Honda GL500 Silverwing by Motoism

I have a special thing with the Honda CX500. Actually, it was this CX500 Cafe Racer by Sacha Lakic that inspired me to start with BikeBrewers back in 2015. I honestly thought that is was pretty impossible to come close to Lakic’s design let alone equal it. But the guys from Motoism, based in Munich, Germany, took a shot and it turned out very, very well. First a little background info on the donor bike:

The Honda CX engine and technology was way ahead of its competition. The 80° V-twin engine was liquid cooled, had no kick starter, was shaft driven and had a state of the art ignition system that was separated from the rest of the electronics. Due to the typical engine setup which only was used by Moto Guzzi, the CX500 was often called the “poor men’s Guzzi”. Like many other bikes, the CX had many variations, like the GL500 Silverwing. This machine, introduced in 1981, was a mid-size touring bike with a CX500 engine but got a more reliable transistorized ignition system. The GL500 also got Honda’s Pro-Link mono shock setup and was available as a naked bike and a touring bike with full fairing.

Unfortunately, the Honda CX/GL range never was the big sales hit Honda aimed at. Despite the fact that it gets harder every day to find one, there are still builders out there that dare to take the challenge of transforming the rather chunky stock bike into something damn good looking. Welcome Motoism’s Honda GL500-JPN (with a wink to the bikes homeland Japan).

The biggest challenge was to get the proportions right. It’s the combination of the WIG-welded subframe, modified swing arm (baseline-tilt) and the awesome fiberglass headlight unit with two H3 ellipsoids (for high/low beam) & custom LED daylight that creates a whole different look of the machine. Motoism wanted to merge past and present in this bike with the heritage of Honda kept in place together with state of the art, high-end technology upgrades.

The complete front end comes from a CBR600RR with double radial Tokico brakes and Galfer waved discs and steel brake lines. The Pro-Link shock is replaced by an adjustable Öhlins shock. These upgrades make sure that the bike handles and brakes like a modern bike.

As you may expect, the electric system is built on a Motogadget M-unit which is accompanied with a Motogadget Mini Speedo/Tacho, push button controls and LED m-Blaze disc handlebar indicators. The latter are attached to a set of LSL anodized alloy handlebars and grips.

The seat is custom made from suede leather and is attached to a beautiful fiberglass tail with integrated tail light and LED turn signals. Just below the seat there’s room for the electronic components, which is completely integrated into the design. Of course, all wearing parts have been replaced and the engine got a complete revision. It got some new paint that matches the bike as a whole. A custom 2 in 1 exhaust with BOS silencer will make sure that other road users will notice you. While the original 50hp and 50Nm are enough to have a lot of fun with this bike, the engine can be tuned for a bit more power.

Last but not least, the bike got a set of wired wheels. The hubs are custom CNC machine ones, and the anodized alloy rims are also made to order. To give the bike a badass look, it got front: Continental TKC 80 Twinduro wheels. 19″ for the front, 17″ for the rear.

Adding it all up, Motoism aimed high and, in my opinion, succeeded. The bike lookes awesome, has the right proportion, contains only the best of the best parts and got the finishing touch of real German quality. I think they hit the right spot with this bike.

The concept around this bike is pretty similar to Lakic’s CX500: the bike is limited to a number of 10 and customers can modify little things in the design when they order it. In order to assure that the buyer can actually ride this beauty, it’s compliant with all EU legislation. More info about the bike can be found here.