Community Spotlight: 1981 Honda CB750RR

This one-of-a-kind Honda CB750RR is a home-build beauty.

We love a good custom home-build here, especially one that has had some clear thought put into it. A good friend of ours, Moto New England, has a Honda project bike that is just that: his 1981 CB750RR cafe build.

Moto New England is documenting this build in a video series he is uploading to his YouTube channel. He explains in this series introduction that this project has sat shelved for a few years, but he resumed work this past August. The vision for this Honda is a “modern cafe racer, something that’s both beautiful and fits the form, but functional”. The foundation for this project is a 1981 CB750 F motor and frame. To date, he has cut the frame and welded in a hoop, removed the air box and tidied rear triangle, as well as re-jetted the carbs. Pod filters are tasked with letting the inline 4-cylinder breathe, which should sound pretty healthy through the Jardine 4-into-1 exhaust. He’s hoping to put out about 80hp at the crank. Not enough power to try to kill you with the same flair as the current Honda super sports, but enough to have a good giggle-factor.

In the second series upload, the stock CB swingarm has been replaced with a single-sided aluminum swingarm from a 1994 VFR750. “My plan was always to remove the twin springer in the back and replace it with a mono shock…On the front end, we’re replacing the complete assembly with a 2003 VTR 1000 Super Hawk front end. It’s going to give us better brakes, the ability to mount proper 17” wheels, proper sport tires.” Once the project is completed, he hopes to bring the updated bike to Tail of the Dragon in 2025.

To follow this build and see the progress updates, subscribe to Moto New England on YouTube.