Author: Patrick Farrell

When a dog ran out in front of Nick Acosta’s 1974 CB750K it changed his world. He had just done a little brake work and was taking his bike for a spin when a canine torpedo shot out to attack his wheel.

Nick tried evasive maneuvers, only to end up totaling the bike and severing his calf muscle.

“I had just picked up and installed my freshly painted tank two days earlier. I was so disappointed”, Nick says. “The bike was a brat/cafe cross and everything was lost.”

Clip-ons, Motogadget bar-end indicators, forks, a wheel…everything was done for, except Nick’s love for building and riding.

“We don’t get a long riding season here in Canada. I had a month of intensive therapy for my injuries and spent that time thinking of how I could rebuild the bike and get back to riding.”

With a fire to create something special from the wreckage, Nick began doing all the things he was “eventually going to do with the bike”. But now he had time and a stronger motivation.

Nick had never tackled a full build, but learning something new wasn’t strange to him. “My dad is a carpenter and my mom is a chocolatier. I grew up in a very ‘hands on’ kind of environment”.

With a cafe racer project in mind and months of therapy ahead, Nick started watching videos and reading about rebuilding Honda’s iconic inline 4.

The CB750 got a complete teardown. Inspection, cleaning, honing and rebuilding kept Nick busy for a short time. He installed a new Dynatek ignition system and bolted on a Cyclexchange 4-into-1 exhaust system before moving on to more aesthetic work.

The air intake box is from Cognito Moto, also made from billet aluminum, giving the bike a unique look compared to the usual pod option.

“I was faced with a style dilemma”, Nick says of the next step. Settling on a period-appropriate cafe style with modern upgrades where possible, Nick began a process that ultimately aggregated the talents, efforts, and care of a large number of craftspeople in the Toronto moto scene. “I couldn’t have done this without them”.

A love for industrial design and simplicity would normally have led to the immediate delete and relocation of the side covers and oil tank. Nick says, “I just love the classic look of the oil tank and side covers that the bike originally had”—so they stayed.

To keep things sleek, Nick ended up using a vintage fairing and seat from a local manufacturer who works with the Vintage Road Racing Association in Canada. A matching windscreen from Gustafsson Plastics completes the fairing.

“I was lucky enough to meet and develop a great working relationship with Brian Kates of MotoBrix, a very talented metal worker in Toronto who also builds motorcycles. He made an ingenious system to easily mount the seat and fairing onto the motorcycle with minimal welding to the frame”.

After the mounts were finalized, the seat and fairing were drilled and cut to fit the front and rear lighting, also making sure there was proper clearance for the clip-on handlebars.

Swapping in forks from a 1975 GL1000 provided a slightly stiffer front end (and dual disk braking) without the need for gusseting the frame. Finishing up the front end, Nick rebuilt the wheel with new spokes, bearings, rebuilt calipers, forks, and added steel lines for a touch of class.

To complete the cockpit Nick added Motogadget bar end indicators, new handlebar controls, a speedo and tach, LED Indicator lights, mirrors, and a clock to bring everything together.

“I’m a bit of a nut for the clean industrial look of billet aluminum, and incorporated it into many parts of this build, from the gas cap, to the triple top, petcock bowl, clip on handlebars, gauge bracket, and rearsets and passenger pegs”, Nick says.

Then came the question of integrating the right-side rearset with the kickstart lever. “A lot of times you have to decide which you’re going to keep”. With a little engineering, Nick was able to keep both.

Nick designed a flip-up system for the brake actuator, which gives the kickstart lever enough clearance to get the job done. “I’m in engineering, which is just figuring out ways to solve problems, really…”.

Paint was expertly handled by the talented Amanda Brisibois of Toronto’s Black Widow Custom Paint. “She mixed a black cherry base with a micro red metallic, and on the stripe she mixed gold pearl with the red to give it a flip effect. The motorcycle’s name, ‘La Poderosa’, is stenciled into the racing stripe as well”.

David Aversa of Raven6 Customs made a beautiful diamond quilted oxblood red leather seat, and a seat pan to fit the bubble seat. The seat is also interchangeable with a brat style seat of the same leather and design in case a passenger is ever on board.

Nick says the name “La Poderosa” (meaning “The Mighty One” in Spanish) springs from the motorcycle that Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and Alberto Granado took on their life-changing trip across South America. Fitting, after what Nick and this bike have been through!

After completing La Poderosa, Nick is hopelessly bitten by the bike building bug. “I plan on doing many more custom motorcycles, as well as classic restorations, and pushing my boundaries with every build”, he says.

“Let the world change you and you can change the world” ~ Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

From picking himself up from the pavement to this beautiful build, we find ourselves strangely agreeing with Che himself.

