Fuller Hot Rods Honda CB 750 Cafe Racer

Cafe Racers. At least 3 years that I am telling you that you are going to see more and more of them being born or re-born in the best custom shops around the world. The reason? The convergence of an affinity for the retro style with the desire to handle a very maneuverable bike both in the city and on country roads. As a matter of fact, due to the number of creations of this style present in bike shows, a couple of major custom bike competitions just started this year to create a class just for them. So, expect me to feature more and more of them. Like this one named “Rodan”  (Godzilla’s nemesis and sometimes ally) by Bryan Fuller from Fuller Hot Rods that some of you also know as the co-host of the TV Show “2 Guys Garage” on Speed Channel.

The building process of “Rodan” is currently featured in the first 4 episodes of another TV show – Cafe Racer on HD Theater – and in Bryan’s new how-to book “Full-Bore Sheet Metal“. I saw this new creation in Sturgis and Bryan told me its story. “I was at the store one day on my 550 “Shogun” Honda Cafe Racer I’ve been working on since 2008 but still isn’t finished.  When I came outside an older gentleman named Jack Feldman was checking it out pretty intensely. Honda CB 750’s are getting harder to find and Jack said he had one…..and he was the original owner.. and it was a first year 1969 which is the most sought after!!!! So I followed him over to his house which was only about 4 blocks away. The bike was absolutely gorgeous. $4000 cash later and it was mine. We loaded it on the trailer the next day and rode it all week at Sturgis where it performed flawlessly.  I put about 3000 miles on the seat in its form as I bought it.

Then Cafe Racer TV, a cool show with lots of interesting stories featuring small shops and guys building in their garage, contacted Bryan. Of course, the 1969 Honda CB 750 was the choice to demonstrate Bryan’s skills at turning it into an improved machine of today with more speed, aggressive aesthetics while preserving easy handling associated with Cafe Racers. 

Engine was replaced with a 1978 bored, ported, polished, totally decked 836cc hummer. A reputable builder in California assembled this gem and added CR Carbs good for 10 horses. Gas tank and tail were angled to match the slope of the fins and add to the aggressive stance.  Frame was slightly modified with 2-degree more rake, nothing able to alter noticeably bike handling, but enough to add some attitude. A stock swingarm from Yamaha with oil tank fitted inside (as on a Buell) joined the frame via a shock from FOX.

Bryan used Beringer Brakes, originally inboard calipers conceived for the aircraft industry and now adapted to motorcycles and offered by the French company.  Supposedly this set is the 3rd one out the door. Bryan’s crew had to make their own brake stays and found a way to lock the calipers off of the axle (SS dowel that tucks up into a slot in the fork leg, pretty crafty!) Ten days ago, The Rodan Cafe Racer won second place in the Performance Custom Class of the Sturgis AMD World Championship Of Bike Building. After that Bryan Fuller took it for 3 consecutive days of riding on the twisted roads of the Black Hills. He told me, extremely responsive, docile and ready to run at full throttle all the time. Tech sheet is below. Fuller Hot Rods.  (photography copyright Frank Sanders & Onno “Berserk”  Wieringa, courtesy to Cyril Huze)

 
Frame: 1969 Honda CB750 with custom rear section. Engine: 1969 Honda 750 with an 836 kit and CR Carbs. Rear Swing Arm: Yamaha Seca II modified to have oil tank in swing arm. Rear Wheel (Size): 5.50- 18″ steel rim with stainless spokes. Front Wheel (Size): 3.50-18″ steel rim with stainless spokes. Rear Shock(s): Fox shock with Hyperco. Bars:  Custom made stainless clip- ons with Berringer Controls. Headlight: Custom cast housing with Buell lense and ring. Seat: Handcrafted aluminum seat pan with red leather by John Whitaker. Tank: Honda tank modified with knee cutouts with aircraft gas cap. Rear Sets: Custom made. Tail Section: Handmade Aluminum Rear with cast taillight bezel. Battery:  Speedcell race battery. Brakes: Beringer inboard discs, hubs and 4 piston calipers front and rear. Tires (Sizes): Front 110/80-18.  Rear 180/55-18. Exhaust: Custom stainless pipes with Cone engineering mufflers. Paint: Custom paint by JDK with stripping by Papa Studios. Plating/Polishing:  Pro Plating Atlanta.

