacturing / Top Gun
• Biltwell Grips from Ill Fated Kustoms

Follow the Builder:  @WaleFab

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(Written by Mark Turner.)

Thankfully we are all individuals. Some of us like big women, some like marmite, some like to wear women’s clothing on a Thursday night and call themselves Mildred. Personally, I like motorbikes and how they make me feel. The passion, the freedom, it’s exhilarating, intoxicating.

Is there a more pure expression of this than the cafe racer? Simple, light weight, slim and trim, their beauty is in their simplicity. Ironwood Custom Motorcycles in Amsterdam are the architects of some of the finest cafe racers you will see on the road. These guys have the Midas touch. They can take an old, tired, beat down, weary bike and resuscitate, rejuvenate, and reinvent it.

A perfect example of this is the bike you see here:  IWC25. In true King Midas style, IWC have performed a miracle and turned a nasty, ugly, unloved CB550 into this exotic, enigmatic, epitome of the cafe racer.

When the owner rode the bike in, it was in a sorry state. Arjan van den Boom, mastermind behind IWC, described the bike when it first came to him.

“The original bike was hideous, man, absolutely the most ugliest bike I ever laid my hands on. It was in shit condition too.”

The owner wasn’t crazy though. He had bought the crappy old CB with a vision. He saw through the years of neglect and contempt and brought it to IWC because he had seen their previous creations and knew there was only one place he trusted to make his dream into a reality. So the pair began their journey to redemption in the expert hands of IWC.

The nasty old CB was stripped to its bare bones and the frame was cut and welded, removing unnecessary material in pursuit of the lightweight, sleek cafe racer look, then painted black. The oily old engine was stripped and given a fresh coat of satin black, then carefully assembled with all new gaskets.

The front forks were pushed through the yokes 60mm and the springs cut 25mm lowering the front and improving the stance. The forks stanchions, the complete wheels and the tank were also given a new coat of…yes, you guessed it, black.

One of the most unique features of this bike is so subtle you may not have noticed. Look closely at the beautiful Miller Kustom Upholstery brat seat and you will see a row of LED’s that make up the brake light and indicators. A very cool touch.

To keep things neat and continue the lightweight racer look, all of the electrics are hidden, out of sight, between the subframe tubes with the battery sitting low under the bike to improve the centre of balance.

The vintage look is finished off with a set of radial Avons and the end result is a beautiful, authentic cafe racer that wouldn’t look out of place sat outside the Ace Cafe in London in 1964 but with a modern slant and craftsmanship that the ton up boys in the 60’s could only dream about.

(Photography by Jackson Kunis.)

Follow the Builder, Writer, Photography

• Build by Ironwood Custom Motorcycles:  Facebook | Instagram | Web
• Photography by Jackson Kunis:  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
• Words by Mark Turner:  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Web

Revolt Cycles is based in the Middle Islands of the Philippines.  Cebu City, to be exact.  They have been building bikes for the past three years now and riding for nearly two decades. Their mission warms the chambers of our oily, piston-pumping hearts:

We do each of our builds with pride and passion, as the love of motorcycles has been embedded deep in our very hearts ever since.  Our country is still catching up with the scene but every single day it is growing bigger and bigger.

We solicited Revolt Cycles to feature this TMX 155 bratstyle build after seeing it on the company’s Instagram profile (@revoltcycles). We were immediately struck by the neat, classic lines of the build, and the TMX 155 was a bike we weren’t very familiar with–all the more fun!  Plus, we love featuring bikes from up-and-coming scenes/locales, like the Philippines.

We’ll let Juan Yu from Revolt Cycles give you the full story on the build.

The “Silver Surfer” TMX 155:  In the Builder’s Words

(By Juan of Revolt Cycles. With our highlights.)

To start, let me introduce you to the base bike we love using to customize and build. It’s a Honda TMX 155, also known in our country as a habal-habal. Many attach a side car to it and use it as a tricycle for public transport or courier duties. It’s basically a work horse bike that is powerful enough to carry 5x its own weight and carry or pull almost anything.

Its predecessor is basically known world wide, the CB series or in other Asian countries known as the CG, JX, or GL. But it basically has the same frame and engine mount of its predecessor the CB100/CB125, with the exception of the TMX as a Pushrod 155cc 4 speed. Basically one of the most bulletproof engines that Honda has ever made.

We present #RVLT12, the “Silver Surfer,” a Honda TMX 155. What started out as a beat up daily commuter, we saved it and gave it all it deserves to shine back again on the road with a full engine rebuild and a 26mm aftermarket carb. Fitted with wide aluminum rims wrapped with our premium tires, the RT TYRE 4.50×17, for that mean, classic, beefy look.

We installed minimalist lights and winkers, diamond stitched leatherette brown seat, single speedometer with indicators and custom mustache handlebars. Fabricated and customized stainless steel battery box fitted on the frame triangle with side key ignition.

Equipped with a detachable skateboard/surfboard rack as Drew requested for his weekend DH long board mountain shreds with buddies and occasional surf sessions across town. Comes on with a classic CB125 original pipe system that complemented it more on its classic predecessor, the CB125.  With pride and honor, this bike will be our first to roam around the streets of Cagayan De Oro City.

