Idea = Win / Execution = Fail
Here’s a bike into which somebody has put a fair amount of time and effort. It’s a 1975 Honda CL360 that has a Ninja 250 motor stuffed into it. Stuffed is probably the wrong word, as the motor itself appears to fit quite nicely in the frame. Stuffed might apply to a Ninja 500 or 650 motor stuffed into the frame. But I digress…
The idea seen here is kind of unique for the cafe racer scene. Stuff a quarter-liter late-model liquid-cooled engine in a fairly small bike, and then you’ll have a bike that screams like a banshee, but probably isn’t much (if any) faster than the original. In fact, the Ninja motor probably puts out less horsepower and torque than an in-tune CL/CB360/350 motor. But boy would this surprise anyone who happened to hear it scream by. The idea equals a potential win. And another plus: rear-sets!
The execution, however, is a fail. I think this is mainly driven by two things. First off, a simple driveway tip-over is going to crush the hell out of that radiator hung out over the side of the bike. Ouch. Secondly, the muffler. Aesthetics and ground clearance. Enough said…
one comment and one comment only…it wasn’t Red Bull in that can on the frame that inspired that bike.