This 1975 Honda CB550 has been put together by Brady Young, formerly of UGLY Motorbikes, and now part of Seaweed & Gravel in southern California.
The inspiration for the build was spawned by a previous bike of Brady’s, made from spare parts over a few weekends. The bike was rough, full of character and frequently saw the dirt. Nonetheless, it caught the eye of the client who commissioned it, but with new shoes and a slightly more classy attire.
“Our goal for this build was to create a simple, clean, minimalistic bike with an aggressive, low stance; pulling elements from both the cafe racer and brat style palettes, whilst preserving the classic lines that were buried in stock form. Once the form and stance of the bike was set, we moved forward with making it function.”
The top end was rebuilt with new internals and tuned by a retired racer and mechanic, who managed to turn the bike into a true one-kick, cold-starter. The client also wanted an electric start, so we called on the guys at Antigravity Batteries whose powerful unit powers the brand new wiring harness with updated reg/rec.
“Our theory on the finish of our bikes is overall modesty with bold features. With an all-black bike we incorporated matte, satin, and gloss finishes to add some contrast. Here at Seaweed & Gravel feel we’ve produced a bike that we can be proud of, and have welcomed a new member into our family of weirdos.”Well said fellas. She’s a peach.
from the Bike shed
