In many ways, the CB550 was the best Honda of the seventies. The CB750 is legendary, but its smaller brother handled better and offered enough performance for most riders.
Introduced in 1974, the CB550 was produced for five years with a 544cc
SOHC engine putting out 50 hp and a crisp five-speed gearbox. Although the CB550 couldn’t quite ‘make the ton’ in stock form, it has become popular with custom builders over the years—partly because secondhand examples are much more affordable than early CB750s.
Building your own custom motorcycle is an incredibly rewarding experience… until it isn’t anymore. The owner of this 1976 Honda CB550F can relate. After taking a crack at rebuilding it himself, he threw in the towel and decided to hand it over to a pro shop, rather than let it become another abandoned shed build.…
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Even if you don’t know Chiel Nipius’ name, you’ve probably seen his work. He was part of the team at Ironwood Custom Motorcycles for a while, but he’s now branched out on his own as Nius Moto. And judging by these two Honda CB550 customs, he has the skills to pay the bills. Using the…
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This week we’ve got a pair of very different classic Hondas: a CB550 rebuilt in lockdown, and a feisty lil’ NSR50 pocket rocket. Plus a new BMW concept aimed at Gen Z, and a limited production run of custom Ducatis from NCT in Austria. Honestly, we’d take ’em all.
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Once in a while, a custom motorcycle builder will create a machine that attracts attention like nothing else in their portfolio. For LA-based Kyle Vara of Thirteen and Company, it’s a Honda CB550 that he built four years ago, nicknamed ‘Amber.’ Amber turned so many heads, Kyle got close to 20 requests from around the…
Read more »Some custom builds strut like peacocks; others reveal their charms slowly. This is one of the slow burners, a seemingly innocuous CB550…
Read more »It’s been a while since we’ve featured a classic Honda CB café racer. The custom scene has splintered and grown a lot…
Read more »If there’s a style of bike resistant to trends, it’s the classic Honda CB café racer. If you keep it simple, avoid…
Read more »Classic cafe elegance from England’s Sinroja, a cute Moto Guzzi mini bike from Spain, a slinky sprintbike from Belgium, and an electric…
Read more »When Triumph’s own chassis engineers decide to customize a Tiger 800 XC, you know it’ll be something special. We’ve also got a…
Read more »Two heavily modified CB550s in one week: are we seeing a renaissance of interest in Honda’s classic middleweight? If the new builds…
Read more »Ten years ago, Honda CB cafe racers were a huge part of the custom renaissance. Low slung CBs were everywhere, ‘brat cafe’…
Read more »The ultimate Honda CB550 cafe racer, a Suzuki Savage with Nissan Leaf power, and a gorgeous BMW R100 GS sidecar rig. Meet…
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