AFT Customs – Halia

By guest writer Ian Lee.

Remembrance. It means different things to different people. Some people like to plant trees to remember someone passing. Some people hold massive parties to remember the good times. My friend has his dad’s ashes in his shed – because that was where he was his happiest. So when Nalani from AFT Customs dad past away just before this build kicked off, they decided to build the bike in honour of him. And what a symbol of commemoration it is...

Click to read more ...

1976 Honda cb550f - 'Patina'

One trend that seems to be building momentum is the use of copper, brass or gold to accentuate certain parts of the build. Gold chains and rims have always been popular, but they seem to be making a come back. We think this CB550 has got the balance of copper just about right. The rear sets, levers, exhaust tip, headlight and rims are enough to get your attention – without turning it into a festival of bling. This classy café racer is the handy work of Alex Martino in collaboration with the talented Dustin Kott from Kott Motorcycles. Alex has had this bike in his head for some time, it just took a little time to make it a reality. As it turns out, Alex is a man of many talents. He's a graphic designer by trade but acquired his fabrication skills by building custom show trucks in Chicago. After moving to L.A. he now spends his days shooting beautiful models as a freelance photographer. "I'm just a good ol' boy in a city trying to make money and find time to spend in the garage" says Alex. 

Click to read more ...

Honda CB360 - “Lucky 13”

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western culture. There's been horror movies made about the day and there's even a name Friday the 13th phobias – it's called friggatriskaidekaphobia. Seriously. Over the years, many bad things have happened on Friday the 13th. Most notability, it was the day the Olsen twins were born. Although some good things have happened on this infamous day as well. It was the day Brian Slater, the builder of this sweet little CB360, was born – hence the name ‘Lucky 13.’ "I've been working on motorcycles and building some low dollar choppers since about 2003 as a hobby," says Brian. "I decided about 4 years ago to build a cafe racer/classic type of bike, and wanted something with a nicer finish." So Brian went on a hunt for a donor bike for his latest project and was lucky enough not to just find one suitable bike, but three...  

Click to read more ...

1973 Honda CB 250 “Brown Sugar”

When it comes to motorcycles, $300 doesn't get you much these days – especially down here in Australia. For 300 clams you're lucky to get a set of new tires. But sometimes you get lucky. When I say "you" I'm referring to Simon Whittaker who managed to buy two old ‘70s Honda CB 250s for the princely sum of $300 for the pair. He is probably going to hell for pretty much stealing them off an old lady, but looking at the finished project I think it might be worth it (not that Pipeburn condones anyone stealing motorbikes off old ladies, old men is fine). Anyway, meet the very sweet little café racer they call Brown Sugar...

Click to read more ...

1978 Honda CB550k

The Honda CB550 is like the steak on the menu at the most pretentious restaurant you can think of – you know the one that has Salmon foam and Quail eggs cooked "three ways". The steak is usually the banker though. The one meal you can easily pronounce and the one that is really hard to screw up. Plus, with the right cooking methods and sauces you can stamp your individuality on it. So when the Head Chef of "some new restaurant" David Jeffers wanted to buy a motorcycle, he started sourcing ebay for some prime steak... I mean some prime examples of the Honda CB550.  

Click to read more ...

Honda CX500 - RGK Street Trail

Without sounding like Captain Obvious, we see loads of bikes here at Pipeburn and there seems to be a couple of trends. The first being street trackers are becoming a vastly popular style of bike. We're guessing many builders are moving away from the more common cafe racers and bobbers that have been so dominant in the scene for the past couple of years. The other trend is the humble and usually ugly CX500 or 'Japanese Guzzi' as we like to call it, has become a new favourite donor bike. And why not. They are more reliable than a Guzzi or BMW, not as common as the CB750, and they look great when done right. The guys at French shop Rive Gauche Kustoms (which translate to Left Bank Kustoms in English) love the CX and is why they've chosen it again for their latest project. Their stunning last bike spread around the internet faster than an Old Spice commercial. Working from their workshop in Paris it looks like they've been busy creating this bike they call the 'Street Trail'...

Click to read more ...

1966 Honda CB77 - Super Hawk 'Café'

We love custom bike builders. Let's face it, without their creations we wouldn't have much to feature on this site. We love the Shinya's, the LaRossa's, the Benjie's, the Dime City Cycles, the Heiwa's, the Wrenchmonkees, the Radical Ducati's, the DP Customs, the Classified Moto's... you get the idea. But we also really love the young bike builders. The guys who are wet behind the ears. They haven't built many bikes but they are passionate as hell. They aren't jaded by the industry. They don't know what's been done or what hasn't been done. They don't even care what shouldn't be done. They haven't read a million negative comments on motorcycle blogs. They just got bitten by the bike bug and they simply want to build sweet bikes. Their attitude is what motorcycling is all about. The freedom to do what you like with whatever you have. Guys like Hill Hudson. Hill is an illustrator from Portland Oregon who came across the very healthy Portland motorcycle scene a few years ago and liked what he saw. He managed to purchase an old CB77 that had been out of action for some time and took on the challenge to rebuild it. This is Hill's story... 

Click to read more ...

Micah Vince's '74 Honda CB 360

I have dreams for this humble little blog, I tell you. Big dreams. An mega big corporation, we'd be. A campus with garages, paint shops, powders coaters, chrome platers and all the associated processes you'd need to make a great bike. And a test track - actually multiple test tracks. And a real English cafe with a large section of simulated 1950s London rind road and a free duke box with all the relevant rock 'n' roll racing hits on it. An office staffed by an army of literate bike freaks. Yes yes, I know. Most bike riders can't read - but this is a dream after all. They'd be churning out cool bike posts for the blog every other minute. Thousands of posts a day. And each and every bike would be the coolest thing you'd ever seen. The blog would be so cool, you'd get a headache just reading it. Until that day arrives, all I have to keep the homefires burning is this. A piece from a guest writer, Dave Mucci on his mate Micah's hella good CB 360 - all sent to us by photographer Patrick Daly. God - I feel just like a manager. I wonder if they'd mind me shout at them about some unimportant misplaced comma?

Click to read more ...

1971 Honda CB 750 - ‘The Brat’

Knobbly tires. They are fast becoming the defining custom bike trend of 2012. And with so many cool new bikes rolling on giant black rubber chunks out of workshops all over the place sporting them, it's hard to argue to the contrary. And can you blame them? God knows, I love a good set of Firestones as much as the next hipster, but for my eyes it had gotten to the point where they were almost a non-choice; even a set of Dunlop Roadsmarts were starting to seem off-the-hook next to them. Exhibit A in this new wave of rubber rollers? Meet Steel Bent Custom's CB 750 - a.k.a. “The Brat.”

Click to read more ...