“Black Belt” — built for a Krav Maga instructor…
The first-generation Honda CB750, highly regarded as the world’s “original superbike,” has always garnered the lion’s share of attention from restorers and customizers. The later DOHC versions, however — including the Nighthawk 750, Seven Fifty, and CB750F2 — have been finding their way into the spotlight lately. While these bikes were not as groundbreaking or history-making as their 1970s predecessors, they would be the lightest, fastest machines of the CB750 series, boasting 75 horsepower with a dry weight of around 460 lbs.
Enter André Pinheiro, the 44 year-old automotive engineer behind Reborn Motorcycles of Porto, Portugal — one of our favorite cities, and a mecca for two-wheeled enthusiasts. After more than a decade working in the automotive industry, André decided to pursue his dream of opening his own workshop:
“Reborn was a project that I had in my mind for a long time, and I changed my whole life to do it. In 2013, I opened my atelier and I started restoring and customizing vintage motorcycles. I love what I do; I work alone and the only think that I do outside Reborn is painting.”
André says his mission is to transform classic or modern classic motorcycles into “exclusive, unique bikes,” and stresses that having a friendly relationship with his clients is key to understanding what they really desire in their builds. In the case of this ’96 CB750, the customer is a Krav Maga instructor — hence the bike’s nickname, “Black Belt.”
We particularly like the new subframe and tail section, which offers both two-up and solo seat versions: “Classic” and “Sport.” André replaced all the bearings throughout the bike with stainless steel, rebuilt the engine, updated the electronics, fabricated the exhaust, and formed the front bikini fairing out of a Shark helmet that matches the customer’s — pretty cool!
Below, we get the fulls story on this “Black Belt” 750.
Honda CB750 “Black Belt” — In the Builder’s Words…
My name is André Pinheiro. I’m 44 years old and I’m an automobile engineer. I live in Porto, Portugal, and the love I have for cars and motorbikes started when I was a kid. When I was 18 years old, I went to Kingston University in London to take my course and in 2000 I came back to Portugal and I started working at an Audi dealership as a Workshop Director.
Reborn was a project that I had in my mind for a long time, and I changed my whole life to do it. In 2013, I opened my atelier and I started restoring and customizing vintage motorcycles. I love what I do; I work alone and the only think that I do outside Reborn is painting. Reborn Custom Motorcycles is dedicated to handcrafted and customized motorcycles. My mission is picking up classic or modern classic motorcycles and changing them into exclusive, unique bikes.
This bike is a 1996 CB Seven Fifty — “Black Belt.”
Black Belt was constructed for a customer from Porto. My inspiration to build motorcycles comes from doing something that I love, and I always try to do it with passion. I’m really a perfectionist and always trying to do better. My inspiration for Black Belt was the customer himself; he is a Krav Maga instructor and I tried to approach this project with that in mind. All my customers have a friendly relationship with me and that’s the best way to know what they really desire for the bike.
This bike was completely disassembled and the weight was minimised. The rear frame was cut and I made a new one to combine with the two versions of the bike (Classic/Sport).
The engine was in good shape, but it was rebuilt and painted, all the aluminium parts as the rear end, the central box (battery, fuse box, and ECU), and the front dashboard and seats were handmade by me. The exhausts are handmade especially for this project. The rear shocks were lowered and the carbs were re-jetted.
All the bearings in the bike are now stainless steel. The front fender is handmade and the tyres are Heidenau K73 super rain, these tyres are very soft and very good on handling.
To do the front of the bike, I used a piece of a Shark helmet from the customer. It makes the bike more aggressive and combines with his helmet. The dashboard is a motogadget Motoscope Pro, and the front headlight is halo with an LED ring surround. The front indicators are in the forks and are two LED strips. In the sport version of Black Belt we have two rear LED lights and one of them has indicators.
This bike rides and handles very well — very easy to ride and the sound of the exhausts is supreme. The customer and I are both very happy with the final result.
Follow the Builder
Email: [email protected]
Website: rebornmotorcycles.com
Facebook: reborncustommotorcycles
Instagram: @reborncustommotorcycles
These bikes are great! Love to see a short video of them to hear their sound. Especially the 2 strokes!
It might be a nice looking motorcycle but I could not see it because the photographer forgot to put the lights on
Garage pegboard for the panels? No detabbing the tank? I s’pose you gotta start somewhere when it comes to being a “custom” bike builder….