Honda motorcycles are often chosen as donors for restomod builds because they combine timeless design with a level of engineering quality that rewards modernization rather than fighting it. Classic models like the CB350, CB550, CB750, and even later platforms such as the XR, CBX, and early CBR engines offer strong frames, smooth-running motors, and neutral proportions that can be updated with modern suspension, brakes, wheels, and electronics without losing their original character. Builders can preserve the recognizable Honda silhouette while discreetly upgrading performance, safety, and reliability to contemporary standards.
Another key advantage of Honda-based restomods is long-term practicality. Replacement parts are widely available, aftermarket support is enormous, and the underlying engines are known for durability and forgiving tolerances — making them ideal candidates for fuel injection conversions, upgraded ignition systems, and modern braking hardware. The result is a motorcycle that looks vintage but rides like a modern machine, blending classic aesthetics with everyday usability. This balance of heritage, reliability, and adaptability is why Hondas remain some of the most successful and respected foundations in the restomod world.
Resto Enduro: Honda “XXL600” Restomod - Francesco Paura resurrects a legendary thumper… In 1983, Honda released the original RFVC (Radial Four Valve Combustion) single-cylinder dirt bikes, which were destined to become icons of a generation. With a hemispherical combustion chamber, centrally […]
Six-Cylinder Salute: AC Sanctuary CBX1000 Restomod - AC Sanctuary’s RCM-693 CBX, straight from the Tokyo Motorcycle Show… Today, we’re thrilled to present the new Honda CBX1000 from Japanese master Hiroyuki Nakamura of AC Sanctuary. Just last year, we featured RCM-688, the first-ever […]
Little Red: 250cc Honda XL125R Restomod - A 250-powered XL125 Restomod from 1008 Moto Garage… In 1982, Honda replaced the beloved XL125S with the XL125R — a similar dual-sport machine but with Pro-Link single-shock rear suspension, 12-volt electrics, and new styling. These […]
Big Red Motard: Honda XR650R Supermoto - XR650R Supermotard from VMX Restomod… The Honda XR650R was born to race in the desert. As the replacement for the venerable air-cooled XR600R, the liquid-cooled aluminum-framed XR650R had big shoes to fill…and it delivered in […]
Black Ops Runner: Honda Dominator 650 Adventure Bike - “NX650RX” from BCK Motorcycles… Introduced all the way back in 1988, the Honda Dominator 650 (NX650) placed an electric-start RFVC single-cylinder engine into a light adventure package with bikini fairing, plastic bodywork, heavy-duty sump guard, […]
VMX Restomod: Honda XR600R Enduro - JT-Inspired Vinduro: Built for a National Enduro Vintage Championship… The Honda XR600R might be the most iconic four-stroke dirt bike ever produced. Dirt Bike called it “the definitive off-road bike, not only of a generation, […]
Freddie Blade: Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade - Fast Freddie-inspired Fireblade Retromod from Rindperformance… Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1961, Freddie Spencer began racing dirt track at the tender age of four…and his innate talent was immediately apparent. At 17, he won […]
The One: “Boa” Honda CBX1000 Restomod - Coming to The One Moto Show: Dennis Nhan’s CBX… In 1969, the Honda CB750 ascended to superbike supremacy, but the motorcycling world was in a state of rapid evolution. Less than a decade later, […]
Radical Six: Honda CBX1000 Restomod - RCM-688: The First-Ever CBX Restomod from AC Sanctuary… We’ve seen many masterful restomods from Hiroyuki Nakamura and the crew of AC Sanctuary — an assortment of Zeds, Ninjas, Katanas, CB1000R’s, and more. But we’ve never […]
Big Dreams: Honda CB750K “54th Anniversary Edition” - Resto-modded CB750K from Big Dream Motorcycles… In 1967, American Honda’s national service manager, Bob Hansen, was visiting Honda’s Wako Research & Development facility in Japan when Soichiro Honda himself joined his group for lunch. Up […]
Vintage CB-R: Honda CB500/550 Café Racer - 15th Anniversary Build: Retrofitted CB500 from Cafe Cycles… In 1969, the Honda CB750 howled onto the scene as the fastest and most sophisticated motorcycle ever to come out of Japan…and for a price that undercut […]
Go Long: Honda XL600V Transalp Restomod - Upfitted Adventure Bike from Bolt Motor Company… In 1986, Honda unveiled the XL600V Transalp, mainly at the request of European riders whose desire for adventure bikes and Dakar-styled “trailies” was at an all-time high. […]
Rolling Tribute: Honda CB1100R Restomod - 1187cc, Carbon Fiber CB1100R from dB Customs… Produced from 1980-1983, the Honda CB1100R was the company’s first homologation special, design specifically to win the Castrol 6 Hour race at Amaroo Park, Australia — then […]
