Honda CB650 Tracker by Jesse Lendzion

 

Honda CB650 Tracker

Here is one sweet Honda CB650 tracker by Jesse Lendzion (@JessePaul) of Nashville, TN. You don’t hear too much about the CB650, but it was basically a CB550 punched out to 600+ cc. Later it became a DOHC engine. The bikes share the same frame and gauges, and the 626 cc CB650 was produced from 1979 to 1985.

Lendzion’s bike, “Genevieve,” is a very pretty example with her stock Comstar wheels side covers and paint. She’s subtle and well-sorted, with great lines. We reached out to Jesse himself, and he gave us the details on this build, as well as a number of beautiful shots taken by Danielle Vichinsky (@DanielleVee).

CB650 Custom
Here piloted by Jesse’s brother, Jake (@jaketaylorlendzion).

Custom CB650: In the Builder’s Words

Bought it a few years ago in CA totally stock with 12,000 original miles on it, and set out to make the bike as minimal as possible without drastically changing the frame. The biggest mod was the tail hoop and seat. I had a lot of inspiration from Moto-Mucci’s CX and then everything I’ve seen from Blitz Motorcycles as far as aesthetics.

CB650 Tracker
Photo from Jesse’s IG (@jessepaul)

Started a few years ago with the seat/rear hoop, painted the comstars, and had various parts powder coated (lower fork tubes etc.) then. Brought the bike to TN a couple years ago and hit it off with the dudes of Atlas Motorworks. Put on some bigger tires, removed the mufflers and dialed in the carbs. Lately I’m trying to find a good balance of function and form…the most recent additions have been 14″ progressive rear shocks/springs, 3.5″ emgo headlight, + fork boots and emgo triumph reproduction bars. Let me know if you have any questions!

Honda CB650 Cafe Racer

People to Follow

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5 Comments

  1. Hey there! So I know this is a long shot but I could use an opinion. So I’m shopping for my first bike and I came across a ’80 cb650 custom in great shape. I want to learn on it and slowly transform it into a scrambler/tracker exactly like this one over time as i get more comfortable on it.

    I started doing a bit of forum research and it seems that in ’79 honda switched from a wet to a dry rotor, and people complain a lot about the heat buildup within the rotor compartment, which ultimately causes the wires to short and then rectifiers and stators blowing along with the rotor. Battery will just drain until dead, haul bike home, replace rotor stator and rectifier, wait a year, repeat. Because of this I’m tempted to spend a little more money on a great condition ’74-’78 cb550, but I talked dude down to 1100 on the ’80 cb650. I’m not mechanically inclined and this is my first bike, and I don’t wanna have to deal with replacing rotor parts every year. Have you had issues similar to this? Should I buy the ’80 650 or search for a ’76ish 550?? Rotors were apparently bulletproof in cb’s before ’79. Sorry for the rant but I need assistance!!!

    • bikebound

      Ryan, unfortunately none of us here at BikeBound have experience with the CB650, so hopefully Jesse or another CB650 owner will chime in. I can say that I am currently dealing with an ’86-’90 Harley Sportster 4-speed, which is notorious for blowing stators/rotors/regulators, and it is a real PITA. You might be better off asking this question on one of the CB-specific forums.

  2. Royston Earl

    I am wondering what bars specifically are this bike. Love them!!!

  3. matt paladan

    I really wish you guys would put the year of the bikes that you are highlighting.. Many times I search the article for the year and cant find it..

    thanks

    • Most of the newer features have the date in the interview section under “What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?” Sometimes in the early days we forgot to get the date from the owners!

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