The Honda CX650ED is regarded by some as the pinnacle of the naturally aspirated Honda twisted twin development and was a one year bike, manufactured in just 1983 (though some were complianced in later years). The improvements over the original CX500 reads like Honda looked at their CX customer wish lists and built a bike to match – a stiffer frame, fatter front forks, less unsprung weight and a monoshock rear add up to improved handling. The motor outputs about 20% more peak horsepower, the fuel tank has a fuel gauge and the styling was better received than the original Plastic Maggot.
Frank Guarini from Milan, Italy bought his CX650E Eurosport in May 2016 with 32,000km on it and felt that it was an ideal bike to have turned into a scrambler by Officine Metalliche. He received the finished product in November 2016 complete with overhauled engine, new rear shock absorber and some cosmetic changes:

As you can see, there’s plenty that has been changed from stock:
- YSS rear shock absorber (eBay AU)
- Bar end mirrors (eBay US, eBay AU)
- Brembo brake pads (eBay AU)
- Custom-made seat
- Discacciati front brake master cylinder (eBay US)
- Discacciati clutch perch and lever
- Daytona digital instruments (eBay US)
- Continental knobby 18″ tyres
- Drag bars (eBay US)
- K&N filters (eBay US)
- Polished exhaust with exhaust wrap (eBay US, eBay AU)
- Reverse cone mufflers (eBay US)
- Halogen/LED headlight
- Custom made Borrani 18″ spoked wheels front and rear
- Custom made triple clamps – billet aluminium
- Relocated ignition
- Custom miniature front fender
- Custom rear fender w/number plate and light
- Frame chopped, sandblasted and painted
- Front forks rebuilt
- New front indicators – LED, mounted to fork legs
- New LED brake light – integrates brake and indicator lights
- Fuel tank from a 1978-1981 CX500 Standard/Deluxe/Shadow
That custom triple trees are certainly striking:

You can also see the relocated ignition switch on the right hand side of the above photo.

Here you can see the custom rear fender:

The YSS shock at the rear:

The spoked wheels are made using the original hub – Frank says that the process took 3 months and it’s one of his favourite aspects of the build along with the choice of tank (from the older CX models).

As of December 2016 Frank is currently trying to sell the CX650ED for €9,900 (approx. $10,300USD or $14,400AUD) and you can get in touch via email or phone.

If he had to change anything about the build Frank says he might have selected a shorter exhaust; otherwise he’s very happy with it!

For more CX and GL custom build inspiration check out the master build list.