momoto builds ultra-minimal CBC café racer from ’79 SR500

momoto builds ultra-minimal CBC café racer from ’79 SR500
all images courtesy of patrick frey

yamaha SR500s are a staple within the café racer bike scene. loved for their relatively inexpensive buy-in, abundance of parts from 21 years of production, and single-cylinder engine; it’s a perfect canvas from which to build and explore. with a head full of ideas and the ubiquitous machine at hand, patrick frey of momoto set out to create the ‘CBC’.

3/4 view 

featuring a clean, understated look that’s well known through out the scene, the ’79 ‘CBC’ isn’t just fun to look at, it’s also tuned for maximum output. the engine is relatively untouched, save for a small boost from a mikuni TM36 fladside carb and K&N pod filter. exhaust funnels through a free-flowing supertrapp megaphone with satin finish and super-trendy pipe wrap.

flowing line from front to back 

the bike is defined by a smooth line that rolls from tip-to-tail. it features a salvaged tank from a XS400 — also yamaha — that was then hammered to fit the frame and add knee indents. a one-person cockpit — no sharing this one — and custom-made cowl round the bike off, with the addition of an integrated linear tail light. getting rid of the yamaha’s posture came next. to get it right, frey lowered the forks four centimeters and fitted shocks from a kawasaki zephyr 550.

engine detail 

tires are road-ready bridgestone battlax BT44s, with some upgraded stopping power provided by brembo P4 components and an EBC 320mm floating disk. levers, also brembo, are slotted onto telefix clip-on bars, and rearsets come from LSL. a specialty loom keeps wiring minimal, and the battery hides with most of the electrics directly under the seat. tiny indicators were integrated into bar ends, and compliment both front and tail lights nicely. topping it all off is a simple color palette. all engine and mechanical parts were given a cool graphite metallic powder coat, and up top a creamy gloss white. 

integrated speedo 

‘CBC’ 

rolling chassis

powder-coat 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.