The Steven Project from tbcworks on Vimeo.
The build of this bike began when Tim Bradham, owner of TBC Handcrafted Motorcycles in Fayetteville, North Carolina, answered an ad on craigslist for a 1978 Honda CB 750 thinking it might be a good flip for the shop. Speaking to the seller, he found out it was his old friend Dennis Robinson who was selling his recently-deceased brother Steven’s old bike. It was another tale of a truck/car turning into the path of an innocent motorcyclist, this time unfortunately involving Steven Robinson while he was riding his Harley. Just sad shit. Tim knew Steven as one of the good guys and decided to team up with TBC business partner, Josh Cipra, and honor his memory with a build Steven would have been proud of. The quick flip became a kick-ass memorial to a good friend. And, that’s how The Steven Project came about.
The bike itself was in decent stock shape but horribly equipped with a somewhat dorky giant plexi windshield ahead of mini apes, a massive chrome rear luggage rack and a ridiculously-ugly-in-its-absolute-hugeness light tan colored king & queen seat. Luckily for Steven’s memory, Tim and Josh stripped this down to the bare frame for a makeover worthy of what their friend really wanted. By the way, they didn’t re-use the windshield, rack or seat and somewhere Steven’s happy as a clam about that.
Basically, the TBC lads didn’t re-use any more than they absolutely had to discarding the complete front and rear suspension (including the swingarm) total plus a few other little things like the wheels, brakes, fenders, controls, fuel and oil tanks, bars, gauges, headlight, air box, and exhaust system. This was to be no 100-point restoration, but a complete reinterpretation to what Tim knew Steven would have liked. I can only assume they hit the nail on the head as far as the homage aspect went, but I do know for a fact they ended up with one kick-ass street fighter/café I’d be proud to own.
If you hate Hondas as much as my boss does, just try and forget about the 750cc four- cylinder engine that basically transformed motorcycling as we know it today. Just look at what Tim and Josh accomplished here with just a bit of VIN-holding mainframe and a 37-year-old engine to start with. Easier said than done, but they grafted on a Suzuki GSXR front end along with a complete GSXR aluminum swingarm and monoshock suspension to replace the feeble stock front end and the stock wimpy steel swingarm with crummy dual shocks. Needless to say, this is not a bolt-on operation and considerable fabrication was the order of the day. TBC’s final result looks so natural that you’d think it must have come that way.
Replacing the CB’s always-loosening laced wheels with a set of 17-inch Kawasaki ZX10R wheels that could not only accommodate wider radial rubber, but eliminate the tubes in the stock wheels. A set of GSXR four-pot brakes up front clamp GSXR rotors modified to fit the ZX10 wheel while out back a tiny wavy disc bolted to another ZX10 wheel has an equally tiny Tokico caliper doing the grabbing. So far, Tim and Josh had taken the crock out of the old crock with all these modern updates. This thing should handle like no CB750 ever had a right to.
Hopefully you’re a fan of good old stock engines as the 750cc four was restored to a like-new finish and completely refreshed with only some unseen mods for reliability. Other than a set of four individual K&N filter pods hanging off the bank of carbs and the lovely TBC 4-into-2 side-shot exhaust that snakes up, around and through the frame before dumping out the right side high under the raised tail section, the 750 mill was left alone. Enough weight was lost to up the power to weight ratio considerably compared to stock. How much? “Way more than enough power to let your inner hooligan out” as my buddy Fred Running used to say.
With the stock rear subframe now missing in action, TBC added their own kick with a severely angled street fighter-style subframe where they planned to mount their stylishly fabricated oil tank/tail section. This nice little piece of fabrication became necessary after the mono shock and exhaust needed the stock tank space for them to exist. I like the way the twin outer subframe tubes come straight up and back and are cut and capped with a box section between them to stiffen the unit and provide a mounting place for the oil tank/tail section. Normally you expect to see the tubing wrap around the back in one piece before heading back to the main frame. Different, practical and nice looking. Speaking of nice looking, I do really like the construction of the twin pipe exhaust from its tidy welds to its Ducati-like design. If it had twin under-seat mufflers instead of the side cut outs, I’d swear it had to be off a Ducati and I think that was TBC’s intention knowing Steven loved the Italian L-twins.
The allergic-to-upholstery seat unit bumps up against a back of a fuel tank taken from a mid-70s Suzuki GT750 Le Mans two-stroke triple of all things. The curved bread box of a tank fits the bill perfectly filling the space between the steering neck and the seat. TBC even kept the stock slightly-racy flip-up cap as it was not a bad looking piece. After finding a simple and clean headlight shell, they filled it with a hip yellow headlamp. I’m still not sure where the taillight(s) is, but they might be those tiny round centers on the tips of the cut rear subframe tubes. I guess the plan is to always go fast enough so you don’t have to worry about people behind you or maybe I’m losing my sight. Hey, I’m not quibbling, just rambling. I’m going for the tiny bits at the end of the subframe tubes as taillights. Man, they’d never pass inspection in my state, but I like ‘em.
TBC clip-ons, foot controls and a set of CNC’d adjustable aftermarket levers completed the human portion of this build. TBC in-house über-talented painter, Robbie Lynch, took over with a very classy and subdued, yet still handsome paintjob in what I’ll call Viper GTS blue as I love that color and that car. Class-act graphics on the tank spell out The Steven Project in delicate script with total respect. Even when it comes to something so seemingly simple, Robbie knows the right thing to do to accent the bike while honoring the idea behind the build. Maybe it’s simple and correct in retrospect, but not that easy when you’re staring at a blank blue tank off a Suzuki Water Buffalo with the responsibility to come up with the right and proper design. And he did.
Tim and Josh have whipped up not only a great bike, but a loving monument to the memory of a good friend and good guy. I’m sure the Robinson family who was the recipient of this lovely piece of work is forever grateful. Whenever one of them takes it out for a ride, I wonder if they feel like Steven’s along for the ride too. It’s a wonderful two-wheeled homage to a friend and family member who is gone, but not forgotten.
Meanwhile, somewhere in time, a smiling Steven Robinson rips trough eternity at redline on a ghost bike built by friends where he never has to worry about points, plugs or oil changes and never having to fear falling down. Heavenly bliss on two wheels.
For more info on TBC Handcrafted Motorcycles, visit http://www.tbcworks.com/ or check them out on Facebook.