Honda CX500 StreetTracker

Proving that a home-made custom project doesn’t have to be glamorous to impress is this dolled-up CX500 ‘StreetTracker’.

Builder Graham Braid of Street Tuff Customs describes the original CX500 as “one of the ugliest bikes you can find”, but it didn’t put the former machinist and precision engineer off making it his first custom build.

Braid told MCN: “The CX500 has a peach of an engine, which is why it was the despatch riders’ favourite. It’s shaft drive, so it’s a pretty reliable piece of kit. Sorting out its looks was just a matter of plastic surgery. The original was nicknamed the ‘plastic maggot’, so I’ve dubbed this model the ‘superfly’.”

“This involved a good dose of black paint on the headlamp, supports, forks and shrouds. I added a custom stoneguard, converted it to a single speedo with LED warning lights. The Comstar wheels are shod with Michelin MT60 tyres. I gave it twin drilled discs with black braided brake lines, stripped and rebuilt the callipers and shortened matt black mudguard. The Matt Black custom tank has metal Honda tank badges and the custom exhaust pipes are custom lengthened. Footrests are offroad, the new seat is rolled black leather.”

“I think re-vamping an old classic can really bring the fun back into motorcycling. With the recession on, you can pick up examples like this pretty cheaply. You can find a CX500 for £300 and make it look really decent. In this case it took around three or four months to complete.”

“It runs as well as it looks, I’ve already started work on a Yamaha XS500 and a Kawasaki Z750.”

You can contact Graham on: 07801597447.