The danger with commissioning a custom motorcycle is that you end up with something so unique, or expensive, that it’s not viable to sell it in the future. Of course, this is only a problem if you actually plan to let the bike go… which the owner of this outrageous Honda CBX1000 never will.
This CBX was built by Dutch shop WiMoto, and belongs to a gentleman named Reinoud Tjallema. The previous owner had already poured a lot of love and money into customizing it—but was then diagnosed with terminal cancer. So Reinoud promised he’d take good care of it, and never sell it.
After riding it as-is for a few years, Reinoud decided it was time to take the 80s-model CBX up a few notches. Since he runs an online parts and gear store that stocks WiMoto parts, taking it there was a no-brainer. And because he was going all-in on the Honda, he had a pretty zany concept in mind.
“Reinoud had this crazy idea of building something with two single side-mounted wheels,” explains the man behind WiMoto, Wido Veldkamp. “So he asked me if this was possible. Of course, anything is possible—but this would take some engineering. Especially because it needed to be a road bike, and not only a show bike.”
There wasn’t much more to the brief: the wheels should be spoked, and that the bike needed to look awesome and perform well. Reinoud’s only other instruction was, “Surprise me!”
“For the purists, this CBX had already been modified,” says Wido, “so we didn’t chop up an original bike! The previous rebuild was done in a style that was quite outdated, and also the geometry of the bike was far from what it should be.”
Wido started by measuring every last inch of the CBX, then modeling his design with SolidWorks 3D CAD software. Countless hours went into digitally engineering the build before Wido even picked up a spanner. That included using specialist software from famed suspension guru Tony Foale to design, analyze and perfect the unique suspension.
Then Wido started chopping and modifying the frame. That included fabricating a new subframe, and adding some trellis reinforcements to help the chassis cope with the torsional forces of the single-sided setup. With that done, it was time to build the actual suspension components.
Both the girder-style front end and the mono-shock swingarm are complete one-offs, fabricated in-house using chromoly tubing. CS Metaalbewerking milled the front suspension wishbones from a single slab of aluminum billet, and there are custom YSS shocks running at both ends.
It’s an impressive setup, matched to an equally complicated set of wheels.
JSR-Service supplied Wido with a pair of 18” stainless steel rims, laced to BMW R1200GS hubs. The front uses a custom-made axle with the eccentric bearing from a Volkswagen Golf, while the rear utilizes a Honda VFR750 bearing.
Wido modified the front wheel further, by adding mounting points for a massive 440 mm perimeter brake disc. A set of Avon Cobra tires finishes off the running gear, measuring 120 wide at the front, and 180 out back.
For the bodywork, Wido matched the CBX fuel tank up to a Honda Bol d’Or tail section that he narrowed and chopped. Then he made a new underside for the tail to house the wiring, complete with two integrated LED tail light strips. Tijger Leathers capped it off with custom upholstery on the generously padded seat.
The bike was rewired around a Bluetooth-enabled Motogadget controller, with the speedo and switches also coming from the German electronics brand.
The cockpit features new handlebars, a new throttle and grips from Domino, and custom bar clamps with a cutout for the speedo. Lighting is by way of an LED headlight, mounted neatly inside the tubes of the front arm. Most of the bolt-on parts (and sundries like the chain and sprockets), came from Reinoud’s own catalog.
All that was left was to relocate the CBX’s muffler. “The bike came with an original Kerker system,” says Wido. “It sounds awesome, but unfortunately the muffler was in front of the rear wheel. So we had to modify it.”
The CBX is finished off with a subtle two-tone paint scheme by SMP Creative, matched to a less subtle powder coating job by TH-Poedercoaten. By picking two vastly different colors for the bodywork and chassis components, Wido’s perfectly juxtaposed the Honda’s classic appeal with his zany engineering.
As requested, the eye-catching setup actually works out on the road, too. “When people see you riding this thing,” says Wido, “they all look surprised; ‘what the F is that?'”
“But the steering is really neutral and does exactly what you want. It feels super stable and it is addictive to see the front suspension working in front of you!”
Oh, and as you’d expect from a six-cylinder superbike from the 80s, this CBX sounds rather amazing at full tilt.
WiMoto | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Floris Velthuis
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