Outsiders Motorcycles are a small operation comprising Bert and his girlfriend Jene, based in Zwolle (for now) in the Netherlands, and together they are slowly building a business with their own brand of custom bikes. “About a year ago, our good friend Linda came to us with a wish. That wish was to have her own motorcycle, built how she wanted it. She did not even have a drivers license at the time so the race was on between getting her license and getting her bike done. At that time, we had just finished two bikes: our own. And at that time, those weren’t even pretty at all. ;)”
They started the search for a donor and soon stumbled on an advert for a CB500 in boxes, which actually turned out to be two CB500s plus a 750 sohc engine, five pairs of wheels, and various other bits spread across 15 boxes. Quite a haul. The two 500cc engines were torn apart and combined to create one decent working unit.
“After sorting all the crap we started to work on the frame. We sold a lot of the parts to make funds for the build. Linda wanted a nice clean classic bike. Not too much bells and whistles. So that was the plan we kept in mind building it. She added her own flavor to it by buying parts herself which we made to fit the whole picture.”
The frame was de-lugged, looped and various parts were powder coated, but then the build stalled while they moved shop six times, extending the build period to a whole year… Luckily Linda was patient, and we presume she was yet to pass her test? From Bert & Jene’s point of view, this was the build that defined the period of them becoming “a proper workshop”, from a small space with a few spanners to the proper setup they have now. “Linda’s build helped us to get where we are right now.”
“Back to the bike: Small bits were done during that year. Wheels were laced, forks rebuilt, bearings and bushings replaced, parts were ordered. Everything was checked and replaced where needed. The whole sha-bang. We also put in a 650 camshaft for extra ponies and put it back together with stainless allen bolts. The engine was then put back into the frame and then it went fast. Tank was repainted in-house, seat done by our local upholstery-shop. Wiring was a real challenge because Linda bought some CBR600 handlebar-switches, wich ofcourse did not match the original loom, which then had to be totally rebuilt with a combo R/R and Motobatt battery.”
The tank is metallic charcoal metal with 2k clearcoat, and has a new petcock. The seat has been diamond stitched in very dark grey rather than the usual black. As Linda is quite small they also did a hydraulic clutch conversion to give her some extra muscle for the new EBC reinforced clutch springs. “The clutch conversion and braided hoses were a gift because Linda helped us out along the way.”
“When we started this build, Outsiders Motorcycles wasn’t even born yet. There was no website, no pics, no nothing and despite all that, Linda chose to go with it. So a BIG thank you Lin for your support!
See more from Outsiders Motorcycles on The Bike Shed and on their Facebook pages. Thanks to Bert, Jene and Linda for sharing this with us at The Bike Shed.
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