(Photographed and Edited by Rodulfo Ouano, aka The Jeb – Photo Mercenary)

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Some people build their bikes in sheds, some in garages.  Some have fancy shops.  Some only yards.  Some, like Jeroen Kraijema, must resort to the living room in the dead of winter.  After all, it gets cold in Holland.  Fortunately, Jeroen says his girlfriend actually encouraged him working on this beautiful CX in the house, so he wouldn’t be in the yard or shed all day!

Stock from the factory, the Honda CX500 has to be one of the uglier bikes ever made.  Introduced in 1978, it quickly earned the nickname the “plastic maggot.”  The tank is fat, with a cruiser-ish reverse rake, and the mini-fairing and stepped seat earned zero points for sexiness.

That said, the boxer twin with longitudinal crankshaft is reminiscent of a Moto Guzzi, and talented builders are finding ways to showcase this powerplant.  Most of them, however, are building cafe racers.  Enter Joeroen Kraijema of The Netherlands, who has built this ’83 CX500 scrambler–one of the finest CX customs we’ve come across. Below, he gives you the full story on the build.

CX500 Brat Scrambler:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Jeroen Kraijema, with our highlights.)

My name is Jeroen, I’m 25 and from Holland. I’m from Dordrecht, specifically, the oldest city in The Netherlands. I graduated from the Willem de Kooning Art Academy of Rotterdam in 2009, where I studied illustration. After that I worked as a designer for a year, but I missed something. That’s why I decided to make a career switch, and now I’m studying Aerospace Engineering at the TU Delft. Having a background in design and now becoming an engineer, I can put both of these skills into my projects, which helps a lot.

Before the CX I was riding a ’92 CBR600, but I really wanted to build a bike of my own, so it had to go to make budget for the CX. When I started this build, everyone who was working on a CX was making a cafe racer. I wanted to make something different, something that could also be driven off the tarmac for a bit of fun, so some sort of a scrambler was the way to go. Considering my background, the bike had to look good as well as function properly, so form and function were both equally important to me. The bike is a ’83 Honda CX500, the standard European model with the big tank and dual front disks, which I sourced from Marktplaats (the Dutch Craigslist).

I replaced every bearing and seal on the bike, revised the carbs, fitted K&N pods, shortened the fork 20mm with preload spacers and put new rear shocks on. I installed an Ignitech CDI unit for a better (and programmable) ignition. All the electrics are in the box under the engine, connected by a new clean wiring loom. The triple tree was cleaned up and the new ignition switch relocated to the side of the tank. HD Sportster mufflers are fitted onto the new stainless steel exhaust headers. The tank and shortened front fender were painted in Porsche yellow and a custom rear fender was fabricated to fit the looped frame. The brown leather seat was upholstered by Bart Peetermans from Belgium (who upholstered it while I was at a festival in his hometown).

At the time I was working on this project, I had a very small shed where I could barely walk around the bike, so I was mostly working on it outside. During winter it was freezing cold, of course, so occasionally I worked on the bike in the living room, which my girlfriend even liked since then I wasn’t in the yard or shed all day (she’s a keeper haha). Since I don’t own a welding machine, I needed to fabricate everything in advance and then put the frame and all parts in my ’89 civic and drive to my brother or a friends house, which required quite a bit of planning. Despite this, the build didn’t take too long considering the available time I had and this being my first build. After 9 months the CX and I were back on the road.

The transverse twin engine in combination with dual sport tires results in a characteristic bike with which you can have lots of fun both on and off the given paths. I’m really satisfied with this bike being my first build, but my eyes spotted the next project pretty quick after I finished this one. My next project is a NX650 scrambler, which I’m working on right now.

Follow the Builder on Instagram:  @jeroen_k

Photography by Mark Meisner:  Instagram | Web

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“Lily,” the first-born scrambler from Drake Speed Shop, a Honda CM400 tracker/scrambler. We love the lightweight look of this bike, the custom subframe, the 2:1 exhaust, and the PIAA off-road light. Those Honda Comstar wheels are still sexy. Sure, the seat might make for some uncomfortable off-road riding, but looking good ain’t always easy.

The CM400 was available from 1979-1982, a predecessor of the popular Rebel series.  It offered an air-cooled parallel twin. While not packing much punch in the power department, the bike was known for its agility. We’re also big fans of this CM400 “Urban Assault Machine” by KickMoto, featured on Bike EXIF, and Droog Moto’s CM400 scrambler, featured here.

We’re excited to see what Drake Speed Shop does next.

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High-dollar machines produced from big-name shops are all well and good, but there is something special about a bike built by a single man or woman just making their name.  This Honda NX650 Dominator scrambler, by 25 year old Ruben Paz of Galicia’s Mutant Motorcycles, is such a build. Says Ruben:

I tell you, the project was done by my amateur way, nothing professional. It is my second preparation, the first was a Kawasaki KZ400.

In our estimation, Ruben is being humble. This bike speaks class and craftsmanship.  Full details below.

Honda Dominator Scrambler:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Ruben Paz, translated from the Spanish by BikeBound.)

First thank you, I am very excited to see my work published. I’ll tell you a bit. This is my second preparation before a KZ400 Kawasaki 1977. With this build, I sought to create a motorcycle based on an economic platform, but with a reliable engine that had the potential to be a good scrambler. The bike was spotless–very neat engine and components–which I purchased in early 2015.

My main inspiration was the Triumph scrambler aesthetics of JvB Moto. From there, I liked more work done on the NX650 and XR600 by Cafe Racer Dreams, Classified Moto, Deus ex Machina, etc.

