Street Bikes and custom
If you like the idea of being able to customise your mode of transport to reflect your own specific taste and personality, nothing offers as many opportunities for letting your imagination run wild as a motorcycle. Whether you want a fantasy paint job, a replica of a famous racing bike or you want specific components fitted to change the way the bike looks, rides and feels, the only limits to what can be achieved with a custom bike is your imagination and your budget.
Taking a stock street bike to a custom shop to get what you want done to it isn’t the only route to owning a custom bike though. Manufacturers like Honda also sometimes team up with highly regarded customizers to produce limited runs of special bikes or even unique one-off bikes built to a particular theme.
Head off to any major bike show like Motorcycle Live at the NEC in Birmingham and you'll be confronted with a huge amount of custom bikes to whet your appetite, and tons of ideas for how to turn your bike into something truly unique that makes heads turn and is as individual as you are.
CMX500 Rebel
While a custom bike can be just about anything you want it to be, and the bike you choose to use as the platform and starting point is very much up to your individual taste and imagination, there are some bikes that are just made to be customised. If you want a bike that looks custom straight from the factory but is also ripe for enhancing in whatever way you see fit, look no further than the aptly-named Honda CMX500 Rebel.
The CMX500 is a classic street cruiser with a look that begs you to get on board and ride it. But despite its classic cruiser styling that makes it look as though it's been around for years, Honda only launched the Rebel in the spring of 2017.
This is a bike that combines a timeless visual appearance with a number of new and very contemporary styling elements to create its own particular feel. The Rebel is uncomplicated, practical, easy to use and easy ride on one hand, but on the other hand, the CMX500 is also ready for anything you want to do with it.
Powering the new 2020 MY Rebel is still a 471cc, liquid-cooled, parallel twin-cylinder, four-stroke engine, but the maximum power output is now up slightly to 34kW at 8,500 rpm, and maximum torque is still punchy at 43.3Nm at 6,000 rpm. With an electric start, digital instrument readout, and legendary Honda reliability, the Rebel is as rider-friendly as it is achingly cool.
Some other notable changes to the Rebel for 2020 include a revised suspension, a new gear position indicator, and a more comfortable seat and slipper clutch that all helps to make this latest A2 license-friendly Rebel even more comfortable and easy to ride than it was already.
Of course, a big part of the appeal of the Rebel is the way it looks, and the aesthetics have also had some additional attention for the 2020 model year. One thing you’re sure to notice is the change to all-LED lighting on the new Rebel, but there's also a new factory-fitted accessory kit available, a new colour of Matte Jeans Blue Metallic, and the pillion pad and rear pegs can now be easily removed for further customisation.
CB1100 RS 5Four
The CB1100 RS 5Four is a very special motorcycle that only a small number of people will get to own. Only 54 of these single-seat, wide-handlebar tributes to the incredible Honda factory endurance machines of the 1980s are being built, and they're being crafted by a company called 5Four Motorcycles.
5Four Motorcycles is a company that has been set up by Guy Wilison, who is a bespoke motorcycle builder best known for appearing in The Motorbike Show. The name 5Four comes from Wilison's call-sign from his days as a despatch rider, and his company has been set up to produce limited-edition runs of motorcycles created in conjunction with major manufacturers, such as Honda.
This year, to mark 50 years of the legendary Honda CB750, Honda UK partnered with 5Four Motorcycles to commission a limited run of custom bikes based on the Honda CB1100 RS. The CB1100 RS is already a stripped-back, lean machine with a distinct look of a golden-era race tool and a touch of café racer thrown in for good measure, but in the capable hands of Wilison, the CB1100RS has the capability to become so much more besides.
The riding position of the CB1100 RS 5Four has been adapted with the use of Renthal Ultra Low handlebars, Tomaselli racing grips, short racing brake levers and stunning billet mirrors, all of which have been finished in black. In fact, one of the distinguishing features of the bike is a complete lack of plastic on show, and instead, there's titanium and handcrafted aluminium.
A nice finishing touch is a pair of titanium Urban Growler end-cans from British exhaust manufacturer, Racefit, which beautifully welded and engineered to look amazing, while at the same time delivering deeply distinctive, spine-tingling sound that's totally in keeping with the design of the bike.
CB1000R Silverstone
Of course, there are limited runs of limited edition bikes, there are extremely limited runs of special editions, and then there are one-off unique models that are beyond collectible. One such model is the CB1000R Silverstone, which was a one-off bike built for the 2019 Silverstone Classic in July.
Too all intents and purposes it was almost the same as a standard CB1000R, but this one had been finished in a new white colour scheme and was fitted with Akrapovic exhaust. What made this one extra special, though, was that it was signed by former 500cc world champions Freddie Spencer and Wayne Gardener.
Customisation
Most people are aware that a lot of the development and innovation of vehicle technology comes from motorsport, but it's the same story when it comes to customisation. If you think customisation of bikes is a relatively contemporary idea, then think again.
People have been customising bikes for more than a century now, and it all started with the desire to do something different to gain that extra competitive edge that would help people win races. After that, people started to get creative with the aesthetics as well as the mechanics.
Today, modern technology has allowed more and more self-taught customizers to join the scene with stunning creations for both themselves and paying customers. Customising a bike can now be as simple as fitting a custom exhaust, as creative as a stunning scene painted across the bike, and as radical as a bike rebuilt from the ground up to suit a specific purpose.
Examples of all that and much more will be on display at Motorcycle Live between 16th – 24th November at Birmingham NEC.
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