DAILY INSPIRATION: Custom Honda CX500 by One Down Four Up

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1979 Honda CX500


Here's a nice clean modest build from the ODFU crew out of NorCal. The bike was a commissioned project for a first time rider. Sure I may be biased, but I too think the CX500 is a great first bike for novice riders. They're built like tanks, share most of their parts across multiple Honda platforms and have enough power that you won't grow out of any time soon. ODFU did a great job of giving attention to areas with the most visual impact. Spoked wheels aren't something you'll see very often on these models since they require modification of the shaft drive rear hub. The kinked subframe of the CX is always an area of struggle for customization so the stamped section was cut out. Tube frame was grafted in for a much cleaner look. I know there are a lot of CX riders that follow this blog so here's a bit more about the modifications in detail: 
  • New rear subframe from the backbone back
  • 19" CB750 Spoke Front
  • 18" Spoke Conversion on Rear
  • Coker Diamond Tread Tires
  • Custom Leather Seat with matching Leather Grips
  • Engine is mostly stock with a tune-up
  • Gas Tank Swap
  • Hidden Electronics
  • Custom 2-1 Exhaust with Cone Engineering Muffler
  • K&N Filters
  • EMGO Bars 







EVENT: Ural Motorcycles X Camp Wandawega Bike Rally

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Weekend Retreat & Bike Rally

Photos: Jun Song


Canoeing, archery, bonfires, stick-poke tattooing, flaming velocity stacks and tumbling Ural's. The nostalgic camp vibes of the Wandawega resort get a bit muddled when you invite some "industry professionals" of today's custom motorcycle scene, but David and Tereasa (owners) knew exactly what they were doing. It's not as though this camp had a pristine track record to begin with. The Wandawega Hotel was originally built in the early 20's during prohibition, outfitted for liquor distribution, prostitution and gambling.
"We’re talking multiple exits, trapdoors and hidden hatches to conceal stockpiles."- Wandawega 
The couple has gone to great lengths to restore the luster of the original hotel, from resurrecting buildings seen in vintage camp photos to period-correct soaps and government issued towels in every room.  
The rally centered around the delivery of the Wandawega tailored Ural Sportsman sidecar rig. The new bike rocks a custom tractor seat with matching canopy, custom mixed satin-metallic green paint, black out kit, rally lights, undercarriage coating etc. etc. Basically it's decked out for campground thrashing, within which is a 2 mile dirt trail through the woods. Ural also sent over resident expert David Wayne George to teach us about the dynamics of piloting a sidecar on and off-road... and on two-wheels with a passenger.
Kara and I felt honored to be part of the event and tried to soak up as much as possible; which meant staking out the tree house and its booze hoist (repurposed) until 2am while Andie (wizardly Deus employee) read us passages from a late 1800's book on elementary arithmetic. We had a lot of fun. In the end, the motorcycle which the weekend was centered around became the vehicle for memories and good times with friends old and new.


















SHOP: Piston & Chain San Francisco

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Motorcycle Clubhouse
San Francisco, CA 
Piston & Chain in San Francisco is the membership based motorcycle clubhouse you wish existed in your city. There are several different membership tiers starting at $50/month, ranging from "pop-in and use the tools" to extended project and storage plans. There's a community tools wall, kitchen, long term storage bins, hydraulic lifts and rolling benches at your disposal as a user. One member's collection of enviable vintage European race bikes can be seen displaying on the top shelf around the shop. Towards the back of the shop a chalkboard event wall lists off weekly activities and lectures such as "The Art of Troubleshooting" presented by members and community pros. They currently have close to 250 active members and say reserving space is still very accessible...which is easy to believe when every day is sunny and 70 with a cool breeze.