The first thing is I wanted a tank as close as possible to the Triumph, and looking across the warehouse, I have a scrambler 125 Mash. The second was to lower the front height, so I got a 19″ front wheel off a Honda SLR650, which fitted perfectly with the fork and brake of the Dominator.

The next steps were to cut and weld the new sub-frame, and install all the new components. The bike was ready except the absence of paint, but summer 2015 approached, so I enjoyed it as it was during that summer. In the winter of 2016, I came back and tore it down completely for painting. During that process, I got a very well priced inverted fork from a Hyosung Comet 650, so I did all the necessary changes to adapt the fork to the frame, wheel, and brakes.

I finished the build this summer, and the truth is that I’m really enjoying it, in winter and even with all that rain here in Galicia.  I will likely return to make some changes, or even sell it to start new projects. If I’m lucky I would like to prepare another bike on the basis of a XV1100 Yamaha or Yamaha XJR 1200/1300.

Major Components:

• Gas tank- Mash 125 scrambler
• Fork – Hyusung comet 650
• Exhaust- Supertrapp
  

Regards, and thank you very much.

-Rubén Paz Fontán

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Here we have an incredible 1975 Honda CB125 K5 tracker by Ed Turner–aka Karl Renoult–of EdTurner Motorcycles, located in France. We’re big fans of his work, which is inspired largely by American muscle car culture.

EdTurner is the spirit that defines each of my creations. Imagine, redesign, and customize a vehicle or an accessory with the sole purpose of giving it character and attitude. Make an exceptional product, elegant and uncompromising that won’t leave anyone indifferent. It is with this concept in mind that I design each of my projects.

Each motorcycle design is inspired by the good ol’ 70s & 80s (you have to admit, little of beauty has been designed since) and the culture of the American V8 in all its forms.

The CB125 was introduced in 1971, and continued to be sold in the United States all the way up until 1985. By the 80s, it was one of the few sub-200cc street bikes still available. In ’79, it could be bought new from the showroom floor for just $928.

While small on power, it was known as a tough bike to kill, and could be fun to ride in a certain light. In a 1979 review in Cycle, the reviewer claimed that the bike tended to be ridden “flat out, all the time,” and “every stoplight was a drag race” without much risk of getting a ticket.

The top triple on this beauty has cutouts of the EdTurner signature swallows, and old Wolf’s Head Oil and Smokey’s Joe’s stickers festoon the canister that holds the electronics.

Photography by Francois Richer.

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Today we’re proud to present “Growler,” a BMW-influenced 1988 Honda NX650 Dominator built by the crew at Neuga Budapest. Based in Budapest, Neuga is the shop of three Hungarian BMXers:

• Benedek Eszteri:  Mostly handles electronics and ergonomics.
• Dániel Králik:  Dani directs the art side of the projects.
• Róbert Tóháti:  Robi serves as the engineer.

On any given day, the crew might be building fixed-gear bicycles, guitars, furniture, or motorbikes. Of their moto builds, they say:

“Based on our knowledge of the mechanics and bicycle motocross we have evolved to produce motorbikes for everyday use with handling as compact and responsive as a BMX for flowing the streets everyday.”

As well all know, motorcycles are born from bicycles, and there is something so pure about this BMW-styled build. Robi was kind enough to give us the full scoop on “Growler.”

“Growler,” Honda Dominator:  In the Builders’ Words

(Words by Robi Tóháti of Neuga Budapest.  Our highlights.)

GROWLER

• Honda Nx650
• 1988 First series
• 45HP

At first place, we stripped the whole bike to the bones and then the whole engine to pieces. The subframe got completely redesigned with handmade BMX style braces.

Every piece got painted, powdercoated. All the screws, nipples got a yellow galvanization for a better result.

On the front wheel the speedo mechanism was replaced with a machined alloy spacer. The speedo is a cross style digital Koso. The front fender is repositionable with custom made brackets.

The Antigravity battery is placed in a CNC machined box under the seat. The tank is from a Suzuki DR125 with a matching paintjob and a custom made fuel filler cap. The oil cap is custom made as well.

The turn signal is designed and produced by us. The exhaust system was redesigned and fabricated with stainless steel. The carbs got rejetted because of the open exhaust system and the direct air filter.

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The Netherlands has become a real hotbed of custom motorcycle culture, and the Wrench Kings are right at the leading edge, turning out some incredible bikes. Now Bram and the boys are back with a ’77 Honda CB750 Super Sport cafe racer. In a world chock-full of CB builds, this bike truly leaps off the screen. The ‘Kings managed to retain the classic aesthetic of the “original superbike,” while bringing the machine into the modern age…and making it rideable for 6.2 foot client!

As you may know, Honda introduced the CB750F Super Sport in 1975 as a response to Kawasaki’s mighty Z1. The bike offered a 4-into-1 sport exhaust, slimmer tank, rear disc, stiffer suspension, reduced trail, and longer swingarm. Cycle magazine’s dyno-testing revealed 58 horsepower at the rear wheel — up considerably from the K model — and this brought quarter mile times down into the high twelves.

Below, headman Bram gives us the full scoop on this sexy build.

CB750 Super Sport Cafe Racer:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Bram of The Wrench Kings. Highlights by us.)

Early 2016 we received a call from Lex, the owner of NoutDesign Ontwerp & Concept, a modern and successful advertising company in Holland. He had a 1977 Honda CB750 in a nearly original state and had plans to rebuild it in a cafe style. The beginning of something great! Or was it? It did not take long for him to realize his talents lie in advertising more than building bikes…and he needed some assistance to finish his project.

