Thor’s Hammer: “The Beast” Honda CBX1000 Café Racer

Blowing it Up at One Moto: Jeff Freeman’s Pro-Link CBX…  

The Honda CBX1000 had its roots in Honda’s six-cylinder Grand Prix bikes, the legendary RC166 and RC174 that Mike Hailwood rode to four world titles in the 250 and 350 class. However, though the engine would adopt several details from these small-capacity GP bikes, it was intended as a different beast entirely — a flagship superbike that would reassert Honda’s R&D dominance in the world of performance motorcycles. 

“CBX was designed as the logical ultimate in the developmental line beginning with CB750, passing through Kawasaki Z1 and the Suzuki GS liter bikes. The essence of this development was to put ever-larger, more powerful and heavier air-cooled four-stroke engines into chassis of a 1960s technical level.” -Kevin Cameron, Cycle World

The 24-valve DOHC engine was an absolute unit, and it produced one of the most glorious sounds in all of Motorcycledom — a hair-raising, blood-curdling howl reminiscent of a 1960s Formula One car. It was a bit much for the chassis technology of the time, however, and Honda revamped the CBX in 1981 as a single-shock “Super Tourer.”

While the CBX wasn’t the fastest or most practical machine on the market, the allure of the big Honda six hasn’t flagged over the decades.

“I didn’t reckon with the fires of enthusiasm that this six would set aglow for years to come. Just Google ‘CBX chassis’ and see the many ambitious project bikes the six has inspired…” -Kevin Cameron, Cycle World

This highly-customized  ’81 CBX1000 Pro-Link comes from our new buddy Jeff Freeman (@Diet_Manly) of Los Angeles, whose motorcycling origin story goes back to a pre-pandemic relationship. 

“Back in 2019 I had been dating a girl and she used to ride. I had never even been on a motorcycle up until this relationship. While together her bike was stolen out of the garage of her building, unfortunately, and me wanting to be a good boyfriend said I would buy her another bike. So I went on Craigslist and bought a total POS 1980 Kawasaki KZ750 that didn’t run for $500. I tried to surprise her with it saying I would rebuild it for her (even though I had never worked on a bike in my life) and thought I would earn some serious boyfriend points…”

As it turned out, Jeff’s girlfriend wanted nothing to do with the KZ, and the bike sat gathering dust in Jeff’s garage after the relationship ended. Then the pandemic struck. During lockdown, Jeff rebuilt the bike and caught the customization bug. His second build, a 1980 CB750, won the Chad McQueen award from Steve’s son at the massive Steve McQueen Car and Motorcycle Show. 

Then Jeff picked up this ’81 CBX as nothing more than a bare frame and clean title. 

“I had learned about the history of this bike; its rarity, and an engine the size of the Titanic hanging off the front end just seemed cool to me. It’s not a very attractive bike in original form, but I knew I could make it look great with the right changes… And who doesn’t want to build a bike that sounds like an F1 car?!”

Jeff says he relies on the Fibonacci sequence (1.618) — aka the “Golden Ratio” — when it comes to design, and his eye for balance and proportion shine through the build. He gives us a full report of the modifications below, but highlights include the GSX-R front end conversion, gusseted frame with Line-X coating, custom rear subframe and seat cowl, carbon brake ducts and front fender, Hookie Co.-inspired front headlight fairing, KSS rear shock with custom adjustable ride-height links, Warp 9 wheels with cush drive, custom-designed CNC rearsets, mandrel-bent exhaust with Cone Engineering silencers, Motogadget electronical goodies, and much more. 

Then there’s the engine, which has been bored and stroked to 1182cc with titanium rods, Kibblewhite valves, Tim’s CBX alternator conversion, Dynatek ignition, shot-peened tranny gears, beefy Over Racing engine mounts, and much more. 

The bike looks and sounds amazing, and it received some well-warranted attention at the recent One Moto Show in Portland — one of the nation’s best and most prestigious custom moto events. 

“Once at the show, I honestly didn’t think it would win anything because there were some other really impressive builds there. And two hours into the award ceremony when they finally got to the final, Best in Show award, I was actually walking out to go to the restroom. I had assumed that I didn’t win anything…and then they showed my photo on the big screen, which instantly brought tears to my eyes. Which was quickly followed by a smile that went ear to ear as I walked towards the stage.”

