Big In Japan: A Mighty XL500 from Deus

Big In Japan: A Mighty XL500 from Deus Tokyo

The Honda XL500 has achieved near-legendary status. Its front wheel is a ridiculous 23 inches, and it’s far too heavy for serious competition—but the engine is bulletproof and lives up to the old ‘stump-pulling grunt’ cliché. The guys at Deus Japan are fans of the XL500. So when they were looking for a street-legal machine…

Honda XL500

Honda XL500 ‘Swart Gevaar’

10 YEARS AGO / NO COMMENTS / CUSTOM MOTORCYCLES

Tucked away in Cape Town’s quaint Bo-Kaap area lies Los Muertos Motorcycles—a relatively new custom shop with a store-front-slash-café. During my first visit I noticed a stripped down ’81 Honda XL500 lurking behind the coffee counter, with a unique twin exhaust system that immediately piqued my curiosity. A few months later Swart Gevaar* was completed…