A 1977 CB750…of course we liked the challenge! How to create a clean look from a bike with a dry sump and an external oil reservoir? Move the oil tank to the seat! Easier said than done, but look at the result! It took some trial, error, sweat, pain and the assistance of Marcel van der Stelt (an expert in all custom aluminum solutions) and the result is stunning! A seat pan with an integrated oil tank in the seat. The seat upholstery is made by Toni’s CustomWorks, a new player in the custom seat scene from the eastern part of Holland.

Lex was very specific about his wishes. As the owner of an advertisement company, he had the perfect picture of his bike in mind. A stunning bike with an overhauled engine, perfect finishing and his own design on it! This is how we started. The engine was overhauled and is ready to run miles and miles more. We took the bike apart to the last bolt and rebuilt it with freshly powder-coated parts.

Lex supplied us with a stunning new polished aluminum triple clamp. We designed the aluminum seat with oil reservoir and had it built by Marcel. We had some good times with the guys making hydraulic hoses. They are used to heavy machinery and we came requesting the most minimized solution to fit their hoses to our seat, in which the bendability of the hose was crucial. They had to be hidden underneath the seat and behind the frame!

Of course we made a new wiring loom for this bike and with that we had fun again. This 40 year old bike has an RFID tag as an ignition switch now. Tail lights combined with brake lights and blinkers and a big yellow head light and, very subtle, hidden blinkers in front. And Lex is a tall guy. This bike had to fit his 1.90 mtr (6.2 ft) length and to make his seating position comfortable, we extended the foot peg location.

At the time of the photo shoot, rain was pouring down. Typical Dutch weather. Hence we asked our neighbor, a cool blacksmith with an even cooler workshop (with classical music!) to have the shoot in his working place. This made for some pretty cool pics with the forge on the background.

Pictures are taken by Bas Duijs, a Dutch photography enthusiast with a stunning portfolio and a passion for cool bikes!

Special Thanks to the Following Experts

For the built of this bike we made extensive use of external experts and we like to thank them for that!

• Cafe Racers United for their stunning goodies in the webshop.
• Bas Duijs for his stunning pictures.
• Smederij Somers for allowing us to take pictures in his workshop.
• Blauweplaat motoren for their expertise in old-timer Honda engines.
• Marcel van der Stelt for his expertise in building the custom seat.
• Toni’s Custom Works for the waterproof upholstery.
• Stahlwille for their assistance with top notch quality tools.
• Velis Scholten Utrecht B.V. for their assistance with the hydraulic hoses.

CB750F Cafe Build:  Full Specs

All in all, the following mods are done to this bike:

• Everything is powder coated, even the brackets for the teller and the blinkers
• Cool Firestone tires
• RFID tag wireless key
• Custom seat with oil reservoir by Marcel van der Stelt
• Custom water proof leather upholstery by Toni’s Custom Works
• Custom oil lines
• Hidden blinkers in front
• Modern, electronic Daytona speedo
• Stylish tail lights with integrated brake lights and blinkers
• A custom made license plate bracket (which we took in production!)
• A big yellow head light
• Polished cylinder heads
• Overhauled engine
• Rear shocks
• Brake and clutch levers
• Double brake discs in front
• Extended foot peg mounts with Tarozzi foot pegs
• DNA power filters
• Stainless steel brake lines

We trust Lex will give rubbernecking a new dimension with this bike!!

The Kings

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Web/TV Show Coming Soon

For now the focus is on building cool bikes and offering parts, advice, technical assistance (and coffee or beer of course) to anyone who’s building their own bike. And setting up a YouTube show! The first episode is planned for October / November 2016. This Youtube show will be aired continuously to an 8 episode show on RTL GP Magazine on RTL7 (national Dutch television) whereby a brand new Yamaha XV950 is transformed in a Kenny Roberts street tracker!

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During our Florida swing last year, we were fortunate enough to meet Daniel Newcomb–“Presidente Daniel”–of the Vintage Iron Club, which describes itself as follows…

We are a vintage motorcycle riding club in South Florida that is about bikes, people, charity and good times.

Every year, the club builds and raffles off a bike for their annual festival, Iron & Clematis.  Last year it was this CB350 street tracker. Now Daniel and crew are back with this 1980 Honda CB750F Street Racer, which they will be raffling off to raise funds for the Paley Foundation, a charitable organization and institute dedicated to finding alternatives to amputation for children, which is “dedicated to changing the current standard of care from amputation and a life of prosthetics to innovative and proven limb reconstruction and lengthening whenever possible.”

Daniel says:

Our inspiration has driven us to help out these children by gathering our resources with the help of the vintage motorcycle community to donate their time and money to build a raffle motorcycle each year.

100% of the raffle proceeds raised from the motorcycle go to the Paley foundation to help these children walk, run, climb, skip, jump, and play like intended.

Dr. Paley has be saving these children’s limbs with his surgical technology when most of them would have been amputated long ago.

VIC has visited the Paley institute on many occasions and the strength of the children is inspiring!

Get your raffle tickets to have a chances to win this custom CB750F. If winning a motorcycle is not enough for you, then helping out these great kids at the Paley Foundation should be!