Congratulations, Jeff, and well deserved! In our eyes, “The Beast” was a no-brainer to receive the hand-forged hammer trophy of the One Moto’s Mjolnir Award (aka “Blowing It Up”) presented by show organizers See See Motorcycles. 

Below is our full interview with Jeff about the build, along with more photos from our man at One Moto, Fouad Mohiadeen (@astronaut_bear).

Honda CBX Custom: Builder Interview

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

My name is Jeff Freeman; I am from Los Angeles and my history with bikes is not very extensive. I actually found out that I was good at building them entirely by accident. Back in 2019 I had been dating a girl and she used to ride. I had never even been on a motorcycle up until this relationship. While together her bike was stolen out of the garage of her building, unfortunately, and me wanting to be a good boyfriend said I would buy her another bike. So I went on Craigslist and bought a total POS 1980 Kawasaki KZ750 that didn’t run for $500.

I tried to surprise her with it saying I would rebuild it for her (even though I had never worked on a bike in my life) and thought I would earn some serious boyfriend points. And she wanted nothing to do with it. LOL. She just saw a POS, because it was at that point. That relationship ended about two months before Covid, and the bike had just been sitting in my garage. Just to keep my mind occupied during the lockdown, I started working on it. Prior to Covid, I had never worked on a single motorcycle. Four months later when I was finished with that bike, every person who saw it fell in love with it saying it was the coolest bike they had ever seen. It was restored to look unrestored, as if it rode through WW2 and back again.

After finishing the Kawasaki I was hooked, and like anyone who catches bike fever, I decided to build another one. This time a 1980 Honda CB750, which was another Craigslist find that was a bare frame with a blown engine sitting in a cardboard box. When I finished that one, I entered the bike into the Steve McQueen Classic after my neighbor kept telling me I needed to do so. This show is a massive car & bike show for charity with 4000+ cars and bikes…it’s crazy.

At that show with the second bike I had ever worked on in my life…I won the Chad McQueen award (Chad is Steve McQueen’s son), who picks his personal favorite bike or car in the entire show. And at that show talking to other people is when I learned about the CBX. I saw a picture of that massive engine and six headers, watched the Youtube video of the exhaust sound, and decided then and there that would be my next project. And who doesn’t want to build a bike that sounds like an F1 car?!

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

1981 Honda CBX 1000 SS Pro-Link. (It’s a mouthful.) This started as just a naked bare frame and a clean title.

• Why was this bike built?

This was a personal project, which I built in my garage at home as a hobby. I had learned about the history of this bike; its rarity, and an engine the size of the Titanic hanging off the front end just seemed cool to me. It’s not a very attractive bike in original form, but I knew I could make it look great with the right changes. Plus the value of these bikes has gone through the roof in recent years making it an investment that will appreciate in time.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

I never look at a bike and see what it is at that moment. I only see what it could be because everything can be improved. My designs I think are very simple, clean, and just revolve around the Fibonacci sequence (1.618). This number, 1.618, is considered the most beautiful number in all of mathematics and the most visually pleasing. It has to do with proportions. As long as every component of the motorcycle has some variation of 1.618 when relating to other parts, it will look good. Proportions are everything.

I really appreciate cars and bikes that are not overdone. Singer Porsche is a perfect example of my approach to projects. As they say, everything is important. Every part has a purpose, nothing is obnoxious looking, and no part looks like an afterthought. Throughout the build, I am careful to always consider the entire project start to finish. Meaning an individual part can look good by itself, but when combined with something else it could ruin an entire project. Finding the right combination of parts, colors, etc. is critical and is the difference between a cool bike and a show stopper. And I guess I just happen to have a good eye for what works with what.

With the CBX though I did take it a few steps further. The rear section of the frame originally is just flat and far too long. It looks very boring and rather terrible tbh. The fuel tank though, once you cut off all of the tabs for the original fairings, has a very pretty curvy shape to it. The flat frame doesn’t match at all though, which is one of the reasons that made the original CBX so ugly. Knowing all of this, I cut off the whole rear section of the bike and started making a new one that flowed with the curves of the tank. The rest of the build became clear in my head once that major problem was solved.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

Where do I begin?

Front End: GSX-R conversion with parts from Cognito Moto. Warp 9 17” spoke wheels. Carbon Fiber brake ducts, carbon fiber front fender, Raw Metal Racers front fender brackets. Motoscope mini, M Switch Pro. M Blaze turn signals, etc. Rizoma Carbon Fiber handlebars and carbon grips. Nissin master cylinder and now matching clutch master (I recently converted to a hydraulic clutch). Koso Headlight and Hookie Co design headlight fairing that I 3D-printed.