CBX Reborn: Honda “CBX1147” Café Racer - Family Heirloom, Transformed: 1147cc CBX from Laurent Heraux x JDMAX… As far as production motorcycle engines go, few can claim the mystique, visual presence, and soundtrack of Honda’s six-cylinder CBX1000 engine. The 1047cc “slant six” […]
Straight Outta Sanctuary: Honda CB1100R Restomod - Possibly the Last: Honda CB1100R from AC Sanctuary… In 1980, Honda unveiled their first-ever homologation special, the CB1100R. Based on the CB900, the single-seat sport bike boasted a 1062cc 16-valve DOHC inline-four producing 120 bhp […]
Bernhonda: Bernardet x NX125 Hybrid Scooter! - Patina Perfection: Franco-Japanese Commuter Scooter from Seb’s Atelier x Objet Marcant… In the late 1920s, three brothers — René, Robert, and Roger Bernardet — began manufacturing sidecars in a small workshop in Bourg-la-Reine south of […]
Thundering Super-Sport: Honda CB900F Restomod - RCM-604 by AC Sanctuary… When the Honda CB900F first appeared in 1979, it wasn’t available in the States, as Honda was worried it might steal the thunder of the mighty CBX. American riders grew green […]
Best of Both Worlds: Honda “CB500R” Café Racer - Ellaspede EB1236: 1973 Honda CB450 x 2013 CBR500R… The Honda CB twins of the 1970s remain some of the most beloved Japanese vintage motorcycles of all time — and with good reason. They offered riders […]
Showstopper: Honda CB750 Restomod Café - A Show-Stopping 750 Super Sport from Never Ending Cycles… Ask anybody who builds custom motorcycles for a living, and they’ll tell you the client has a pretty significant impact on how much they enjoy a […]
Senna Superbike: Honda CB1000 Super Four - CB1000 Big One from Cus’Tom Motorcycle… Over the years, motorcycle culture has been blessed with a handful of hilarious and highly entertaining comic strips and series. In English, we’ve had everything from Ogri to Andy […]
Greasy Hands, Clean Bike: Honda CBX Restomod - Modern Retro CBX1000 from Dubai’s Cafe Rider Customs… In 1978, nearly a decade since releasing the world-beating CB750, Honda unleashed the CBX1000, a brawny six-cylinder superbike with dual overhead cams, six Keihin carbs, and […]
Rothmans Restomod: Honda NSR250R Special - 70 hp, 254 lbs: Two-Stroke Race Replica Restomod from Japan… Built from 1987-1999, the Honda NSR250R was a street-legal two-stroke race replica powered by a liquid-cooled 249cc 90° V-twin with Honda’s power-valve system and nikasil-sulfur […]
The Nitron Special: Honda CB900F Restomod - The “Daichi CB900F” from Japan’s Team CB’s… Introduced in 1979, the Honda CB900F was a 95-hp DOHC roadster based on the company’s European Endurance Championship racer, thus the “Bol d’Or” (Golden Bowl) name the […]
Resto-Monster: Honda CB1100F Restomod - 1123cc Honda Restomod from AC Sanctuary… In 1983, the Honda CB1100F arrived as the company’s king sport bike, designed to battle head-on with the 1100-class superbikes from Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha — bikes that were […]
Ultimate Two-Stroke: 421cc NSR-D Project! - 110-hp, 240-lb NSR-RD Hybrid… The Honda NSR250R remains one of the most legendary bikes of the 1990s, a street-legal two-stroke weapon built in the image of Honda’s 250cc Grand Prix racers. Along with the Suzuki […]
Original Superbike, Reborn: 1973 Honda CB750 - A Navy helicopter pilot restores his father’s CB… In 1969, Honda stunned the motoring world with the introduction of the CB750 Four, the “Original Superbike.” It’s tough to overstate how revolutionary Honda’s 750/4 was at […]
Modified RC03: Honda CB650 Café Racer - A Black Beauty from De Palma Cycles… Introduced in 1979, the Honda CB650 Four (RC03) would be the last of Honda’s air-cooled SOHC fours — an illustrious lineage that began with the 1969 CB750 and […]
Nius Moto: Honda CB550K Roadster - The Honda CB550 remains one of the sweetest midsize machines ever produced, a 50-bhp inline four that handled well, ran sewing-machine smooth, and had the gorgeous looks of the heavier CB750. “Like it’s larger sibling, […]
Baked in Steel: Honda CB750 Restomod - Finland’s Steel Bakery delivers one gorgeous CB… The original Honda CB750 completely revolutionized production motorcycles. Dubbed the “Original Superbike,” it was the first mass-produced motorcycle to feature a four-cylinder engine, disc brakes, and electric starter. […]
Super 6: Honda CBX1000 Cafe Racer - Lys Motorcycles builds a carbon-clad CBX… The Honda CBX1000 remains one of our favorite Japanese motorcycles of all time. While the stock machine didn’t have the handling some expected from Honda’s first six-cylinder production bike, […]
Honda CBX “1098R” by MotoRRetro - A CBX1000 cafe racer from Sydney’s MotoRRetro… In 1966, Mike “The Bike” Hailwood won the 250cc Gran Prix championship on one of the most radical machines of the era, Honda’s RC166 six-cylinder racer. Designed to […]
