Back in the days when Elvis was the king and bell-bottoms were groovy, custom sportbikes were known as café racers. These rigs were low-buck bombers fitted with small fairings, dropped bars and engine tweaks that boosted performance and style to levels never before seen on the street. The term café racer stems from European culture where these bikes were created for racing between roadside cafés. Most of these bikes were rough around the edges akin to today's streetfighter, but the good examples redefined the streetbike.
It's been a long time since those black leather days, but when stunter Josh Ellis and Abe Pagan, of Syndicate Custom Sportbikes, dug into the past for inspiration they struck gold.
"We wanted something that was old school to appeal to the chopper guys but still current enough for the streetbike scene. We also wanted to keep it like the old days and do everything on a budget," Ellis said.
What started as just another custom soon ignited an inferno when Ellis' lady, Brittany, decided her 600 just wasn't enough.
"My girl wanted more than a 600 so we decided to make her a CBR1000RR that was café racer themed," Ellis said.
And fresh it was, as the bodywork was first shipped to Paint Pros where it received a "bowling ball" finish that looks so real you'd swear it was from the set of The Big Lebowski.
"The bowling-ball design has been used in the car scene for years but it hasn't found its way onto bikes as much. Most think it's some crazy marble, but a closer look shows it's not," Ellis explained.
With the base coat nailing a strike, the bike was then handed over to SCS where a 310 rear tire was tucked nice and tight instead of hanging way out in the wind.
After the wide wheel met the short arm, SCS custom cut some wheels to give it a showbike feel with a racer twist. Once the hard parts were crafted the paint and polish started flying.
After the base paint was laid it was decided that a bronze/gold theme would make it pop with that old-style vibe. There was one minor problem however-the frame wouldn't fit in the plating machine. As a simple fix everything was polished and then given a special clear coat to lock in the shine without the normal upkeep of polish.
To compliment the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character, Pagan added the black number plates and racer inserts with foiled gold lettering. Though they may look like stickers they're actually paint.
Before reconstructing the CBR, the motor received a worked head with epoxied ports, a BMC race air filter and a Jardine RT5 exhaust with old school header-wrap covering the tubes. Other details include the usuals like custom levers, rearsets, passenger pegs and Galfer rotors with painted calipers.
When the rubber finally met the road it started earning its keep, as Brittany rides the bike weekly. But more importantly, this custom blends the technology of today with the style from a bygone era of 25-cent gas, cheap thrills and true innovators. In essence, one could say this Honda is as golden as the years gone by.
2006 Honda CBR1000RR
Front End: Syndicate Custom Sportbikes swingarm, wheels and rear pegs, lowering strap, Galfer rotors and stainless steel braided lines
Rear End: Lowered, Cycle Pirates pegs, Galfer rotor and stainless steel braided line
Motor: Performance cams, adjustable cam gears, ported, polished and epoxied head, Power Commander III, BMC Race air filter, painted covers, anodized aluminum bolts, Jardine RT5 carbon fiber exhaust system with ceramic wrap
Paint: Paint Pros and Syndicate Custom Sportbikes
Polish/chrome: Syndicate Custom Sportbikes
Bodywork: Syndicate Custom Sportbikes, HRC
Accessories: Viper auto start, Cycle Pirates levers, spikes