El Monstro: Honda CBX750 Café Racer

NO FEAR:  A Cancer Survivor’s Honda Café Racer… 

There’s no doubt that building a custom bike is one of the best ways to free your mind from the stresses of daily life. It’s a process you can get lost in, like a work of art, and while you’ll encounter all kinds of hurdles and headaches along the way — some of them maddening indeed — it’s always a healing journey in the end.

Rarely have we come across a more powerful story of the saving grace of two wheels than that of our new friend Luis Moratinos, a Spanish engineer and three-time cancer survivor who founded Kamikazes Garage with a group of friends after bouts with kidney, spinal, and liver cancer.

During remission, Luis needed a way to take his mind off the worries of the cancer coming back, and his ’84 Honda CBX750 became a powerful way of channeling his creative energies:

“This motorcycle was built for personal reasons — it’s to get rid of stress and the fear of relapsing into the disease again!”

Introduced in 1983, the 93-hp Honda CBX750 (RC17) was developed from the DOHC CB750 of the early 80s, and police versions were in use all the way into the 2000s. Luis says he put a great deal of “effort and love” into the project, disassembling and restoring or modifying everything “down to the last screw.”

The mods are extensive, including custom-anodized Suzuki GSX-R600 forks with Tecnikal CNC triples, Honda VFR750 RC35 swingarm and wheels, Honda CB Seven Fifty tank, and a bespoke exhaust for which Luis bought a TIG machine and learned to weld.

“All the work was done by me, from the triple trees to the custom exhausts, at the workshop we call Kamikazes Garage.”

Luis also rewired the bike with custom push-button functions, while his friend Andres Pojan handled the triple-layer pearl paint with a bit of a cartoon theme. Most of the other major components — chassis, wheels, swingarm, etc. — were sandblasted and sprayed with electrostatic paint.

Luis has aptly named this aggressive-looking machine “El Monstro” — “The Monster” in old Spanish spelling — and he says the bike is “a real madness” to ride. We can’t think of a better way of turning pain and anxiety into something empowering and creative. Great work, Luis! We’re wishing you many miles of health and happiness on this monster! Photos courtesy of Naty Ramos (@_lamonstra).

CBX750 Café Racer: Builder Interview

• Please tell us a little about yourself, your history with motorcycles and your workshop.

I am a Spanish engineer. After suffering cancer three times — kidney cancer, spinal, and liver metastases, and after multiple operations disabled me for work and after that disability — I decided to create with a group of friends a non-profit association called Kamikazes Garage, where we make our own projects.

This motorcycle has been built for personal reasons — it’s to get rid of stress and the fear of relapsing into the disease again! That is why I put so much effort and love into the project; the motorcycle was disassembled and restored down to the last screw. All the work was done by me, from the triple trees to the custom exhausts, at the workshop we call Kamikazes Garage.

• What is the make, model and year of the donor bike?

The base bike is a Honda CBX750 from 1984. With GSX-R600 front suspension, Tecnikal brand CNC-machined triple trees, and VFR750 RC35 swingarm and wheels. The brake master cylinder and hydraulic clutch master cylinder is from a Ducati Panigale. The tank is Honda CB750 Seven Fifty.

• Why was this bike built?

It is a personal project, promoting my workshop and the Tecnikal brand.

• What custom work was done on the bike?

• Swingarm adaptation.
• Front suspension adaptation (machined triple trees with semi-handlebars incorporated into the upper triple tree and Tecnikal brake disc spacers).
• Anodizing suspension in Ohlins color.
• Tank adaptation from a CB750 Seven Fifty.
• Subchassis cut and U closure added.
• Installation and new wiring with intelligent electronic system.
• Sandblasted chassis, wheels, engine, swingarm, and all supports, and painted with electrostatic paint (powder paint).
• Handmade license plate holder
• Artisanal stainless steel exhaust with BMW R1000RR tailpipe.
• Lighthouse dome checks in 3D.
• Onyx brand battery box under the shock linkage.
• Pearl trilayer paint, painted by the artist @andrespojan in a cartoon style.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

El Monstro.

• Any ideas on power, weight and/or performance numbers?

99 hp.

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride a bike?

Absolute madness. A very sporty position that doesn’t go unnoticed.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

The exhausts, since I am not a welder, and I bought the TIG welding machine just to carry out my project. Also the electrical system, since I designed a system with buttons and with combinations for different functions.

• Is there someone you want to thank?

David Tecnikal, Andres Pojan, my brothers from Kamikazes Garage.

Follow the Builder

• Builder: @luismoratinos
• CNC Machining Technology: @tecnikal_
• Andres Pojan / Paint: @andrespojan
• Our Workshop: @kamikazes_garage_
• Photos: @_lamonstra