DOHC CB750F Cafe Racer:  Details

The Honda CB750F Super Sport came out in 1975, as Honda Motor Company’s response to Kawasaki Z1, which had usurped the CB750’s place at the top of the superbike food chain.  Honda then followed up with the DOHC Honda CB750F in 1979, a 77-horsepower winner of which Cycle Guide said:

“Not only did the CBX-styled, DOHC 750 accelerate with the fury of a one-liter hyperbike, it wowed everyone with magical cornering abilities never before found on a four-cylinder street bike…Legend or no legend, it was hard to imagine how any comparably sized two-wheeler could possibly outcorner the 750F.”

This particular build retains much of the nostalgic styling of the original, which we love. Unlike some builds, it actually looks like you could ride it some distance without cutting off the blood supply to your rump and lower extremities. Overall, this is a wickedly clean tribute to one of the finest bikes of the era–the DOHC evolution of the “original superbike.”

The bike was donated by Daniel Newcomb and Bart Springer of Vintage Iron Club. Moe Colors of Tampa donated the custom paint, while Thread Warrior donated the custom CB750F logos. Excelsior Customs, whose KZ900 we are hoping to feature soon, donated all of the engine work and got the bike road ready, while Avon Tires donated a fresh set of rubber.

Trim Shop was kind enough to donate the custom seat, while Daniel Newcomb and Ken Trapasso did the build, design work, mods, cleaning, polishing, and the blood sweat and tears. Photography was donated by Architectural & Interior Design Photography: Daniel Newcomb.

Full List of Bike Sponsors

• Daniel Newcomb, Ken Trapasso, and Bart Springer.
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintageironclubmc/
• Moe Colors
  https://www.facebook.com/MoeColors
• Excelsior Customs
  https://www.facebook.com/excelsiorcustoms
• Avon Tires
  https://www.facebook.com/AvonMoto
• Trim Shop
  https://www.facebook.com/TRIM-SHOP-202119286470713
• Thread Warrior
  http://www.threadwarrior.com
• Architectural & Interior Design Photography: Daniel Newcomb.
  https://www.facebook.com/ArchitectPhoto

About Iron & Clematis 4

The Iron & Clematis Festival has quickly become one of the Sunshine State’s largest vintage motorcycle festivals, hosting over 300 vintage bikes and 8000 spectators. All makes and models are represented, including restorations, custom builds, bobbers, to cafe racers. The 4th Annual event is set to attract over forty vendors, with live acts such as the Urias Family Globe of Death stunt show every hour and music from some of Florida’s largest acts.

The 4th Annual Iron & Clematis Vintage Motorcycle Festival

• When:  Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 11 AM – 8 PM
• Where:  Downtown Abacoa, 1203 Town Center Drive, Jupiter, Florida
• Facebook Event

Follow Vintage Iron Club

• Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/VintageIronClub
• Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vintageironclub/
• Web:  http://www.vintageironclub.org

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Here we have one of the prettiest Honda CX500 customs ever, built by Lars Engelviken of Norway’s Therapy Moto.  The “Poor Man’s Guzzi” is a tough bike to turn pretty, but Lars managed just that. He calls the bike his “Ugly Duckling,” but this little duckling has been transformed into a dive-bomber.

The bike now sports a brat seat, relocated electronics, velocity stacks, aggressive rubber, and a shorty exhaust. Taller rear shocks help eliminated the cruiser-ish backwards rake of the original, and a low-mounted aftermarket headlight sharpens the front of the bike.

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Jordan Froidmont of Belgium is 25 years old, and this stunning 1982 Honda FT500 is his first build. He actually wanted to build an SR500, but, as a 21 year old student, his budget limited him to an FT, which he found for cheap. He spent the next three years building the work of art you see here.

The FT500, based on the old Class-C flat-trackers, is a fairly rare bird compared to the SR series…and not so readily customizable as an SR. Jordan admits that this made his job harder.  In the end, however, we think that this worked in his favor, as it forced him to have a more original vision for the build. It’s rare to see a first build that’s so distinctive, so striking. One thing is for sure:  this young man has a fine future ahead of him!

Below, Jordan gives us the full story on the build.

Custom FT500 Tracker:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Jordan Froidmont. Highlights by us.)

Hi, my name is Jordan, I’m 25 and I’m from Liège in Belgium. Here is my first build that took me over three years to achieve.

Basically I really liked the Yamaha SR500, but at 21, as student with a lack of budget, I turned to other cheaper motorcycles. I found the Honda FT500 which is pretty unknown, but its frame and engine are very close to the SR.

It was a big challenge because it is not complicated to make a nice prep with an SR500, which is basically really nice. It’s another story for the FT…

So I found an FT from 1982, which slept for over 10 years at the bottom of a damp garage with only a few km on the clock…but in pretty bad conditions.

My objective was to purify and simplify the bike to the maximum. I started the first big job with the help of my friend Florian Halleux from the shop “Classic-Motos Liège” with the installation of a kickstarter, which doesn’t exist on the original bike, and to transfer the large and fragile starter.

The base engine is the same as the Honda XR500, and it is possible to combine the two. Having few km, the engine didn’t need a revision, but it has been entirely painted and the screws galvanized, as have all the screws of the motorcycle. The framework has been highly simplified–modified for more simplicity.

The fork has been lowered about 12 cm to turn the bike into a very low street tracker. The original rims were pretty nice so we painted them and fitted them with Firestone Deluxe tires. We had to modify the Brembo brake for a better adaptation with the fork. We did it with a stainless steel part we made ourselves.

