Tim's Brat-Style CB750
By Anthony van Someren - 22 Jul 13
Tim is a typical cafe/brat convert: Early forties, married with two kids & two dogs, and he's bike obsessed. But having previously owned all the usual Japanese Superbike suspects including a Fireblade, ZZR, SV1000 etc, Tim stumbled across our genre of back to basics biking with ubercool styling and a certain spirit that seems to have been lost on mainstream bike manufacturers. ...Sound familiar?
Tim's introduction to the cafe/brat scene was sparked by him coming across the Wrenchmonkees. He was grabbed by the styling and simple ethos of their builds, got drawn into it, and decided he needed to build something for himself.
The donor is an ebay-sourced 1982 CB750; a good choice of bike with triple disc brakes and solid motor, and this one was a runner - which is a good start, however, she wasn't running very well and Tim had to drop off with Tim, Kev & Martin at Spirit of the Seventies to breathe some love into the engine and get her running properly.
From this...
To this...
The work itself follows the brat-style mold, with shortened rear subframe and flat seat, simplified, hidden electrics and shortie fenders with very small front and rear lamps, and wide Renthal crosser handlebars.
A shortened reverse cone exhaust and pod air filters on the bank of carbs provide better fuelling (after some adjustment), less restricted power and a much better soundtrack.
The raw metallic finish on the tank looks very cool, complemented by a simple and understated black and white Honda decal. The white rims on the OEM 5-spoke wheels are also a really nice touch.
It's a very sweet build and right up our street. Thank for sharing Tim. We have a feeling this is just the start of your new journey into modern retro biking.