islemann CB550 cafe' project build page
Projects: Honda CB550 Cafe' Kawasaki KZX550 Cafe' Yamaha XS850 Cafe'
cafe bikes gallery link opens in a new window
We're going to use an abandoned 1978 Honda CB550K, to create a fun, fast and rorty new-retro cafe' bike.
The logo you see above is taken from the "creative" tank paint job on this bike as it rolled into the shop. The tank is NOT FOR SALE.
The art is a little bit cobby, it's rude and it's sexy...just like the finished cafe' bike will turn out.
The islemann CB550 Cafe' features -
Cafe' seat and Dunstall style cafe' tank in bright silver and Honda Racing Red with "islemann silver" frame
Dunstall style four into four upswept exhaust for the "Hailwood" look.
Upgraded brakes with EBC HH pads and Tokico 4 pot caliper up front / EBC shoes out back
Upgraded suspension including rebuilt forks with RaceTech internals and Ikon rear shocks
Continental Sport Classic TKV 11/12 tires on OE spoke wheels
Rebuilt wiring harness with OEM connectors using AGM maintenance-free and leak-proof battery
Dyno-tuned CB550 motor with UniFilters
We can blame Honda for sowing the seeds of the UJM Cafe' craze. Sure the Italian Agostini fans had their sporting standards in the forms of Ducati, MV Agusta and Moto Guzzi and the British Rockers were scraping pegs on the round-abouts as they blasted The Circle Road at 'The Ton' astride their heavily modified BSAs, Triumphs, AJSs, Matchlesses and Velocettes. But in the mid to late 1970s, after the stunning success of the Honda CB750 in-line four, Honda brought us the CB400F, the CB500F and the CB550F. It was with these very European styled, yet four cylinder motorcycles, that Honda met the American sporting riders needs.They also nearly killed off the British motorcycle industry and dealt a blow still felt to the Italian motorcycle industry. Fast, agile and stylish, the Honda F bikes were an astounding mix of capability, reliability and fun. Peter Egan writing for Cycle Magazine wrote that the CB550 might just have been "...the best motorcycle ever". It is from these good bones and this strong sense of motorcycle history that we forge the islemann CB550 cafe'. Enjoy.
Projects: Honda CB550 Cafe' Kawasaki KZX550 Cafe' Yamaha XS850 Cafe'
cafe bikes gallery link opens in a new window