Frame: All of the modifications, welding, etc. were done at home by me. I added some additional gussets to the frame for more strength too. Once finished, the frame was coated with Line-X. The same stuff they spray into truck beds. This coating looks really cool with the textured finish, it’s virtually bombproof and I haven’t seen anyone else use this on a bike frame.

 

Engine: Bored and stroked to 1182cc with titanium rods, Kibblewhite valves, springs, retainers, etc. Tim’s CBX alternator conversion, Dynatek Ignition System with custom sage green ignition wires that I got in Italy. The transmission gears were removed to be shot-peened for additional strength with every bearing, seal, gasket, tensioner, etc. replaced. The engine mounts are from Japan and made by Over Racing, as well as the cam caps on the sides of the cylinder head.

All of the electronics are housed in a tray under the seat with the Antigravity battery under the rear cowl. Motogadget M unit Blue, GPS Bob tracking unit, main ground terminals, etc. The seat pan and rear cowl I made trying to emulate a design from Hookie Co (who unfortunately are no longer in business). The upholstery is real suede done by a local shop down the street from me.

Rear: KSS Mono-shock, custom adjustable ride height links, EBC rear brake rotor, rebuilt original rear caliper, Warp 9 spoke wheels using the original Cush drive by Cognito Moto. The rear sets were made by a local machine shop here in LA. Thanks to AI and the interwebs, I was able to take my drawing and turn them into CAD files pretty easily, and they came out beautifully. The finish work on them couldn’t be better.

Exhaust: Custom headers which I made with a friend’s help. His shop has a mandrel bender, which came in handy when making these. The muffler is from Cone Engineering (I use the same mufflers on everything I build), and I made the carbon fiber exhaust hanger.

Almost all of the hardware that I could upgrade to titanium has been changed over.

Lastly and what everyone asks: the color. Once I say it, I’m afraid everyone will start using it because it is stunning in person. It’s the Limited-Edition Nissan GTR color called Millenium Jade.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

The Beast.

• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?

HP: 165ish I think, but we haven’t spent any time on the dyno yet. Weight: 10,000 lbs. The engine is absurdly heavy. Does it sound like an F1 car? Yes it does…and it’s awesome.

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

It’s terrifying lol. The CBX doesn’t really do anything that well and I think it is the most unnecessary bike Honda ever made. It’s super wide, very heavy, hard to turn, hard to stop. The only thing a CBX does perfectly is that it sounds better than any other bike on the road. Hands down best sounding bike ever made imo. But there is a reason I ride my Triumph Speed Twin RS around town and not the CBX.

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

This project took over two years to complete. When I started, I had a vision of what it could be, but all of the steps to get the bike there were still unclear to me. When I finally finished, I stood back and thought…I can’t believe I actually built this thing. It’s perfect. It’s clean, nothing overdone or obnoxious looking, accents are accenting the right way, etc.

When I entered this bike into the One Moto Show in Portland, that’s when I realized that I had created something special. I would sit back at the show and watch how people reacted to the bike, asking some of them what they thought about it. The bike doesn’t command attention, it’s subtle. It captures the attention of people who really know bikes, and every single one of those people said it was one of the most well-executed bikes they had ever seen. It’s one thing for your friends to tell you its great, it’s another when complete strangers do it.

Once at the show, I honestly didn’t think it would win anything because there were some other really impressive builds there. And two hours into the award ceremony when they finally got to the final, Best In Show award, I was actually walking out to go to the restroom. I had assumed that I didn’t win anything…and then they showed my photo on the big screen, which instantly brought tears to my eyes. Which was quickly followed by a smile that went ear to ear as I walked towards the stage.

• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

Of course: HADD Customs (@haddcustoms) for the paint work, Tim’s CBX for a bunch of parts, Jake at Bleed for Speed (@Bleedforspeed) for letting me use his shop, Hookie Co for sharing details with me so I could make and print certain parts, Cognito Moto for making a number of parts for this build, The One Moto Show for awarding this build Best In Show 2026, and my mom. Hi Mom!

Follow the Builder

Instagram: @Diet_Manly

Follow the Photographer

• Fouad Mohiadeen
• Instagram: @astronaut_bear
• Facebook: @bearnaut

Follow the Show

• Web: www.the1moto.com
• Facebook: @theOneMotorcycleShow
• Instagram: @the1moto

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