1998 Honda VTR 1000F - ‘Christine’

Every time we post a bike, Scott and I sweat over a good "angle" to open the piece with. Something unique about the bike that will grab a reader's attention and help them get into the story. Sometimes it's to do with the owner's job or a neat little ditty about the bike itself; where it was found or maybe something to do with a tasteless mod a previous owner had done. Most of the time it's pretty slim pickings, whether it's lack of time on our behalf or stories that just aren't that wacky we often end up pulling stuff out of some pretty damn thin air. Then there's bikes like Tyler Mill's Honda VTR. This bike has more angles than a cubist painting; it killed its first owner when only a few days old. Then it was repaired and ridden by Honda salesmen. Then it was customised in what I can only describe as a "zombie killer" style. Then it was plumbed with nitrous. If you told us aliens had done a burnout on it while riding it across Roswell with a young JFK looking on in a giant octopus costume, we'd just about believe you. Hello Christine you strange, strange woman.

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'78 Honda Goldwing Cafe Racer - ‘Vyper’

It's funny how some types of bikes just get under your skin. And I know I speak for both Scott and myself when I say that Honda Goldwings are definitely one of them. Along with the CX500s, Goldwings seem to be dripping with that inexplicable coolness that gives any custom build a killer cool factor even before the first spanner has even touched the WD-40 drenched rusty bolt. But what exactly is it? I'm not really sure - but Jah knows the flat four, solid silhouette and chunky build don't hurt. And the in-tank beer storage compartment? Japanese genius. I can see Honda-san sinking a few tininess with the designers after hours and giving them a well earnt slap on the back in between burn-outs and practical jokes involving no-pants-sushi-balancing races. Richard "Sunnbobb" Matrass is similarly down with this whole Goldwing thing. Despite a bad first date, it was still love at first sight. And the marriage? Well just look at these shots and take a read of what Richard has to say...

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1975 Honda CB500 Café Racer

It might not be the superbike he is used to, but wouldn't you love to see the World Champion Casey Stoner ride this Team Repsol inspired 1975 Honda CB500 around Phillip Island for some timed laps? Sure, he might not get close to his usual times but he would sure strike a more dashing figure. This immaculate CB was built by 24 year old Josue Alvarez (or Josh to friends) from the central valley in California. It was recently crowned Do The Ton Bike of the Month, up against a couple of great little motorcycles and a bucket of parts. Yes, you read that correctly. "It's been more than a years work," says Josh. "I always keep finding something I can upgrade. The bike is my interpretation of the team Honda Repsol Superbike – a vintage interpretation."

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1974 Honda CB360 - Relic Kustoms

Yes I'll admit it, I have a serious soft spot for Honda CB360 cafe racers. To this day, one of my favorite bikes posted on Pipeburn was Peter Cabral's CB360. So when Jeremy Pederson from Relic Kustoms sent me pics of his metal flake painted CB360, I just had to post it. Jeremy Pedersen is a talented young pinstriper from Austin, Minnesota who paints hot rods, helmets and motorcycles. "I started Relic Kustoms back in 2005-2006 mainly doing pinstriping," says Jeremy. "Since then, I have gotten into more airbrushing, metal flake and kandy work. I also do graphic design and screen printing. My brother Nick does the majority of the metal work and custom upholstery". So together, the Pedersen brothers form the perfect team when it comes to restoring motorbikes and cars, and here's the evidence to prove it.

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1975 Honda Goldwing Rat - ‘El Guapo’

If we kept a list of "bikes we damn well should post more of" on the wall of the Pipeburn dumpster office, I have little doubt that rat bikes would be at the top of the list. Now this might polarise some of you reader types out there, but rat bikes really push our buttons. There's just something so amazing about a bike with its original pretenses of polish, prettiness and good looks stripped away to reveal the beautiful ferrous reality of all that metal, rubber, benzene and greased-out muck - like some subterranean-dwelling Nordic earth god has summoned the elemental forces at his disposal to create a means of transport that will simultaneously anger the other gods with its brutality and make them so green with envy they are likely to smite us humans just to relieve their frustrations. This bike does just that. Feast your puny, mortal peepers on Paul Dutra's supernaturally cool Honda Goldwing Rat, "El Guapo".

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Honda NX650 Dominator

Humans are addicted to all kinds of things. The usual suspects are cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs. Then you have people who are addicted to objects like motorcycles - you tend to find a lot of them here at 'Pipeburn Anonymous'. They collect all kinds of bikes and they crave anything motorcycle. Then you have people who are obsessed with certain brands of bikes. They will only ride a Harley, buy Harley boxer shorts and even tattoo their skin with their beloved logo. And then you have people like Andrew Greenland from Wales who is addicted to one model of bike - the Honda NX650 Dominator. It's probably not the coolest bike on the block, at least not when he finds them, but they usually are when he's finished. This is the fifth Dominator Andrew has built in 18 months and we think this could be his finest work yet. "I was wondering what one of these bikes would look like in military style and decided the only way to find out was to build it, so here it is..." says Andrew.

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Honda CB750 K7 Café Racer

The value of a vintage bike is usually calculated by how common that bike is in that particular country. It's the basic laws of supply and demand. For instance, in America there's still quite a lot of Honda CB750's for sale - so they still offer pretty good value for money. However in a country like Greece, these Honda CB's are extremely rare. So when Aris Pavlidis from Adrenaline Junkies in Greece found one laying in the back yard of a carpenters workshop, he couldn't believe his luck. "It was in very bad shape but due to the rarity of this bike in Greece, I immediately went nuts about it, my mind started to make crazy plans for it" says Aris. So the next day, after a bit of haggling he bought it for $600 usd and got busy on his new found project.  

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1978 Honda CM 185T - Classified Moto

The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't apply more to what Classified Moto do. First they used old bike parts to make stupid cool lamps. Then they turned the undesirable Virago into a stripped back sexy beast even it's own mother wouldn't recognize. Now they have turned a 1978 CM185 into a piece of art. "Like a lot of the bikes we work on, it was not the coolest bike on the block," say Classified Moto owner John Ryland. The bike was built for ad agency producer Christina Cairo. Aparently she had never ridden a motorcycle before but loved what Classified Moto were doing and wanted one for herself. "We gave her the (unofficial) friends and family discount and she gave us free reign to do what we wanted," says John. Luckily she wasn't in a hurry because they have been working on the bike on and off for a year. It got back-burnered repeatedly as other bigger paid projects came in, but as you can see by the photos it's now finished. And how.

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Honda CB836CR "Sentoh" - AFT Customs

There's always an inherent problem being in a "scene" like the current boom for cafe racers, and that is that you are so bombarded with cool bikes that your eyes become a little shuttered to the possibilities you have when you set out to make a bike for yourself. In many ways the eyes of someone outside the "scene" are more fresh and therefore able to really create something new, like this all-original take on a cafe racer by Jim Guiffra and the guys girls at his AFT Customs shop in Jackson, CA. More used to a Californian chopper style of customising, it's really refreshing to see a racer with a new approach. Based on a 1976 CB750 Four, It's definitely channelling the spirit of cafe racers but with a healthy shot of west coast 'tood, a pinch of track gear and (seemingly) a few left-over parts from a giant Japanese robot. It's one of those rare bikes that makes you do a double-take with it's deft, effortless mix of genres yet coherent overall look.

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