Mechanical engineering student Micah Bakanec of Ontario spent a year riding his 1980 CX500 Custom - his first bike - around before he couldn't resist the need to modify it, and the end result (do they ever really end?) looks great:
Micah has crafted quite a number of custom pieces for this build, including the rear hugger which you can see here:
In the above shot you can also see numerous little touches; new machined footpegs, red sleeving on the ignition leads, the colour highlight on the Honda badge, the gunmetal paint on the engine are just a few. It's obvious he has spent time working on the visual mix of black and red, and the tank beautifully complements the overall colour scheme:
At the rear we have a handmade number plate holder:
...and while we're talking custom made, he has also made himself a gauge mount with LED idiot lights:
The rear lights have also been incorporated into holes in the modified frame; for a behind-the-scenes view of the frame, here's a shot:
Micah says that the rear hoop is his favourite part of the build; the integrated mounts for signals is a nice touch, and the flat profile stands out from the more common rounded rear hoops. The rear shocks, for those wondering, are Progressive 12-series dampers and springs, the latter of which Micah repainted in red.
Overall it's a beautiful build, with a great deal of attention to detail - you should definitely check out his build thread, which has grown to over 700 posts and 70,000 views. There's plenty of information in there about how it all came together and the processes behind how he built his custom pieces - there's a custom battery box, radiator grille, red accents on the clutch cover and quite a bit more.
So where to from here? Micah is considering a front end swap to something more modern, changing to the standard Comstar wheels with a 18" rear end, some Mikuni carburetors and upgrading the brake line to a braided steel type. He does, however, say that he misses tinkering and the build process so there may well be an entirely new build coming from him in time...
His most important advice for anyone setting out on their own build journey? "Take your time. At the end of the day you want a bike that you can be proud of, and by taking your time you can be assured that is what you'll get."
Just a few of the parts used in this build:
A worthy addition to the list!
Photos provided and used with permission.
In 2019 the server has had to double in capacity to support the growing site... please consider dropping the site a donation to help cover the costs! Check out our Patreon for support options, buy a shirt, buy our apps, use my NordVPN affiliate link to sign up to their service or donate via Paypal:
| Paypal $5 link ->> | |
| Paypal $10 link ->> |