budget build

A Fun Little Honda Custom 360.

And if fun is the point then this is a good start for a first build.

Eric Koester Writes in:

…first bike I ever owned, thus the first bike Ive modded. Also, the NOS bottle…its a toolbox, the top just pops off. But it makes the guys on the HDs think twice, bout messing w me… lol

paintL600

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original 1

paint600

paintE600

Budget Yamaha Cafe build pics from Brazil! You build what you can with what you have!

Thanks Rossi! Cool build! Further proof that you do NOT need big money to build a cool ride.

Hi,
In Brazil we have a Yamaha RX 180 custom 2 stroke modified to café racer. I access your blog every day. Very good, congratulations.
Thanks,

Rossi Fernando

_RX

RX9

RX14

RX19

RX22

RX23

RX24

CORRECTION: Wicked little Yamaha CS5 (RD200) Cafe from E-bay.

MY MISTAKE! I thought it was yours from the pics on the facebook page.

Steve,
Just wanted to give you an update that I am NOT the builder of the CS5 you featured. Just the finder. Don’t want to take the credit of Wild Turkey Fab.
Thanks

Reader Daniel Thornberry (link to FB page with build pics) pointed me to a his really trick little Yamaha for sale on E-bay (linked while it lasts). And no, I do NOT know the bike or the owner. Trick little build though.  That pipe is the bomb!

Another Trick Scrambler Build! Maybe the coolest CM250 Honda on the planet!

Talk about getting the most out of a transformation! Gregory Moore sends in more proof that you don’t need tens of thousands of dollars to build a cool custom bike.

Here is a 1982 Honda CM250c (the predecessor to the Rebel). I bought this for my lady to rip around but we live in the woods of southern NH where there’s lots of dirt roads & torn up tarmac so I wanted it to be a little scrambler not a saggy cruiser(not meant to be of offense to rebel owners). This is what I came up with, hope you like it!

Thanks,
(And be sure to check out his build thread:) http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=31070.0

Oh yeah… this is what he started with..

At the wicked fun 1963 Bridgestone BS-7/D cafe!

Great little buzz-bomb and a really interesting site! for more on this bike and other cool stuff that Chris has going on check things out at http://subrewgarage.blogspot.com/

Chris wrote in:

Hello,

I just wanted to drop a quick note about a little bike I’ve finished
up recently. It started life as a run-down little 1963 Bridgestone
BS-7/D. I decided to do a bit of a cafe/racer look to it, using as
many Bridgestone parts as possible, and without hacking up any of the
original BS-7 parts in the process. The end result is a good little
runner, complete with a BS90 Sport fuel tank and set of BS90 front
telescopic shocks. I did a bit of porting on the original 50cc
stroker, built a pipe, and installed a bigger 19mm carb. It will see
close to 60mph if I get a long enough run!

Hope you enjoy it!

Chris H.

Cool pipe too! I love projects like this. Really unique and must be a lot of fun to blast around on.
Thanks!

A really cool budget sidehack from a regular overseas contributor.

Simon Tay from Singapore writes in with his second custom build. This time it’s a really trick sidecar rig that wouldn’t break your bank.

Hi there,

https://motorcyclephotooftheday.com/2011/01/20/honda-vlx-400-chopperbobber-a-totally-awesome-budget-build/

It’s me again! The above link was the first bike I built, so this is my second. It’s a 1995 Honda CM125 I did at the car park area outside my office. I did it with a very limited budget, a lot of the parts were either reshaped from the original parts on the bike or scarp materials I found.

The handlebars are the stock bars, cut reshaped and welded. I run the wires internally to make it look cleaner. I couldn’t afford those expensive “bobber” tail light, so I used the stock turn signal light and turned it into a tail light. The rear fender was shaped from the original fender. The tank was from a Suzuki GN125 I picked up from the scrapyard, I cut off the seam and welded it to have a smoother look. I used the rubber grommets that protects the wires left from my Honda Steed to mount the tank. The seat was made from aluminium pan. I had a friend’s mom to help me sew the lines on the cover. I made the passenger seat with wood and foam from and old sofa, however the upholstery was done by a professional sofa restorer(that’s the only part done by a professional on this bike). I did the paint job as well as the (poorly done) pinstripe. I added a steering damper to reduce the wobble. I couldn’t find a nice headlight within my budget, so I flipped the headlight mounts and the lowered headlight blended with the bike pretty well.

I wanted to get a matching wheel on the sidecar, but I had to give up that idea to stay within budget. So it might look a little odd with spoke wheel on that side. And was about to get a photographer to do a photo shoot of it, but I figured if I had done 95% of this bike on my own I might as well take pictures of it using my iPhone!
Regards,
Simon
Singapore

Thanks Simon! I really like your ingenuity on this build. Sometimes when your first impulse is too expensive or not available, the solution turns out to be better than you intended.