Of all the major manufacturers, we think it’s fair to say that Honda is the one most unmoved by current trends. Triumph, Ducati and Yamaha have all thrown their hats in the ring when it comes to appealing to a new generation of riders. But Honda has remained steadfastly traditional with their new models. CB1100 anyone? It’s easy to point and laugh, but the real losers are us. Just think of all the bikes that could be in your local Honda showroom. Bikes like this neat little tracker from Poland’s T. Jasin Motorcycles. With a touch of HRC and a pinch of Evil Knievel, it’s pretty much everything we’ve ever wanted in a Honda weekend warhorse.
“We are two guys from Warsaw city, Poland, who love vintage bikes,” says T. Jasin, on behalf of the team. “We are brothers; T.Jasin is the older brother and A.Jasin is the younger. We started to play with retro bikes almost 10 years ago. As you can probably guess, our favourite model of bike is the Honda CB”.
“For this build, the idea was to create a very simple and light bike. And of course, something that’s directly connected to the retro bikes we love. Yes, we know someone will probably say that it is maybe a little boring because it’s only a 250cc, but we love retro stylings and everything that is connected with the 70s and 80s. Our other inspirations were the Honda Racing colours and the visual style of the great Evil Knievel”.
Scouring the internet for suitable donors, the boys ended up in a small Polish village standing in front of a donor bike that looked like it had a very hard 37 years. Not unlike the village itself, we’re guessing.
“At first we spread the bike out on the shop floor, disassembling it to the last bolt and screw. Then we made a plan for it. The next step would be to clean everything, rework the frame and revive all the bike’s essential elements.” This time around they had a smaller engine, but it has more than enough power to put a smile on all but the most jaded of mugs.
“The idea was to build a very light and very simple bike directly connected with the strong red, white and blue colour scheme. That is why it has both 18″ spoked wheels and Pirelli flat track tires. The tank is from a vintage MX bike, and it goes pretty well with the high and wide handlebars and the retro grips. Also, we chose grey as the bike’s frame colour.”
“We probably spent more time than we should have on the seat; it’s made from Alcantara leather stitched together with bright red thread. Next came some short, uncoated exhausts along with our signature, hand-made aluminum side fairings. And to ride the tracker on the street we unfortunately needed to put some plates and lights somewhere; there’s a black headlight out front and a small brakelight on the Honda’s rear left side”.
“Probably the hardest part of the build was matching up the new spoked wheels with the front forks and rear rocker. Wow. But we got there in the end and we think the results are clearly worth it”.
“The most fantastic thing about the finished product is that it is the only one in the world. There is simply no other one that looks the same. Call us easily amused, but that really makes us happy. And when you ride this bike, you’ll have a constant smile on your face. Sure it’s not the fastest Honda you’ve ever been on, but once you’re riding it somehow you just don’t seem to care”.
[ T. Jasin Motorcycles – Instagram | Photos by Filip Okopny ]
