Honda has a long-standing custom of constructing middleweight bikes which can be extremely succesful however visually uninteresting. The mid-2000s Honda CB600F Hornet is a chief instance. It makes slightly below 100 hp, handles effectively, and boasts Honda’s legendary reliability… nevertheless it’s ugly.
We don’t see a complete lot of {custom} Honda Hornets, which is an actual disgrace. The punchy four-cylinder bare has tons of potential—if you know the way to therapeutic massage it into form.
This practice 2006-model Honda CB600F Hornet (referred to as the Honda 599 within the US) comes from Francis Von Tuto in Florence, Italy. Francis is not any stranger to older Japanese sportbikes, so he got here into the venture with a transparent thought of the right way to take it from bland to lovely. However earlier than he may deliver this tradition Honda Hornet to life, he needed to get his shopper on board.
From the shopper’s perspective, the venture had been off to a rocky begin. He’d initially given the bike over to a distinct {custom} builder—a great good friend of Francis’ who focuses on efficiency bikes and manages a WorldSBK race staff. However, as a consequence of unexpected circumstances, the workshop by no means acquired additional than stripping the bike.
Francis was known as in to take the venture over. The shopper agreed, however he was understandably annoyed on the prospect of getting to clarify all his concepts to a brand-new workshop. However one have a look at Francis’ portfolio set his thoughts comfy, and the 2 slowly began constructing a rapport.
“He initially had concepts that didn’t actually match the model of the construct, or in some instances that might compromise the rideability,” says Francis. “In lots of instances, it doesn’t assist once you search for inspiration on the web, since individuals put up all the things from six-figure builds to unrideable showpieces. It’s generally troublesome for the common consumer to inform the distinction.”
“After a couple of mock-ups and conferences, we discovered a technique to straighten issues out. Let me say that is nothing unusual, it occurs greater than you’ll count on… and I get it! Fortunately in the long run we discovered a compromise and it began to make sense.”
“One of many downsides of the Honda CB600F Hornet, other than its terribly lengthy and tall rear body part, is its voluminous tank. However the proprietor needed to maintain it—so first I needed to create a brand new design to work round it. That meant the exhaust, sprint, and headlight all needed to go, and the entire rear part needed to be shorter and narrower, however nonetheless snug for a pillion.”
Francis began by transforming the Hornet’s subframe; a chore in itself. The OEM subframe is an oblong tube affair that was designed to be hidden underneath bodywork—however the redesign was going to depart it uncovered. So Francis lower the tip off, did some considered de-tabbing, and welded in a brand new rear loop, fabricated from spherical tubing.
Further care was taken to make sure that the brand new setup wouldn’t have an effect on the rear suspension geometry, and that there would nonetheless be room to squeeze a passenger on. Subsequent, Francis formed a seat pan out of fiberglass, then handed it over to BF Tappezzerie, an auto upholsterer in Florence, to complete it. It now wears double-density foam and a vinyl cowl, with stitching particulars that have been requested by the proprietor.
Decrease down, Francis ditched the Hornet’s airbox to slim it down extra. Alloy aspect panels now flank the bike, wrapping across the remnants of the oblong subframe for a extra cohesive aesthetic. Hiding behind the aspect panels are a Lithium-ion battery, a coolant reservoir, and the important electrical bits.
A row of filters from BMC deal with consumption duties, with purple bases that match the opposite purple accents on the bike. Francis additionally put in a stage three efficiency equipment from Dynojet, to ensure that the bike runs easily with the open filters.
The Hornet’s upside-down forks and 17” alloy wheels have been retained, however the forks wanted a rebuild. An elegant sculpted fender sits above the entrance wheel; it seems to be prefer it’s been borrowed from a contemporary sportbike, however Francis truly formed it out of aluminum utilizing an English wheel, a hammer, and a sheet curler.
The bike’s proprietor equipped a brand new LED headlight, however the remainder of the cockpit’s format was as much as Francis. He put in the sunshine on aluminum stays, then added a laser-cut fly display screen above it. A laser-cut dashboard sits flush with the display screen and hosts a digital Motogadget speedo, whereas low-rise handlebars and bar-end mirrors full the package deal.
Because the bike wanted to be street-legal and considerably sensible, Francis wanted to create a couple of further items to decorate the rear. A fiberglass hugger retains muck away from the rear shock, whereas laser-cut stainless-steel brackets maintain the license plate, bolted to new CNC-machined chain adjuster plates. There’s a custom-made chain guard again there too.
Highsider LED flip alerts do obligation up entrance, with three-in-one Highsider gadgets doubling up as flip alerts and taillights on the again. The Hornet’s completed off with a pair of gnarly stainless-steel mufflers, hooked as much as the OEM headers by way of a {custom} connector pipe.
The Hornet’s proprietor needed his bike to match his Jeep, in order that took the guesswork out of choosing a shade. The livery wanted a couple of small particulars although, so Francis enlisted the assistance of a good friend—an illustrator who operates as The Junkers—to create a couple of renders. In the long run, all of the design wanted was numbers on the aspect panels, a touch of black alongside the underside of the tank, and traditional Honda logos.
“I owe him,” says Francis, “as a result of he hates this type of work and by no means does it. So the truth that he did it for me is an enormous plus!”
Like all the things on this tradition Honda Hornet, the livery is easy, tasteful, and putting. It’s proof that the vanilla donor bike has oodles of potential—and that Francis is aware of the right way to extract that potential.
Francis Von Tuto | Fb | Instagram | Pictures by Rafael Montañes Ruiz | Francis wish to thank Aero Membership Serristori and Etruria Volo
