The bikes behind the design

The bike this build is modelled on

Sacha Lakic's CX500

Sacha Lakic (France)

What I took from it

• The level line from tank to tail, with a custom single-seat rear frame
• A mono-shock under the seat (an Öhlins shock from a Ducati 851)
• Red upside-down forks with gold sliders, in custom triple clamps

Bike EXIFReturn of the Cafe RacersRACER TV walk-round (video)

Lakic's CX500 made into a small production run

Blacktrack BT-01

Blacktrack Motors (Sacha Lakic's production version)

What I took from it

• Red-and-black livery with a carbon tank and tail
• CNC aluminium yokes and gold forks with a gold-spring rear shock
• Polished and painted engine covers, the finish reference for my 650

Blacktrack MotorsAMD World ChampionshipLe Repaire des Motards

The rear end this build copies

Tossa R "Sportsbike Treatment" CX500

Tossa R (Bulgaria)

What I took from it

• The same CX500E Eurosport Pro-Link frame as my donor
• Rear subframe cut off and a steel-plate subframe welded along the rails
• Gold Yamaha R1 upside-down forks on a changed steering stem

PipeburnautoevolutionWalk-round (video)Research: The back end: subframe, Tossa R line, solo or pillion

The CX650 engine in the same chassis family

Tossa R "neo café racer" CX650

Tossa R (Asen Zahariev, Bulgaria)

What I took from it

• A 1983 CX650 built on the Euro-model chassis, with modern sports-bike parts
• Proof the 650 sits right in the Eurosport-style frame

PipeburnBikeBrewersResearch: Which 650 engine: GL650, CX650E or CX650C

The closest match to this build's mechanical plan

Brick House Builds CX500 (GL650 engine)

Brick House Builds (BJ English, USA)

What I took from it

• A 1983 GL650 engine in a CX500 frame
• Gold Suzuki GSX-R1000 upside-down forks with Tokico brakes
• A mono-shock conversion and a new subframe that levels the silhouette

Bike EXIFMotoFaction (CX500R)Research: Which 650 engine: GL650, CX650E or CX650C

Built on the same model as my donor

Studio 26 "26" CX500E Sports

Samantha, Studio 26 (Kent, UK)

What I took from it

• What a CX500E Sports frame looks like rewelded, smoothed and with the tail reworked
• Motogadget m.unit wiring on this exact model

MotoFaction

Same chassis, Pro-Link kept

Kaspeed "Roadster" CX500 Eurosport

Kaspeed

What I took from it

• An '84 CX500 Eurosport with the subframe sorted and the frame smoothed
• A YSS shock on the original Pro-Link

PipeburnResearch: The rear shock for the Pro-Link

The 650-in-a-500 engine swaps, from the man who sells the carb kits

Murray Feldman's Custom Deluxe and Super Deluxe

Murray Feldman (Murray's Carbs, USA)

What I took from it

• A CX650C engine in a CX500 frame on a jig-built mount
• A blueprinted, ported CX650 in a CX500, with custom exhaust and foot controls

MotoFaction (Custom Deluxe)MotoFaction (Super Deluxe)Research: Carbs for a 650 in the Eurosport frame

Gold forks and a cut rear frame on the factory mono-shock

Cus'Tom HRC-style CX650E

Tom Boissel, Cus'Tom Motorcycle (France)

What I took from it

• A CX650E Eurosport with gold upside-down forks and spoked rims
• A cut rear frame that keeps the factory mono-shock

BikeBoundResearch: The front end: USD forks, colour, triple clamps and the dash

A recent build on the same Eurosport chassis

Daragh Heffernan's CX650 Eurosport

Daragh Heffernan (@klawndara), with Rogue

What I took from it

• A stripped donor with welds smoothed and laser-cut support plates added

BikeBound

A CBR1000RR front end converted to fit

M-CafeGarage HRC CX650

Massimiliano Satta, M-CafeGarage (Sardinia)

What I took from it

• CBR1000RR forks and triple clamps on a CX650, with a reworked steering angle
• A hand-bent subframe

PipeburnResearch: The front end: USD forks, colour, triple clamps and the dash

Same triple-backbone chassis, different direction

Frank Guarini's CX650ED scrambler

Frank Guarini, Officine Metalliche (Milan)

What I took from it

• Billet triple clamps and a YSS shock on the Eurosport chassis

MotoFaction

Another CX650 in a CX500 frame

6th City Cycles "Recoil"

6th City Cycles (Cleveland, USA)

What I took from it

• A CX650 engine in a CX500 frame using Murray's Carbs parts
• A new tube subframe and a fabricated mono-shock swingarm

Pipeburn

Sportsbike forks and mono-shock, with a strong livery

One-Up Moto "John Player Special" CX650C

One-Up Moto Garage (USA)

What I took from it

• CBR600RR forks with black-anodised upper tubes
• A GSX-R600 mono-shock with a heavily gusseted swingarm

Pipeburn

A home build chasing the same Lakic look

Garth's Lakic-inspired CX500

Garth (Australia)

What I took from it

• Yamaha R1 forks shortened 30 mm, with the CX stem pressed into the lower clamp

Return of the Cafe RacersResearch: The front end: USD forks, colour, triple clamps and the dash

Gold forks done cleanly

BBCR Engineering CX500

BBCR Engineering (Andrei)

What I took from it

• Gold Yamaha R6 upside-down forks on a custom stem
• A CNC alloy subframe and a Ducati Monster mono-shock

BikeBoundResearch: The front end: USD forks, colour, triple clamps and the dash

CBR600RR forks on a CX

Tristan's CX500

Tristan, with Ellaspede (Australia)

What I took from it

• CBR600RR upside-down forks fitted after shortening the head tube slightly

Return of the Cafe Racers

Where the Eurosport came from

Honda's own sporty CXs

Honda

What I took from it

• The CX500 Sports as Honda built it, and the CX650 Turbo that shares the triple-backbone frame

Wikipedia

The look and the donors for the front end

The gold front end

Various donor bikes

What I took from it

• Gold upside-down forks from the 2006–07 CBR1000RR and the GSX-R1000
• Gold Öhlins forks against red, and gold front and rear together

Research: The front end: USD forks, colour, triple clamps and the dash

Tank, seat and paint reference

Redmax Speed Shop CX500

Redmax Speed Shop (UK)

What I took from it

• Conventional forks, but a clean tank, seat and paint scheme on a CX500