48 Responses to “Fuller Hot Rods Honda CB 750 Cafe Racer”


  1. 1 Henry Aug 22nd, 2011 at 7:26 am

    Love it. But the exhaust seems (picture?) seems to be very, very close to the rear peg.

  2. 2 hk Aug 22nd, 2011 at 9:19 am

    pretty cool ,not totally mind blowing amazing but cool and totally rideable.

  3. 3 Jerry Aug 22nd, 2011 at 9:23 am

    Nicely done. Very out-of-the-box thinking.

  4. 4 Ed Aug 22nd, 2011 at 9:28 am

    Cafe Racers do seem to be the next trend. People are even putting GSX engines in a featherbed frame:

  5. 5 Tojo Yamamoto Aug 22nd, 2011 at 10:04 am

    Watched that show, Fuller is talented no doubt, I thought the bike looked “ok”
    that weird tank mount with opening looks stupid JMO

    Fact is he took a great fully original piece of history, a rare 69 and
    cut it up just to do it and put a little more publicity on himself for
    being just like Jessie James, very original….

    That bike should have gone to someone that could
    give it a great home as an original, there are few left
    and he could have used any number of available
    similar bikes, people even offered replacements
    that were not as valuable historically, $4K isn’t big money
    in the bike world, JMO showed his arrogance in doing
    that to a survivor….

    But then again he just increased the value of every
    69 out there…..

  6. 6 Steve Carr Aug 22nd, 2011 at 10:49 am

    Awesome style! Always admired Brian’s work !

  7. 7 Dinky Dot Aug 22nd, 2011 at 11:10 am

    Neat take on the Japanese flag the Nisshōki

  8. 8 Eric Maurer Aug 22nd, 2011 at 11:37 am

    love the bike, everything about it, until you get to the tail, then you lose me. Aside from the out of place tail section, this thing is super A1 happy lucky bitchin!

    I am glad to see cafe bikes getting some love, but honestly, they were never NOT popular, they are just getting more press these days.

  9. 9 AFT Customs Aug 22nd, 2011 at 11:49 am

    Cool bike as always from Bryan. He is one of my favorite builders. I spent quite a while looking at the little details on this bike. He got our #1 vote in the performance custom class for this bike. He even made the valve adj. caps out of a really hard material. Fulkinell ? I may have that wrong. Trivia – AFT Customs Girls presented him the trophy!

  10. 10 1550tc Aug 22nd, 2011 at 11:58 am

    Brian love all your bikes from your low life bike/s to your own rides to this 750-4……good luck with your line of great looking old skoole t shirts, should help pay the bills 🙂

  11. 11 john reed Aug 22nd, 2011 at 1:45 pm

    I saw this bike in Sturgis,
    Its a really absolutely gorgeous bike ,
    It was built from another absolutely gorgeous bike
    but its a shame it wasnt built from a suitable bike that was worn out or tired
    because if it was there would still be 2 absolutely gorgeous bikes instead of one.

  12. 12 David Aug 22nd, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Cant tell for sure but It looks not to be a really rare Sand cast 69. Still it is a shame to rip apart a good solid survivor and build this bike….it could have been done with a little more searching for parts at probably less than $4000.

    SSDD; David

  13. 13 cwooll Aug 22nd, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    He spent $4000 on a rare 1969 CB750 and then butchered it to make something special???? I will not be buying his book.

  14. 14 John H. Aug 22nd, 2011 at 6:39 pm

    Cool. Red seat should be black. Is the license plate mount legal or a heat score?

  15. 15 BadMonkeyMW Aug 22nd, 2011 at 9:27 pm

    It’s a nice bike, but really unoriginal name. Some guys built a Hayabusa streetfighter several years ago named Rodan that was featured in Motorcyclist magazine. Coincidence? I doubt it.

  16. 16 Woody Aug 22nd, 2011 at 9:34 pm

    I’ve cut up a few SOHC and still own 1½ of ’em, damn shame to cut up a $4k ’69 when there are still thousands of later years out there for under a grand, especially if you’re going to use a last year motor anyway. Nice use of the swingarm to replace the oil tank, I was looking for one right away, before actually reading the article 🙂

  17. 17 rocco Aug 22nd, 2011 at 11:51 pm

    i watched this episode and i think its lame to cut up a super clean cb 750 . kinda pissed me off . if you going to screw up a classic by trying to make it look like an r-1 then do it to a rusty or wrecked bike .

