E_ xtreme Auto Modification

Custom Honda CB550 cafe racer

The Honda CB550 is one of the platforms of our favorite all-time to make a cafe racer. Of the six models SOHC4 Honda made from 1969 until 1982, seems to have a balance of performance, size and agility. Introduced in 1974, he used a SOHC 8-valve 544 cc air cooled four crosswise; in stock, output of 50 bhp offers a top speed of 102 mph (164 kph). This particular bike has been a smash hit in the forum-SOHC4 very good, with a detailed chronology of building a super-thorough Squirley provided by the member. He gave his CB550 complete examination, to an engine strip, rebuild and repaint, and it looks just delicious

You’d be hard pressed to guess that this bike started life as a 1987 Honda Hurricane, known less evocatively as the CBR 1000F. This amazing machine took Ian McElroy two years to build, and if you spot a little of the KTM RC8 in there, you’re right—the Austrian superbike was one of the inspirations for McElroy’s stealth-fighter angles and curves. The fenders are hand-crafted from aluminum, and a new subframe reshaped the back end. The bodywork is formed from sheets of aluminum meticulously welded together, and the original gauges have been replaced by a Veypor setup that can also record G-force, 0-60, quarter mile time and lap time as well as speed and RPM. With 130 bhp on tap, the DOHC, 998cc, 16 valve four is not short of go—but K&N filters and a custom-made, less restrictive exhaust system have given the motor an extra kick. And there’s nothing stealth about the sound: McElroy’s Honda reportedly sounds like a drag bike at the strip. For the full story, check out Benjamin Bowen’s write-up on Custom Fighters

Want to have the new kind of café racer? Do like Larry Houghton: take a 1983 6-cylinder Honda CBX and build an origami-like frame for it from a one-inch thick aluminum sheet and then bring in a pair of 17-inch Marchesini wheels from a Ducati 916. Create a radical front end, but retain the Ducati’s single-sided swingarm and the thing can go off the stand.

The engine and gearbox is pretty much all that remains from the Honda CBX and because the powerplant makes it look so wide it’s called ‘Wide Boy’. But it’s no Harley, just a custom bike trying to make it in this business. It actually came third in the Freestyle class at the latest London Ace Cafe Motorcycle & Custom Show, so it rides on the good track.