1982 CB900 Bold'or Transformation Project

by Terry Pike

Some months back now, we purchased this 1982 CB900 that was a cafe racer project that didn't quite hit the mark. It kind of went back to the days of Mad Max (the original movie). All matt black and I mean everywhere ! There was no need to worry about over spray, just cover the lot ! Most of the paint was peeling and cracked. This bike was going to need a great deal of love and attention.

Come along for the ride.

Bit by bit we will show the transformation taking place. So don't forget keep looking back at the blog for updates or on our facebook page Minx Custom Motorcycles.

Our Brief :

  • Get rid of Mad Max (hmmm...really it reminds me more of the other Mad Max character .... Toe Cutter) ..... see below
  • Re-establish the CB900 Bold'or heritage
  • Apply some Modern Cafe Racer styling cues
  • Get it running smoothly again
  • Don't spend too much !!!

Styling Cues

It's always good to have a plan. Most plans start with bits and pieces of bikes that you have seen before and know that you can afford to integrate into you own project.

So we start with the original 1982 CB900 Bold'or. What did it look like ?

 

Typical 70's - 80's style from Japan. Pretty really. We need to source some of those tank styling details to help bring back that heritage look. You will be surprised what you can find on ebay. A supplier in Italy has all of the stickers for not too much .... 82euro or about A$135. Unfortunately not the red blockout so that will need to be painted.

What have we seen from other custom builders ?

What have some others done with the same bike. What bits do we like? What not so much ?

This one from Cafe Racer Dreams is really neat and tidy. We love the tank but it really doesn't hark back to the CB900 heritage. The hump seat and the triangular space beneath the seat are a real nice cue. We like the addition of pod filters to give that clean modern look. These guys have sanded back and polished some engine casings. Looks great but our bike has some damage to these casings so we might be able to get the same effect as this by repairing the damage and painting the covers engine silver.

Now here is the heritage. Beautifully restored. We love the small headlight and the hump seat that in this case fits nicely with the side covers. A little duck tail at the rear. This could be handy to attach the tail light and indicators. That smaller front guard almost disappears while giving some protection from a wet day.

Nice clean lines. The headlight and front guard look cool. Doesn't give much back to the heritage though. The rear foot peg mount does look good painted silver. The pipes look a little bit expensive. Maybe with a bit UHT High Heat Header Paint we can get the ones on the bike to look a bit better than they do now.

So it looks like we have some ideas about what we are going to do with the old Bold'or. Time to get started.

Come back soon to get some pics on how we are going in Part 2.

 

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