With the power of the engine braking and a Magura brake setup, we choose to remove the rear brake. We replaced the attachment part of the rear brake with a spacer bronze has been machined as the spacer from the rear suspension and the fork caps. The aluminum foot pegs are also machined.

The tank is from a CB360 that we needed to modify to fit the big frame of the FT; it has been treated with RESTOM and painted by my friend from « Fortemps ». We painted as well the headlights supports which are from an old Guzzi.

The exhaust, stainless steel and 100% homemade, was done with Florian from Classic Motos Liège. The saddle was made by Tex air Seat cover. The gas throttle is a handle of MX PushPull. The handles are Brooks biking parts which i modified to fit the bar.

The electronic circuit has been simplified to the maximum. A discreet box under the seat containing a lithium battery, CDI box and the key switch. It powers the front and rear headlights, that’s all. The only control on the bar is a small switch for big headlights.

I would like to thank my friend Florian from Classic Motorcycles at Liege, a “mechanician” unlike any other. Thanks to my father, thanks as well to Fortemps for their work with the paint. Thanks to Germain Ozer for the photos. My next build is starting with again a nice challenge on a little-known ugly base, a Suzuki GR650.

(Note:  Jordan’s FT500 was previously showcased on Pipeburn, with slightly different photos, which we did not readily realize.)

Follow the Builder:   @JordanFroidmont

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Today, we have a very special build:  The “Death Crusher” by Jeremy Hutch, the industrial designer behind H U T C H B I L T.  We originally saw the build at the Handbuilt Show earlier this year, where it made quite an aggressive statement. You could hardly even identify the base bike, a 2000 Honda NX650 Elsinore.

There was the angular, custom-welded aluminum gas tank, the single-sided swingarm from a Triumph ST1050, the CRF250 front end. Back then, it was sitting on more of a tracker/scrambler setup, sporting a custom Excel front rim sporting a Talon hub and spokes, shoed in a knobby Pirelli. Since then, Jeremy has added a supermoto conversion, which handles better at high speeds.

Sporting the original tracker/scrambler setup.

Jeremy’s influences range from midcentury design to BMX, motocross, and surfing — influences readily present in this tracker/supermoto build. In a world increasingly dominated by generic cafe racer builds, the Death Crusher is bold, distinctive, and reflects the builder’s own inspirations and obsessions. It’s the type of striking departure we love to feature, and it looks fun as hell to ride.

Below, Jeremy Hutch gives us the full story on the build.

Hutchbilt NX650 Death Crusher:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Jeremy Hutch.  Highlights by us.)

I am an industrial designer by trade but my appreciation and love for motorcycles goes deep into my youth and has been part of my life ever since I could think. My inspirations come from many influences from 70’s & mid century design, Motocross, BMX and surfing to name a few. I appreciate design in any aspect whether it be furniture, architecture, motor vehicles even landscapes. The fact that thought, engineering and creativity have gone into improving existing forms and functions pushes me to do the same in the motorcycles I like to create.

I built this bike out of my long time friend Alex Stoos’s workshop in Cape Town:  Stoos Customs. The bike now resides at Yoshi’s shop in Inglewood:  Garage Company.  My next build is a BMW R80, “Skyway.”

I also have a Supermoto conversion option for it as well. This handles much better at high speeds and cornering. I always knew this, I just wanted to give it a full aggressive look for the Handbuilt Show 2016.

Photography by Dave Eaton (@digicock).

My Team: Alex Stoos; Paul Symons; Junior; Martin Petsol; Tim Bosson; Ian Ketterer; English Nick; Reynard Schonken; Dutch Eric; Mark Ridley; Honda Tim; Malcolm Tangeant; Dave Eaton and Ivan ‘Suparushan’ Entchevitch.

Build Sheet: Honda NX650 “Death Crusher”

• 2000 Honda NX 650 Dominator base and chassis – Original
• Stripped everything down to only the engine and front section of the frame
• Modified frame to fit single side swingarm from a Triumph ST1050
• Ohlins rear shock
• Custom billet linkage
• Custom subframe and mountings
• Custom billet triple trees
• Tapered roller bearings
• CRF 250 Front end – lowered
• Braking front disc rotor
• Brembo brakes
• Custom Excel rim with billet Talon hub and spokes
• Custom modified dual FMF F4 exhaust
• Frame mod to house battery and electronics under tank
• Ceramic coated engine
• Custom output shaft and stepped down front sprocket
• Billet carrier bearing mount for front sprocket
• Custom Flow billet footpegs
• Hammerhead rear brake lever
• MSR gear shifter
• Domino throttle body
• Custom Brembo rear brake and master cylinder
• Custom Brembo rear caliper mount
• Custom aluminum gas tank by Welding Services
• Custom filler cap
• Motogadget M switch push button controls
• Motogadget M unit module
• Motogadget motoscope mini speedo
• Motogadget M Blaze pins turn signals
• Motogadget RFID ignition lock
• Antigravity battery
• Custom rear LED tail light and turn signals
• Haro BMX inspired front light mount with integrated LED lights
• Hand stitched genuine leather seat
• ASV levers
• ODI grips and throttle body
• UNI airfilter
• Custom paint

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For The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon reprises his role as Jason Bourne, a former CIA assassin. For this installment of the series, Bourne finds himself in Moscow, Turin, Paris, London, Madrid, New York City, and Tangiers. The Tangiers location is the on most important for we motorcycle enthusiasts.

