Blog — CX500

Wrench ‘n’ Wheels Wind 10

The Honda CX500. Remember when these first exploded onto the custom scene? The Wrenchmonkees stunning effort over four years ago was one of the first to blow our collective minds and in the time since both Pro and Shed builders have created ever more lust worthy machines from the humble CX. But for Pedro Caçote it was not the custom efforts of others that piqued his love of the transverse twin but a childhood memory of images seen in a magazine at his grandmother's house. "That was the first time I ever saw a racer, and that was a cx...

Matt's CX500

One great by-product of the current explosion of shed built customs is that there are now even more people to hang out with, ride bikes, talk bikes and share a beer with. Matt is one such guy that seems to have life dialled in, he lives in Bude, Cornwall with his wife and six year old son. He surfs, has built this bike, wants to start flat track racing and would love to be on the spanners as a permanent occupation, which is an idea supported by his son, who with just half a dozen years under his tiny belt,...

Jesse's CX500

Yet another Honda CX500 graces the pages of the Bike Shed, but what can we do if shed-builders like Jesse keep building them for us to enjoy, and they look this good? Originally from Southern California, Jesse moved to San Fransisco in 1999 to go to art school and is now a graphic designer. Jesse's father brought him up working on old cars and he still owns a 1962 Ford Falcon he bought back in 1997. Shortly after moving to San Fransisco he got into vintage Vespas and that led him down the path of righteousness and into proper motorcycles,...

Nathan's Balcony-built CX500

When Nathan G, AKA "701let" (...no, we didn't ask) wasn't beating panels in his day-job in Brisbane, Australia, you might have found him out on his front balcony, building this CX500 custom cafe racer over a "grueling' six months. Battered by howling winds and hungry mosquitos in limited space was a test of endurance, but it also gave rise to the bike's nickname; "Howler". Nathan adds; "I could also call it the splutter, as my carbs desperately need a tune." "I don't have a garage and I cant keep myself from modifying things. So I took all the furniture off...

Sampo's CX500

We all dream of fully designed, digitally rendered, professionally built custom made wonders, they are glorious machines, but.... Will they ever give the owner the sense of pride, the newfound skill sets and the respect of a shed build? Built, not bought. At the Bike Shed we love the achievements of men in sheds and celebrate them alongside the pro builds. One of the joys of our custom scene is that the owner of a Shinya Kimura masterpiece can park up next to a shabby homemade 125 brat bobber and share a common bond. Not that there is anything remotely...

HCG #20 CX500

Yes, it's yet another really nice looking CX500, but this one looks a little more different than all the other 'different' looking Honda transverse twin workhorses - and it's mostly down to the tank. Perhaps Federico and the guys at Herencia Custom Garage in Argentina have taken a leaf out of Blitz's book, where they very successfully re-drew the lines of the BMW R-Series custom by sticking an XT500 tank on one (logos and all). It's a brilliant transformation, taking the bike's overall bulk down a notch and allowing the engine to really stand out and dominate. The black swoosh...

Steve Foster's CX500

We first saw this CX at the start of the year and have been waiting a long time to get decent photos and the info behind the build, but it's been well worth the wait. Yet again the humble Honda CX500 - that ugly courier bike - has been revealed in a new light, and this one is yet another take on what can be achieved with a bit of vision and hard work. The owner is Steve Foster, who grew up in the UK but was fortunate enough to follow his parents to Australia in the '80s and now...

Richard's Yard-built CX500

I saw this Honda CX500 at the Distinguished gentleman's Ride in London this last Sunday, and wherever it went it drew positive comments and got loads of attention - and considering it was in the company of 300+ bikes, most of them customised in some way - that's quite an achievement. However, the owner, Richard, has a very modest view of his bike and was pretty surprised that we wanted to run a feature. When you look at this build properly, and see the work that's gone into rebuilding the whole rear end, it's clear this is no quick &...