Motorcycle News - The Honda CB500 cafe racer that staved off bankruptcy
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His shop, Malmö-based PAAL Motorcycles, has been operating for five years now. But last year, the business almost closed down. “We basically hit rock bottom,” Fredrik admits.
“When a client asked us to build a CB500, I was standing on a pivot. I could say no and close the shop—or say yes, while knowing that all profit had to go back into the company, and I wouldn’t be able to take out a salary.”
Since Fredrik was going all in, he knew that the CB500 would have to be one of the shop’s best builds to date. “A bike that truly represents what we stand for as a brand here at PAAL,” he says. “Design, craftsmanship, quality and performance.”
So the PAAL crew stripped the motor down (again), building it up with new valves and reworked cylinders. The engine also got a new coat of paint, and the carbs were refreshed, and tuned to run with pod filters. Ancillary bits like cables, bearings, seals, and the chain and sprockets, were all replaced.
They also installed LED turn signals, a tiny speedo and switches from Motogadget, along with Motone control buttons and an LED taillight.
The effect’s carried through to the gorgeous tank and cowl straps, and even to the custom leather grips. The actual bars are a set of KustomTech clip-ons, matched to Tarozzi rear-sets on hand-made brackets.
The four-into-one exhaust system was fabricated in-house, and terminates in a chunky, low-slung muffler. The frame and a bunch of other components were powder coated black, while the bodywork was shot in a tasteful light grey.
Around the time PAAL were wrapping up the CB500, they were also turning screws on a Kawasaki KZ650 and a Honda CB750. And while Fredrik went into the projects with a weight on his shoulders, he came out the other side freshly invigorated.
“I know that I can write pages about all the parts we used on the bike. But the story of this bike represents a lot more then material things for us.”
Paal Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Yannick Wolff Motorcycles via Bike EXIF http://www.bikeexif.com November 29, 2018 at 11:13AM Leave a Reply. |
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11/29/2018
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