![]() The bike you see here is a 1998 XT600E, built for a couple who’ve owned several XT’s over the years and currently have two of them. “Good and tasteful bikes that inspire us and the customer and touch others - making you turn your head and look back, taking your time appreciating the bike for what it is, an extension of you.” Says co-founder Tiago Gonçalves of what they aspire to build: The XT600 would remain in production until the early 2000s, earning a reputation for supreme reliability, with engines regularly going 60,000+ miles before being cracked open for a rebuild.Įnter our friends from Lisbon’s Unik Edition Custom Motorcycles, who pride themselves on building a wide range and style of bikes that aren’t defined by the conventional trends of the day. The big dry-sump single made 39-45 horsepower, depending on the year - good for a 14-second quarter-mile and top speed of just 100 mph. It has the basic construction of a field bike with lights, doesn’t (apart from the junior mountain bike style stickers) have any superfluous gimmicks and is a perfectly adequate on/off road compromise.” - Peter Comely “At the root of the appeal of the XT is definitely its simplicity. Yamaha marketed the bike as a “get up and go” machine, capable of taking the rider wherever they wanted to go at a moment’s notice, from wide highways to deep woods. In 1990, the XT600E came along, designed to appeal to a broader swath of riders with electric start and a lower seat height. In 1984, Yamaha released the XT600, the latest in the company’s XT series of four-stroke dual-purpose machines that began with the famed XT500, winner of the first two Paris-Dakar Rallies. Unik has also kitted this CBX750 out with redesigned footrest brackets and the battery box has been relocated to beneath the engine.A 70s-style scrambler built for the mom of a motocross racer… Discrete LED turn signals replace the huge original blinkers and the behemoth stock tail light has been fitted with modern internals. It’s hooked up to a digital speedo which sits in the original dash amidst the factory analogue gauges. Replacing the CBX750’s outdated electronics is a Motogadget m.unit management system. To allow for the wider rubber Unik added custom fenders front and rear and an angular, race-style belly pan beefs things up even further. After carefully trimming the fairing the forks now sit comfortably inside the cowl and have been fitted with high-mount clip-ons to leave plenty of turning clearance. One of the most challenging aspects of the build was re-installing the front fairing after the beefy ZX9 forks were added. Unik trimmed the rear sub-frame by a huge 16cm before refitting the original bodywork. The CBX’s proportions have been tweaked too. To round things out there’s a modern mono-shock supporting the rear. Improved stopping power comes courtesy of the ZX9 twin Tokico anchors on the front, a Brembo calliper in the rear and Hel braided brake lines all round. The wheels use 17-inch Honda CBR rims with the rear wrapped in wide 180 rubber which has been accommodated by offsetting the chain. ![]() Opting for beefier inverted forks, they’ve installed the front end from a Kawasaki Ninja ZX9. ![]() To enhance the CBX’s handling, Unik retrofit components from late-model sports bikes. Leveraging their experience working on similar projects, the Unik team approached this project without sketches, letting the natural flow of the build guide them. ![]() At the end of the day, it had to still appear a Honda CBX,” says Unik team member Tiago. “We wanted to preserve the bike’s beautiful lines. Not limited to one single style or brand their diverse portfolio has one thing in common, sleek timeless design and a look that is unmistakably Unik.įlávia, a mid-eighties Honda CBX750, was built for the bike’s sentimental long-term owner who was seeking a resto-mod that retained the bike’s retro charm. Based in the heart of Lisboa, Portugal, Unik Edition Motorcycles have a passion for the nostalgic feel of a carbureted engine.
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