But, sometimes you just gotta go against the flow like Matt Starling of Marshville, North Carolina, did with his 1974 CB 750-based chop as he explained, “I have Harleys. Everyone has Harleys. I have always liked the in-line 4-cylinder Hondas, so I wanted to build a Honda. I knew what I wanted and I knew I wanted a rider, not something to just look at. I did not care what everyone said was ‘cool’ or what everyone else was 

building.” What Matt ended up with has very little of the Honda DNA left other than the powerplant, but that alone is enough to get most Harley or Honda lovers in a hissy fit over what they feel is right. One of those, damned if you do, damned if you don’t moments, but Matt doesn’t give a damn either way as he’s just a boy out to have fun and traditions be damned. 

 

     Lucky for Matt, he didn’t have to go it alone. “It took almost a year and several beers for me and Randy Smith, of Crafters Metal Fab of Monroe, North Carolina, to do all of the fabrication on the bike which has very few bolt-on parts. “We started by using a Sawzall to cut the motor from the original frame. Then the pieces just seemed to fall into place like the gas tank we found on the back shelf in a local motorcycle shop to the rear 

fender struts that took six nights and four cases of beer to build,” said Matt. 

 

Randy wasn’t the only friend Matt leaned on as he continued explaining how the build came about. “When you build a ‘74 Harley there are guys everywhere that can help 

with the motor, transmission, and carb. When you are tuning a ‘74 Honda 

with four carbs and has a big bore kit taking it from a 738cc to a 900cc, you are on your own,” he said. Unless, of course, you have a friend like Kevin Kiker, of K&K Automotive in Marshville, North Carolina, who came in and helped Matt with the wiring and tuning of the bike. “I knew when I started I could count on Randy and Kevin to help me,” Matt said adding, “Without them I would still be drinking a beer looking at 

the stock bike.”

 

 

  That legendary or infamous (again depending on your point of view) four-cylinder (now kick-only) was dropped into a rigid frame with a stylishly sporty set of frame dimensions that look great and actually work in the real world Matt rides this bike in regularly. The Wide Glide front end cradles a 23-inch brake-free front wheel with a currently-hip knobby tire acting as a forward reconnaissance scout. To paraphrase the late Johnny Cochran, “If the knobby don’t grip, you know you’re gonna slip.” The knobbly theme continues with a set of dirt bike bars and grips with a BMX pad on board in case of event ground faceplants. Bling’s Cycles, already well known for their dirt bike choppers,  provided the risers and oh-so-familiar looking vented dirt bike gas cap. 

 

  Where Matt broke out of this dirt bike mold was with the long, narrow fuel tank, the chrome comfort-free-zone seat pan, the nicely fabbed aluminum pipe oil tank, and the reasonably buffed-up size (compared to stock) wheel and tire combo. That rear wheel also has the only brake in sight, an upside-down Sportster brake with a nicely integrated caliper. With only a tank and rear fender to hold paint, Matt chose to hide the camo scheme in plain sight in a cool juxtaposition of camouflage you can’t miss even if you tried. 

 

   Summing up his now completed project, Matt said, “It is one of a kind. This is the bike I wanted and I am more than pleased. Hate it or love it, everyone notices it. I am sure that when people see the chrome seat pan they begin to look for the jackass that is riding it. Although it looks like a monster to sit on, the bike is surprisingly comfortable and handles like it is balanced perfectly. I guess I will always have something that I want to change or do to the bike, but if I have time to do it, I will probably be out riding instead.” 

 

  And on that note, Matt was gone in a four-cylinder symphony and a haze of burning rubber.