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Custom builders often cringe at the sight of their first project. But not Craig Marleau of California’s Kick Start Garage. He still has a soft spot for the CB750 he built over ten years ago, and decided to update it for the future.

“My first custom bike was that Honda. I built it for myself and other people liked it. Ratrod culture was on the rise, and I’d always liked that look, so my build was very ratrod-like. It was pretty rude.”

With more than a decade of distance between now and his first build, Craig was itching to create a new version of his genesis—one that incorporated all of the knowledge and technical evolution he’s gained over the years, but still maintained a connection to the hotrod past.

Hot Rod Alice, a lean, tight, heavily modded 1973 CB750K is just the answer. “I was ready to move from Rat Rod to Hot Rod. The metal flake paint and double pin whitewall just reminds me of the Hot Rods I’ve loved for the better part of my life”.

Paint and pinstripe aren’t all this Hot Rod CB has going for it. There are loads of tech advancements and performance upgrades that make Alice a lean slingshot on two wheels.

“I almost always start with a set of tires when I’m going to build a custom. I saw the double pin Shinko tire and knew I wanted to build a Hot Rod.”

Subtle yet time consuming mods are conservatively placed around the CB750K’s black heart. Front forks have been shod with KSG metal gators to give the forks a rigid look. “I had to turn the fork tubes on my lathe to accept the gators. The forks look solid, but they move like a dream.”

Between the fork legs rests an aggressive looking 400/19 Firestone wrapping a stock, satin powder coated wheel. Stopping power is provided by a full Beringer brake conversion. The twin piston, leading caliper is a bolt-on affair from Beringer, as is the 12-inch floating rotor.

“Beringer just started making the kit and it’s perfect. The floating disc bolts to a stock CB hub, and the leading caliper is a perfect upgrade for custom builds. We’re one of the first builders to get the kit.”

So new to the market is the kit that Craig and his son Myles were fitting it to the fork and wheel in their hotel the night before The One Moto show in Portland, Oregon. “Beringer had to ship it from France to the hotel! It was a close call, but it fit right up.”

Moving up the forks to the clamps, Alice sports a modified bottom clamp to receive a KSG LED projector headlight conversion. “I wanted a super clean look and decided to go with a bottom mount Harley style headlamp bucket with no ears.”

Topping out the clamps is a custom DC Motive top clamp utilizing a plunger style system to secure to the fork tubes. “It’s got a gentle arch and the plunger system does away with the need for slices used in pinch style clamps. It’s really clean.”

Steering is managed by a pair of one-off, board tracker inspired clip-ons facbricated by Craig and sleeved with white Biltwell grips. “I wanted something low, lean and tight with a nod to the board track feel.”

Keeping things lean, Craig chose to gut the entire electrical system and replace it with a Motogadget m.unit blue setup. “This allows me to control everything with a Motone 3-button setup. Everything is handled by the three buttons. Lights, start, stop, horn—everything. It’s really slick.”

The switch to a Motogadget controller did more than reduce handlebar clutter. Craig leaned heavily into the electrical system upgrade. “This is the one area I’ve grown the most over the years. Using the m.unit simplifies the heck out of the wiring.”

Charging is handled with a one-piece, solid state setup. Seeking to streamline the bulky electrical, Craig moved all the connections to the inside of the cases, giving the CB an almost wire-free look.

To nurse some Hot Rod punch from the powerplant, Craig bored the jugs bringing Alice up to an 836CC. Rejetting the carbs gets Alice breathing in properly through a set of pod filters and barking out the back via a Steve Carpy 4-into-1 exhaust.

Wrinkle finish valve covers with Webster Design details, grace Alice’s top end, while the rest of the engine is bathed in a satin black finish. A MOON mini mooneyes gauge reports oil pressure for a nod to Alice’s Hot Rod inspiration.

Shifting and braking are actuated through Tarozzi rearsets mounted to a set of KSG chain drive rearset hangers. “I made a set for my first custom and have always liked the look,” Craig says.

Remote reservoir shocks provide smooth swingarm travel while the white, tuck-and roll leather seat offers both rider comfort and Hot Rod style. “I’ve always loved this look in Hot Rods. I do all my own upholstery so I figured it just seemed right,” Craig reports.

Finishing out the tail end is a custom cowl that nestles a discrete LED brake/running light bar.

The crowning jewel is Alice’s stock tank painstakingly dressed in deep, metal flake candy blue. “That’s a 3 phase paint job that took several coats before we got the blue where we wanted it. The first coat of blue was bright turquoise. We just kept going until we got close to the stock blue.”

With a nod to future and past, Alice brings a lot to the present. If you’re looking to grab a glimpse of this Hot Rod gal, swing by the Outliers Guild Moto Show in Los Angeles, Saturday the 31st of March and Craig will introduce you.

As it turns out, Alice is available…

Kick Start Garage | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Patrick Farrell