  18. 18 Johnny X Aug 23rd, 2011 at 8:59 am

    Ha! Will we see a lot of these chopper guys jumping on the cafe racer bandwagon? If so they will be weeded out pretty quick!

  19. 19 AFT Customs Aug 23rd, 2011 at 11:34 am

    Bryan is not a chopper guy. Look at his body of work. And then look beyond that at the detail pieces he fabricates himself. He is very inovative & talented. We bought the book & all the AFT Girls are reading it. It’s a very good book. If he lived closer the girls would be taking a work shop from him.

  20. 20 martin Twofeather Aug 23rd, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    Thanks Cyril for bringing this Bryan has a lot of talent and a hell of a good guy I hope he keeps it up it’s was a great job…….

  21. 21 Kustoms and Choppers Aug 23rd, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    Its a cool bike, sure its not Indian Larry or Hank Young but he did a great job!

  22. 22 A 1 CYCLES Aug 23rd, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    anyone can restore a classic… it takes a real man to cut one up..great job bryan

  23. 23 big cat Aug 23rd, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    You guy’s crack me up, a dude takes a 75,000 mile 4000.00 Honda and turns it into a radical canyon carver and you piss and bitch about : it pisses me off that he did that, can’t believe he did that. Don’t look at the fact that the motor now developes some HP, cut all the fat off it and turned it into a performance machine. They said the same goofy things when he cut up a Buell and turned it into a HP work of art that now lives in a museum. Lets be real he’s a custom fabricator and that is the busneiss, his book is great, one of the best i’ve seen. so keep on polishing the turds or get some balls and cut that old slow 60ish H.P. pig up and make it run!

  24. 24 JONNY D Aug 23rd, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    give the dude a break. I’ve seen a lot of his work and it’s spectacular! cars or bikes. He recently built a 61 impala with a fuel injected 572 that won the GM design award at SEMA last year. It was nice and original to start with also. I guess he probably should have left the 130 horse 6 cyl in it hugh? the old saying go’s don’t hate the player hate the game. his metal work is always sick and his new book helped me and I only read 3 chapters so far. call a spade a spade, this cat is dam good!

  25. 25 FXRocket Aug 23rd, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    I agree with Big Cat, A1 and Jonny … check out Jeff Decker’s Crocker talk about Cuttin up a Beauty and it still looks Beautiful!!!

  26. 26 Alex G Aug 24th, 2011 at 1:14 pm

    At least he chopped up a honda and not something cool. chop up hondas all day long it wont matter threr are still like 20 million of the out there. Seriously nice job i wonder how it handles?

  27. 27 Woody Aug 24th, 2011 at 1:22 pm

    “anyone can restore a classic… it takes a real man to cut one up”
    Wow, if I turn a Vincent into a go-cart I could be Superman 😉

  28. 28 Amazing Aug 24th, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Another beautiful example from the hearts and hands of the Fuller Hot Rods crew. Everything they touch turns to gold! For those purists who say he reduced the value of this CB750, I dare say you’d have a hard time buying this one for $4K now!

  29. 29 Dave Aug 24th, 2011 at 1:53 pm

    Bike looks great Brian, fantastic job. Glad Metal Rescue Rust Remover has been so helpful for you at Fuller Hot Rods! Nice work on Cafe Racer.

  30. 30 Rich Aug 24th, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    Brian, alright I’m in! I’m trying to find my old RD 350 Yamaha… An old friend said he knows where it is! I would love for you to transform that little puppy into a gem! I won’t give up my choppa though…
    Thanks brother!

  31. 31 John McLeod Aug 24th, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    Simply KILLER!!!!

  32. 32 shawny Aug 24th, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    custom cb – hot
    amd girls – not

  33. 33 Kevin Paige Aug 24th, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    This has to be my favorite creation of Fuller’s! I want to hear it!

  34. 34 Ben Kudon Aug 24th, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    Hi Bryan, Nice job, but where’s the Primo Belt Drive?

  35. 35 TR Aug 24th, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    Awesome build. Being the owner of a 1970 CB750, I can appreciate leaving things original, but I also like bikes to perform better than other like models. If you read, he didn’t use the sandcast engine, he used a 78. The sandcast engine was probably sold.
    Did he move the petcock to the front of the tank? the extreme angle of the tank is the only thing I’m not too keen on.

