Give it The Wurks: ’82 CB250RS Street Scrambler from The Bike Shed Show…
In 1980, Honda released their new XL250S trail bike to widespread acclaim. The quarter-liter thumper boasted an innovative new all-alloy four-valve engine with dual chain-driven counterbalancers. The smoothness of this new 250cc single allowed the frame to be built much lighter than the big British singles of yesteryear, resulting in a much nimbler, more functional trail machine.
At the time, the CB250N Superdream was the company’s 250cc street bike. While successful, it was a bit sluggish and overweight. So Honda decided to throw their nifty XL250S trail bike engine into a road-going machine, and the CB250RS was born. It was a staggering 66 pounds lighter than the Superdream.
“The CB250RS that resulted is the almost-forgotten gem of the early 1980s Honda line-up, and by building it Honda instantly created one of the sweetest mass-produced lightweights – a great bike for smaller riders or those who like different, and surely a classic of the future.” –Classic Bike Guide
Meet of Emily and Joe Holliday of The Wurks YouTube channel — the pair have been riding, building, and restoring motorcycles ever since they met in 2012. Joe’s lifelong passion for motorcycles was handed down from his own father, and Emily just got her license this summer after riding two-up with Joe for years.
After the 2024 Bike Shed Show, Emily decided she’d like to build a custom bike of her own.
“In January 2025 I submitted photographs of my donor bike and a description outlining my vision; I was surprised when they said yes (see photo) — this meant I had some work to do!”
Emily and Joe had just 12 weeks to transform their 1982 Honda CB250RS into the British-inspired street scrambler you see here.
“The design idea was heavily influenced by the British scene street scramblers of the late 60’s and early 70s… Simplicity was the main focus but, with the reliability of a Honda 4-valve 500 single.”
The work was extensive, which Emily fully details in our interview below. Highlights include a custom subframe, heavily-modified 1971 BSA B25SS fuel tank, hand-painted side panels, wider 18″ inch alloy rim laced to the stock rear hub, custom-spec Hagon shocks, alloy rear fender with custom stainless Bates-style taillight, custom embroidered seat in a wasabi hue, Amal grips / trials levers / carburetor, and a last-minute set of drag pipes for showtime.
They nicknamed the bike “Primoris” (“first”) since it’s Emily’s first custom build. Their friend Luke finished painting and decaling the bike just 24 hours before the show, where Primoris was right at home among the many gorgeous custom builds on display at London’s Tobacco Docks. Emily is slowly building up her confidence to take the bike on the road…and has her sights set on some off-roading next year.
“I passed my test in July this year and have been building my confidence on my Mash; Primoris is too new to be dropped on the floor. I do have aspirations to take this bike off-roading at the Malle Mile 2026.”
We can’t think of a better place to put this sweet little scrambler through its paces! We encourage you to subscribe to The Wurks YouTube channel to follow along with Emily and Joe’s journey.
Below you’ll find our full interview with Emily, along with more photos courtesy of Roberto Garagarza (@roga______/) and Amy Shore Photography.
Honda CB250RS Scrambler: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
The Wurks YouTube channel has seen significant growth in the last two years, a video becoming a weekly fixture in our lives. On the channel you can see Joe and I together building and restoring motorcycles, attending events and traveling / taking part in rides out. Joe has ridden and rebuilt motorcycles for all of his adult life following his dad’s passion for motorcycles.
Since we met in 2012 we have ridden two-up until I got my licence this year. Our workshop is a small unit we built together (from the school of YouTube) at the bottom of our garden to house our projects. In 2024 we began to invest more time and energy into The Wurks YouTube channel working alongside many other content creators.
• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?
1982 CB250RS.
• Why was this bike built?
This bike was built following inspiration from the Bike Shed Show 2024. At the end of our Bike Shed Show video 2024 you can see me proclaim that I would like to build a motorcycle for the 2025 show. In January 2025 I submitted photographs of my donor bike and a description outlining my vision; I was surprised when they said yes (see photo) — this meant I had some work to do!
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
The design idea was heavily influenced by the British scene street scramblers of the late 60’s and early 70s. Steel tube frame, aluminium mudguards, plenty of brightwork, John Tickle headlight brackets, T120 export bars, drum brakes, and alloy bars. Simplicity was the main focus but, with the reliability of a Honda 4-valve 500 single.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
Joe cut and welded the frame to create a street scrambler-style bike. The 1971 BSA B25SS fuel tank was heavily modified to suit the frame and scalloped and “frenched” over the top of the engine.
Rear wheel hub is the original CB250RS laced up to a 18″ wider/shouldered alloy rim dressed in a 4.00×18 Heidenau K67. Custom-spec Hagon Stainless shocks were kindly gifted to the build from Hagon directly. The rear alloy mudguard is appointed with a custom stainless ‘Bates’ style tail light.
Custom seat in wasabi with double Bentley stitch and embroidered with ‘The Wurks’ logo. Cream Amal Grips, alloy Amal trials levers, XL500 throttle assy.
The custom exhaust if you can call it that was a product of no time left hence straight “drag” pipes, mounted to the cylinder with flanges stolen from a spare Bonneville TEC exhaust system. Handmade one-off intake to mount an Amal mk2 concentric (a proper carburettor) to a Honda. Finished off with hand painted ‘sign written’ racing oval side panels.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
Primoris meaning first, as it is my first build and first show — Moris for short.
• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?
498cc
8.6 – 1 compression ratio
35ps eqv. 26kw
40NM (29.5ft-lbs)
128kg
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
I have not yet been brave enough to ride this motorcycle, since it took so much effort and energy to get show ready. I passed my test in July this year and have been building my confidence on my Mash; Primoris is too new to be dropped on the floor. I do have aspirations to take this bike off-roading at the Malle Mile 2026.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
We are proud of completing this build in such a relatively short period of time (12 weeks) and to maintain our level of attention to detail. We are amazed we were able to deliver a motorcycle that really stood out amongst so many high level custom builds in Shed Row at the Bike Shed Show 2025.
There are also so many small details and parts modifications that had to occur to make all this bolt together that can really go un-noticed (which is the way it should be).
• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
We would like to thank our friend Luke who was on hand last minute to support with painting the tank and applying the decals 24 hours before the show. We would also like to thank the few vendors we used who understood our tight timescale and turned around outstanding work (Vaughan — @customclassicretro for our custom seat, @classictransfers for the tank decals, Joe at Staffordshire Wheelworks, Nic at @arlosignworks for the custom side panels and The Machine Shop team for late night last minute facilities (@the_machine_shop_ltd).
Follow the Builder
IG: @the_wurks
YT: @TheWurks
Follow the Photographers
Amy Heynes (@amyshorephotography)
Roberto Garagarza (@roga______/)
The specs at the end list it as 498cc and the article was about a 250cc bike.