While in Tangiers, Bourne must evade assassins sent by the CIA. To do so he steals a motorcycle that is often hard to identify, as it is not a common bike in America. Since it’s so hard to identify by sight, many riders who watch the movie wind up wondering what bike Bourne is riding. It is actually a Honda Montesa Cota 4RT260.

Bourne–or more accurately, his stunt rider–performs a number of fairly advanced tricks on the bike, including a nose turn and a 5 foot wall climb. These would be difficult on anything but a dedicated trials machine like the Cota 4RT260, which weighs just 160 pounds.

The Bourne Bike:  Montesa Cota 4RT260

Montesa Honda is Honda’s motorcycle conduit into the lucrative European market. The company assembles motorcycles and bicycles at its plant in Barcelona, Spain. More than 75 percent of the units produced remain in Europe, explaining why it is so hard for Americans to recognize the Montesa Cota 4RT260.

What’s more, the bike has been customized with a vintage metal gas tank, and generally made to look more like a battered urban curb-jumper than a cutting-edge trials machine.

According to Honda’s U.K. Website:

”The Montesa Honda Cota 4RT began a revolution in the trials arena since its introduction in 2006, bringing the environmental benefits of four-stroke technology, along with strong power and torque delivery, to a world previously dominated by two-stroke machinery.”

That is a pretty heady introduction for a bike, so the specs should be just as impressive, right? The specs for the 4RT260 are:

• Engine: four-stroke 258.9 cc liquid-cooled, four valve SOHC, compression ratio 10.5:1.
• Torque: 17 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm.
• Transmission: five-speed.
• Wet weight: 160 lbs.

The Honda Montesa Cota 4RT260 is sold in the United States in limited numbers. We stopped over at Honda’s dedicated website for the bike (http://powersports.honda.com/trials.aspx), only to find that it has been sold out for the current model year and that there is no option to get on a list of the 2017 model.

In a bit of good news, there is a Honda Montesa Cota 4RT300 as well. It offers a 288cc engine and is a few pounds lighter than the 4RT260. It is sold out as well, but it sounds like an exciting bike. Maybe Honda will increase import numbers for 2017 or build a few at their motorcycle plant in Ohio in the near future.

Bourne Ultimatum Motorcycle Chase Scene

Here’s a clip of the chase scene in Tangiers between Bourne and Desh.

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The Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of our favorite platforms in recent years. Typically, we see custom Dominators build into urban-centric trackers or scramblers. These are perfect for blasting around town and jumping curbs and hitting a few light trails, but rarely are they set up for longer distance touring or travel.

Enter Tobias Mayr of Germany, who wanted a bike specifically for traveling. He turned his ’88 NX650 into just that, adding a Reinschüssel–giant fuel tank–and Land Rover Defender headlights. He even dubbed the bike “TTT,” or Tobi’s Travel Tracker. Below, he Tobi gives us the full story on the build.

Tobi’s Travel Tracker:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Tobias Mayr. Highlights by us.)

The basic idea behind my Honda NX650 (originally built in ’88) was to build a motorcycle for traveling, so I called it Tobi’s Travel Tracker, or TTT.

I started with the huge fuel tank–in Germany, we call that thing a “Reinschüssel“–in order to increase the maximum gasoline volume. Ergo, I exchanged the original tank with this version with a much broader build.

By doing so, the bike now got quite a massive silhouette–to accompany the line, I constructed a smoothing and functionally fitting engine cage. After that, I worked on the headlights: I took some Land Rover Defender headlights and therefore had to build a new mounting shaped for said lights.

Now about the engine: a pretty big challenge about the engine was to keep it cool for the longer journeys. To make sure that fucker wouldn’t get overly hot on my ass, I installed an extra oil cooler.

Furthermore, I shaped a custom airbox made outta’ stainless steel–as asymmetric as the rest of the bike. Nothing about that bike is symmetrical, actually. The design on the tank, the engine cage, headlights…you name it.

I stuffed the battery as well as the whole electronics right above the airbox, under the seat. The technology used is of modern standard; you can program that shit with a cellphone. I also slammed a power outlet in there so my friends can charge their iPhones to keep up with their Pinterest bullshit.

Loose Screw

Talking friends: We are a collective called “Loose Screw” which builds a shitton o’ bikes and also tries to make a lot of other fucked-up stuff a reality. We’re not just bike builders, but skaters, tattoo artists, writers…just a fun crew, ya know.

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• Follow Loose Screw:  Facebook | Instagram | Web

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Today, we are thrilled to showcase this ’74 Honda CB750 by Jordan Wiseley of the newly-launched Strapped Mfg Co., located in Los Angeles.  So many of our favorite bikes are built by racers, and “The 750” is no exception.

Jordan was born and raised in Oklahoma, and he’s been racing since he was 9. At 12, he placed in the top 5 in the OK State 85cc novice class.  He ran in the 125/250f Intermediate Classes through high school, learning most of his skills from chasing Travis Pastrana and Robby Reynard and others of that crew around Kenny Bartram’s ranch in Stillwater, OK.  What’s incredible about this is that Jordan was born without his left hand!

Jordan still rides Moto and Supermoto today on board a ’10 Yamaha 450f. He launched Strapped Mfg Co. recently, a moto-lifestyle brand. This CB750 restomod/cafe racer, along with a ’72 CB350 Scrambler, are his first builds under the new brand. You can follow Strapped Mfg on Facebook and/or Instagram.