  36. 36 wayne wolfe Aug 25th, 2011 at 8:20 am

    BRYAN: Wayyyy cool. Build a trailer and tow it behind the ’61. Wayne

  37. 37 "Larry the Lawyer" Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:06 am

    Congratulations on another great build. It is rewarding to see how you put form and function to the test to arrive at such a minimum effect of parts to achieve the whole. See you at Barber.

  38. 38 Alien Aug 26th, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    I had the honor of riding this bike for a half day around the Sturgis area. I’ll say this, not only does the bike look impressive, but it handles and rides equally the same! Hats off to Bryan and crew!!
    Remember…down for speed!

  39. 39 liz cannon Aug 27th, 2011 at 7:14 am

    Just great……….amazing xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  40. 40 Aaron @ glenndyne Aug 28th, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    Bitchen!

  41. 41 Steve Sep 26th, 2011 at 2:17 am

    The bike looks a little discombobulated….not what his original drawing was about. Some people are calling this a “performance” bike? I guess that’s a relative term. If the motor doesn’t have a big bore kit, it’s on par, horsepower wise, with a modern 250 twin. The suspension looks stock….again, “performance” must be a relative term. I SERIOUSLY doubt those brakes stop as well as a ’69 setup with dual discs. He did something radical, used unique parts, the bike has decent build quality etc. To me, it’s a chopper. He “chopped” the extra stuff off, used some custom parts and made an interesting looking bike. If you’re going to do that, I would do the math, set up the chassis correctly and retro more modern systems on the bike. It’s no longer a classic, it’s not a performance special, it’s not a harley or clone. It is what it is. As long as the customer is happy. I don’t really like it IMHO.

  42. 42 chris ricci Oct 7th, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    That is the coolest bike i have seen in a long time, love the old and new swing arm ,fat tire… Holy smokes. It is so mint im gonna have him build me ne if he would do another . Maybe we will add some twistes to the next generation 750… keep you posted if he decides to do it.. maybe on cafe horn spanker..

  43. 43 navyrydr Nov 4th, 2011 at 9:16 am

    The ONLY thing original about that bike makes it a 69 model is the engine cradle and the titled neck. It IS a very nice CAFE but it can NO way be called a 1969 “SANDCAST” CB750.!!

  44. 44 navyrydr Nov 4th, 2011 at 9:21 am

    OH and to add to this comment , The 1969 cb750 SANDCAST DID NOT come out with dual disc brakes on the front , so that also adds to the fact that it wasn’t original. Dual disc didn’t come out till 1977 on the SS models.

  45. 45 aj Dec 26th, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    the article says the original engine on the bike was swapped out and a ’78 rebuilt motor was used in the build…. so why did he have to destroy a ’69 ???

  46. 46 Adam Vincent Jan 4th, 2012 at 9:07 am

    I like the bike but I have to say i found it hard to watch him cutting the frame, grinding the hens teeth out of the tank and throwing the clocks off the bench after declaring them garbage! Sort of like watching Boyd Coddington eyeing up an all original hiboy and knowing what horrors he has in store for it.

    Now i’m off to the garage to chop the frame of my one owner ’36 knuckle before I drop my ’36 series A Vincent motor into a featherbed frame!

  47. 47 Jeremy Jan 23rd, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    What absolute morons. I watched in horror as they cut up a K0 model CB750. Those things are worth $6 grand with a seized motor!!!!! Let alone if that is a 69 or possibly even a sandcast!!

    They’re sitting there cutting up the triple clamp with the original black gauges, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Those clamps alone are worth $2-400. They could have used one off a 73 worth 40-50 all day long and it’s the exact same thing.

    These people have no business working on motorcycles. Absolutely none. This epitomized hack in my opinion.

  48. 48 Derek Jan 25th, 2012 at 3:54 pm

    Love what ye have done to the Honda CB 750
    Would be quite similar to my fathers one but with mag wheels …. By the way he clocked 207 mph ts back in 1981 for a world record average of 183 mph both ways !! Will try post some pics at it has just being rebuilt last year after 25 years in boxes ! Keep up the great work guys! Brilliant show

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Cyril Huze