Restomod Roadster: Honda CB750 “Hanashi” - “Hanashi (History) in the present.” –Cafeina Motorcycles The Honda CB750 remains one of the most iconic, influential, and beloved motorcycles in history. Today, it may not seem like such a revolutionary bike, but that’s only […]
Vinduro Reborn: Honda XR600R by VMX Restomod - The Honda XR600R is a legend among dirt bikes, a big-bore four-stroke dirt weapon that reigned supreme in the 1980s and 90s, from the wide western deserts to the thick eastern woods. Introduced in 1985, […]
Honda XL600LM “Bulldog” by GPgarage Moto - The Honda XL600LM was a tribute to the HRC Paris-Dakar Rally machines of the 1980s. In 1982, Cyril Neveu won the legendary trans-Saharan race on an XR550, and Honda was intent on repeating that victory, […]
Baja Commander: Honda XL500R Baja - GPgarage Moto builds a Baja restomod! The XL500R was Honda’s 500cc dual-sport in the early 1980s, a mono-shock (Pro-Link) evolution of the twin-shock XL500S, featuring a 32-hp SOHC engine with counterbalancers, long-travel suspension, and a […]
CBX Reborn: Honda CBX1000 Restomod - “If Honda was to bring out the CBX again, how would they make the bike?” More than forty years ago, Honda introduced the CBX1000, a modern marvel with six cylinders, six carbs, 24 valves, two […]
Restomod Monster: Honda CBX by dB Customs - 1147cc CBX from a restomod master… Ten years after their introduction of the CB750, Honda unveiled the CBX 1000 — a six-cylinder, 1047cc superbike intended to show the world they were still the tip of […]
Modern 400F: Honda CB-1 Restomod by ProtoWorks Manufacturing Inc - “We wanted the bike to look like it was going 100mph standing still.” In 1989, Honda unveiled a modern reincarnation of the greatest lightweight fours ever produced, the CB400F. The new Honda 400/4, known as […]
Hayabusa CBX1000 by Roland Skate - Pipe Dreams: Six of them… In 1978, Honda unveiled the CBX, powered by a 1047cc, 24-valve six-cylinder engine that made 105 hp at the crank. At the time, Honda had been making steady progress in […]
KEEP IT HONDA: CT70 / Grom by Therapy Garage - A Grom-Powered CT70, ready for town and trails… The Honda CT70 — aka the “Trail 70” — debuted in 1969, featuring a pressed-steel “T-bone” frame, folding handlebars, and a 72cc OHV four-stroke engine good for […]
Perfect Middleweight: “The Standard” Honda CB500 Four - “Almost every part of the bike has been touched, but looks like it could be a factory bike…” Introduced in 1971, the Honda CB500 Four was in many ways a streamlined, smaller and lighter version […]
Bandit Power: Honda “CB1157F” by Butchered Classics - Dave Solomon of Butchered Classics is our favorite mad Englishman, a shed-builder who’s earned an “evil reputation” for building high-powered Frankenbikes that send purists drooling and raving to the madhouse. In 2019 alone, we featured […]
Ace Corner Champion: Honda “IFR750F2” - From Crusher to All Class Champion… In the late 1980s, the Honda VFR750R — aka the RC30 — made a thunderous appearance on the world stage, winning the first two World Superbike Championships with […]
“Tokyo Nights” Honda CB900F by James Berreau - Best in Class: Garage-built neo cafe racer from a former USAF tech… The Honda CB900F — aka the Bol d’Or, named after the legendary French 24-hour endurance race — was an air-cooled, DOHC roadster descended […]
Flyin’ Merkel: Honda VFR750 Superbike by dB Customs - Period-correct AMA Superbike replica… Flyin’ Fred Merkel is one of the most legendary — even notorious — American racers ever to swing a leg over a superbike. Hailing from California’s Central Valley, Merkel quickly became […]
Aviation-Grade: Honda CB350 Restomod by Merlin Cycleworks - What happens when a jet aircraft mechanic builds his wife a bike… The Honda CB350 twin is not only one of the company’s best-selling models, but one of today’s most popular vintage bikes for customization. […]
Honda CB550 “MD01” by MOTODesign - Nine Years of Vision: Barn-Built CB550 cafe racer from New York… The Honda CB550 is one of our favorite platforms for a custom build. While the 38-hp middleweight didn’t have the outright power of the […]
Supercharged Honda CB750 by Justin Blue - Best in Show: Supercharged, Big Bore Honda CB750 from Alabama… It’s a truth universally acknowledged: When you put together a Honda engineer, a ’74 CB750, and an AMR500 supercharger, good things happen. Earlier this month, […]
CR500-Inspired Honda CB550 by Keith Carlson - Keith Carlson of Indianapolis is well-known for his two-stroke dragon-slayers — custom bikes built for his annual assault of US129 through Deals Gap, Georgia, home of the notorious Tail of the Dragon. Most recently, […]
Honda CB450 Restoration by Chattahoochee Skunkworks - The Sanitary White Honda CB450 Toby Jones and his wife recently moved from Florida to the foothills of North Georgia — one of the world’s motorcycling Valhallas. In honor of the famed nearby river, they […]
