Posts tagged 'honda'

Often outshined by its Honda siblings of various displacements, the CB650 is the perfect mid-sized standard motorcycle. Revered for its ideal handling and Honda-esque reliability, these bikes have cruised into the 21st Century with style and grace. In addition to being a more-than-sufficient stock motorcycle, the CB650 Custom is a nice canvas for customization...(pun intended). Look no further than DCC Customer, Scott Wilkinson and his ridiculously cool CB650 Custom bobber...

He found the bike on Craigslist and his initial idea was to do a complete teardown; powder-coat everything, rebuild the engine, add a brat-style seat, etc. But, as he started to work on it, Sean soon realized that he loved the way the fuel tank aged and patinaed. "I didn't have the heart to sand it down and paint it," admits Hughes. "Some bikes want to be restored. Some bikes want to be cut up with seat hoops and mods. But, some just want to show their age so this became more of a resto-mod." And so it began...

Often compared to its Japanese predecessors like the Yamaha XJ650 and Kawasaki GPz550, the "LS" was a snazzier take on the original standard R65. The "LS" housed the same frame, engine, and suspension as the standard model with the only difference being found at the front of the bike; dual disc brakes with Brembo calipers. These bikes had a short production life, due to the polarity of opinions about its design and performance. Now, some 35 years later, DCC customer Rod Maralit put his paintbrush on this Beamer and it's hard not to love it.

Considered by many as the world's first "superbike", the CB750 Four was Honda's big leap into the "bigger is better" landscape of the '70s. It was released to the American public in 1969 for $1,495, significantly cheaper than the other large motorcycles in the US at the time, and remains a super cool classic as it rides through the 21st Century. The same 4-cylinder, 736cc engine with a single over-head cam was used on all CB750 Four models, with a 4-1 exhaust system being implemented to the "Supersport" models in 1975. Over its 50-year life span, the CB750 has gained high praise for its superior power, incredible reliability, and easily-customizable physique. Just ask DCC customer Brian Helmling.

In 1967, Honda decided to throw its hat in the "police motorcycle" ring. Using the ever-popular CB450 as a template, a few touches were added to make this new venture a feasible service motorcycle. Patrol lights were accompanied by a siren. A large, circular speedometer displayed speed ranges of each gear and had a "locking" needle that was used to determine speeding vehicles back in the pre-radar days. The lucky owner of this rarity is none other than DCC customer Glenn Moss...

In the 1960's, there weren't many motorcycles that were as cool as the CB77. Not only were these machines well-engineered for their time and lots of fun to ride, but the "Superhawk" also paved the way for its successor, the CB450. And the rest is history. DCC customer Philip Nelson from Canada rebuilt two of these classics; the first being a 1965 restoration and the second being an RC163 replica race bike...

There are a million and one reasons why a soul would embark on the quest that is a motorcycle build.

The infinite creative possibilities.
The mechanical cat-and-mouse game.
The proverbial itch to restore speed and strength into a machine that sits as a shell of itself, to name a few.

And 9 times out of 10, it has family ties.

DCC customer Jon Hallam and his inspirational CB750 check all the boxes and it has quite the story...

" The dirt bike craze was starting to bubble up in the early '70s and Honda definitely made its stamp with the SL350, a fan favorite to this day. Just ask DCC customer Wes Kopp..."

" DCC customer Rick Ha elected to change more than the color of his "Four", rebuilding it into a mean, lean speed machine."

"This project has taken 4 years and the talents of many to resurrect a non-running bike and box-o-parts. The thread stitching everything together was to have a café racer that was a bit different than the rest".