Classic Bike Guide

BAKKER CBX: Tangerine Dream

Holland’s Nico Bakker is the couturier of chassis-builders, the welding-torch wizard who’s the man to consult when you want a high-class piece of hardware to wrap round a motor to create a unique bike that handles well and looks the business.

So when a youthful Dutch enthusiast who prefers to remain nameless decided he wanted to cement his passion for the classic-era Honda CBX roadster by creating a modern-day six-cylinder streetfighter that he could use to carve canyons and sweep streets around his home on Spain’s sunny Costa del Sol, there was only one man to turn to. The Bakker CBX Orange Blossom special resplendent in the Dutch national colours is the result – a unique tangerine dream-come-true that’s an inspiring blend of old and new, combining Nico’s timeless chassis skills with an iconic powerplant from all Honda’s yesterdays. Ancient meet Modern, to sire a sophisticated streetfighter with a retro heart.

When it was launched on an unbelieving bike world back at the end of 1977, the Honda CBX represented a beat-that throw of the gauntlet by a company traditionally associated with leading-edge four-stroke engineering. For its air-cooled straight-six 24-valve 1047cc motor with central chain camdrive represented an imposing visual statement in producing 105bhp at 9000 rpm in understated but emphatic fashion, a package potent enough to propel an unfaired bike weighing a hefty 253kg up to a top speed of 140mph – all ground-breaking stats for the era. Moreover, it was designed by

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