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Upgrading your suspension and brakes is a hassle-free technique to eke extra dealing with efficiency out of your motorbike. However if in case you have the money and time, why not go the entire hog? This Honda CB900F from HB-Customized in Germany sports activities a number of upgraded elements—however its greatest drawcard is its race-bred Rau body.
For those who’re not acquainted, Manfred Rau was a German body builder who began making efficiency motorbike frames in 1972. His designs took cues from the work of Egli and Bimota, with a concentrate on Japanese engines.
Evidently, Rau frames aren’t simple to come back by… which is strictly why Holger Breuer (the ‘HB’ in HB-Customized) needed to discover one for his newest challenge. “The consumer is an excellent good friend of mine and it’s the second bike that we’ve constructed collectively,” he tells us. “The aim was to construct one thing actually particular with kind of no funds restrictions.”
“The primary bike that I constructed for him was a BMW—however the entire {custom} BMW factor has turn into form of boring. The aim was to comply with a brand new path; a four-cylinder engine as an alternative of a boxer, a Honda as an alternative of a BMW, and a really distinctive body.”
Some deft looking by Holger produced a 1977 Rau body and a Honda CB900F of unknown classic. The engine was yanked out of the CB and rebuilt to the tune of 1,062 cc. Peek inside, and also you’ll discover rebored cylinders and a set of cast Mahle pistons.
This Rau Honda CB900F additionally advantages from a set of Mikuni RS36 carbs, fed by a custom-made carbon fiber airbox to adjust to Germany’s stringent laws. With none cam- or crankshaft fettling, it now pushes out near 100 hp. A digital ignition and hydraulic clutch add trendy reliability.
Because the Rau body that was sourced for this challenge was designed for the CB900F motor, bolting the latter into the previous was a mere formality. To finish the rolling chassis, Holger added the forks and yokes from a Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7 up entrance and put in a Wilbers shock on the again. A Wilbers steering damper was fitted too, for additional front-end stability.
The beautiful 17” wheels are custom-built gadgets from the German wheel specialists PVM. They’re wrapped in Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires and stopped by an assortment of Yamaha R1 and R6 braking elements.
Holger solely used the Honda CB900F’s engine, which meant that he needed to create all the pieces else from scratch. For the bodywork, he manipulated sheets of aluminum to kind a brand new fairing, gasoline tank, and humped tail part. The bike’s new traces borrow concepts from each café racer and classic race bike aesthetics, with a couple of laborious edges to echo the CB’s DNA.
A beneficiant cutout on the best aspect of the gasoline tank gives a view of the Rau body’s distinctive spine. Take a more in-depth look, and also you’ll additionally spot a hand-crafted ‘gasoline gauge.’
The smooth fairing wears an MRA windshield and hosts an LED headlight from Koso. The taillight’s from Highsider, and the flip indicators are Kellermann gadgets. Tucked away within the cockpit are a Motogadget speedo and RFID ignition receiver, with Gilles Tooling clip-ons, Magura levers, and Highsider switches.
Gilles Tooling rear-set foot pegs are mounted decrease down, as are quite a few carbon fiber and drilled elements. A {custom} license plate bracket sits out again, whereas a burly four-into-one exhaust from Schüle provides the ultimate contact.
Wrapped in a darkish teal livery with refined black graphics, HB-Customized’s Rau Honda CB900F has a subdued look that belies simply how wild it’s. We might stare at it for ours—and we are able to solely think about how superb it should sound at full tilt.
HB-Customized | Instagram | Photographs by Emayat Wahab
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