Below, Jordan gives us the full story on the build.

“The 750”:  In the Builder’s Words

(Words by Jordan Wiseley.  Highlights by us.)

I’ve been racing for a long time and really wanted this CB750 to have that modern-performance look while maintaining the class and nostalgia.

I threw on an ’08 Gsxr750 front end and raised the front wheel size by an inch to 19″. Had to grab a new hub to keep the spokes and hand made the front fender and struts to catch those puddle sprays. The larger fork tubes took a bunch of turn radius so I cut and welded “tank dents” to get a total of 2 inches back.

Opted for a smaller, more sleek front lamp with the new switch letting you run just the halo to add some extra modern touch. Relocated all of the bar switches to the the top tree to simplify (and everyone likes flipping toggles like a pilot).

Hand made the side panels out of perforated steel and the license plate mount to match. Chopped the ass end and made a fender to compliment the tank and seat curve. Moved the rear-sets back and fabbed an old-school looking shorty from a cocktail muffler. Then put a ton of hours into getting the paint just the way I wanted it. Really stoked to be ripping this thing that started as an idea in my head! Looking to put it to auction soon!! (If I can stop ripping long enough). Thank you guys for reading.

-Jordan Wiseley
owner/builder

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The Honda GoldWing is one of our favorite platforms for a custom build, particularly the earlier four-cylinder models. These bikes are built like trains, with loads of torque and bulletproof vitals. That said, they are not easy to make attractive.   Even stripped of their fairings and hard bags, these are bulky, almost clumsy machines. It takes a keen vision and skilled craftsmanship to get the lines right on these bikes.

If anyone can do it, it’s the team at Retro Bikes Croatia, based in Zagreb. Recently, headman Zeljko sent us this 1981 Honda GL1100 bobber. He says:

We always wanted to build a 4cyl boxer GoldWing, the price was fair enough so we took it without much hesitating. These bikes are super rare to find here, and the ones that are offered for sale are extremely expensive.

Honda GL1100 Bobber:  Build Story

The bike started and ran, but it was in dire need of servicing.  That was fine by RBC, as these bikes are known to be strong and reliable even with a lack of maintenance. Besides, they were planning to completely redesign the bike:

We wanted to give it a more retro, oldschool look, to get away from that “wannabe Harley” original Honda design with high handlebars and low rear end. Also, considering that these bikes are getting more rare and hard to find, we wanted to do all the work without disturbing the frame. So, the beauty of this build is that the frame is not detabbed at all, everything is reverseble to original appearance!

RBC ditched the original air-assisted suspension, which was way too soft. They had Hagon rear suspension built to their specs, needing a heavy-duty setup to accommodate the weight of the big GL.  Up front, they went with Wirth progressive springs with CNC-machined fork caps. The seat base and seat itself is custom, with black leather and brown stitching. The side bag carrier is a one-off piece fabricated in-house.

We love the shop’s philosophy on what they call “war wounds”:

We like to keep some usage marks on all our builds (we call them the war wounds) so the bike keeps its charm and authenticity, so we installed a pair of used chrome fenders from another bike instead of plastic originals or buying new ones.

They completely overhauled the original engine, which had 60,000 km on the clock–nothing for one of these big tourers.  They heads were machines, valves lapped, seats cut.  The carbs on these machines can be a bear.  Together, they are the size of a 200cc engine!  They completely rebuilt them with a $250 overhaul kit from the US.

As for exhaust, RBC fitted new H-D 1200 mufflers, which “now sounds wonderful and classy, like it should…”  They overhauled the brakes, too. Zeljko says:

We fitted a new front master cylinder pump cause the original one leaked and had some kind of a chopper eagle Honda logo on it, which we had to remove no matter what

The rear wheel is a 17-incher, which limits tire options. They could find only three models that would fit, making it tough to find the old-school look they wanted. They partially rewired the bike, moving the ignition lock beneath the false tank, along with the choke and fog light switch. New lights were installed all over, along with blinkers and right-side fog light. The team fitted a new all-in-one electronic gauge, which is hardly noticeable until you turn the key, when it lights up.

New LSL low handlebar was fitted with black Biltwell grips matching the diamond pattern seat stitching. Original controls were kept but freshly black painted. The frame, wheels, fork legs, swing arm were powder coated, some stuff in gloss black and some in matte black.

This bike has a centralized gas tank, so the tank above the engine is a false one. Since the false tank middle section is so big and flat, the team decided to give it a more interesting look. They made openings for two small VDO gauges in front of the rider:  one for temperature, other one for gas level.

Overall, this is a fairly rare, long-distance custom that will run for decades to come.

All in all, we wanted to make it look older and more vintage and retro (what we always do :)), unlike the original, and I think we made it. The bike looks stunning and it rides like that, that boxer flat four is magnificent and now it’s ready for another few decades of strong running… It has much details, like that 1969 original Honda logo on the tank (don’t ask what model), yellow fog light on the right, too much details to count.

It may be a pretty common bike in the USA but they are rare on this side of the pond and highly priced, and only a few of them are in top shape. This one is built to be more retro, with few modern touches but improved in all riding aspects. It’s different but not drastic, like neither of our builds. It’s like new now and ready to hit many more open roads…

The photos are by One Day Studio.

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• Photography:  One Day Studio