Tadao Baba, the Japanese motorcycle engineer who conceived in 1992 the fun to ride/easy to control Honda 900RR (although he admitted crashing 4 of them, and not on purpose) must be surprised to see that some young builders not into the Asian bikes custom scene find a sudden interest in customizing his original creation. Paul Funk is one of them. Reason? A cheap to buy used super bike with a bullet proof 893 cc (54.5 cubic inch) engine in a very light frame (total bike dry weight is $407 lbs or 185 kg) and producing strong accelerations equaling at the time those of all competitors’ flagship sport bikes.
Paul got lucky, finding one abandoned in a farm resting between the cows, looking like crap but with little damage except a ripped seat, worn out chain and tires. Became the proud owner for only $600 (500 euros). Not bad for a 21,750 miles (35,000 km) bike with excellent power performance (well known weak point is clutch hub and chain tensioner)
With for inspiration both Cafe Racers and early 80’s Super Bikes, and a budget of only $470, Paul bought new stainless bots, oil and oil filters, slightly used tires, a new chain, a battery, new leather for the seat, exhaust wrap and paint rattle cans, changed some gaskets, refreshed the engine (valve clearance) and clutch plates. After 1 1/2 months of labor, first pearl blasting the frame followed by a Scotch-Brite treatment, reshaping and sanding all body work, then shooting the paint at a friend’s body shop, the meticulous re-assembly produced a quite spectacular for a total budget of only $1070. Youngsters, there is always a custom bike for your budget. Build one. Paul Funk Design. (photography @ Onno Wieringa for Cyril Huze)
A great one grand bike.
Not my cup of tea. But can’t beat a bike like that for the price of 2 iPads.
Love it. The wave of the future with so many of these ’80s and ’90s sportbikes out there for cheap. Stylish and fun to ride.
Amazing what performance can be found for a few bucks.
Not everyone can drain the 401k for toys.
Huge bang for the buck.
Thanks for posting, Cyril. Always good to see people fixing up those old metric muscle bikes.
I love 90’s era sport bikes, I would love to get my hands on a 95ish FZR1000 … that is an amazing motorcycle… cant compare it to modern day sport bikes cause they are leaps ahead, but perfect for me.
Wow, welcome to the Streefighter scene America. It’s been alive and well everywhere else in the world for 20 years.
Nice bike……I miss my old Buell, but not practical for touring.
These bikes were nice to look at and pretty quick too. Fun to zip around on whilst not busting the pocket book… unless the speed trap finds you 🙂
I like it. Motorcycles built like this are far more interesting than something that’s had a parts cannon shot at it.
That’s the spirit! Well done!
Well done. The best line in the article is the last one.
“Youngsters, there is always a custom bike for your budget. Build one.”