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Working with your hands is one of life’s simple pleasures. There are few things better than the feeling of seeing something you built, with your own hands, brought to life. When I got out of high school I started to look for something I could tear apart. I knew I wasn’t comfortable tearing into my daily driver, so I started scouring Craigslist. It didn’t take long to find what I was looking for. A quick email exchange and a short drive later I was on my way to tearing into my first real project bike.

There she was. A 1973 Honda CB500 Four. I’d picked up the perfect bike to start my learning process. I immediately bought myself a service manual (I cannot suggest this enough if you aren’t comfortable tearing into your bike) and started in on rebuilding the old girl. When someone tells you that a 40-year-old bike will have some problems, they aren’t kidding. I didn’t have the know how to know what to look for when it came to the bike, so a lot of things when unnoticed upon my original inspection. That’s part of the fun of project bikes. People all around the world have bought beat up scrap heap bikes and turned them back into amazing machines. That’s what I had my sights set on. The problems along the way served as sort of the initiation into the club, and I was almost there.

The wiring was a mangled mess, the exhaust and tank were rusty, the engine wouldn’t turn over; I was dealing with a bike that had been left to sit for years. The bike showed it’s age and the wear and tear that had been placed on it through the years. The bike had seen a lot over its life. I started tearing down the bike inch by inch while making note of missing parts and pieces. As I got the parts separated and looked at the slowly emptying frame, I saw something I hadn’t thought about before. A blank slate. Suddenly the bike could be a restoration, or a cafe racer, or a “restomod” or any number of incredible things I could dream up. It was up to me.

So what did I decide on? Well, it’s still in the works. As the world of custom builds opened around me I found myself picking parts of different builds that I wanted for my bike. I’ve decided (for the most part) on a “restomod”, meshing the best of both the retro styling and upgraded technology. Parts are being ordered, sent away for powder coating, restored/reused, and retrofitted as we speak. A lot of time and money is going into this build and I want it to be perfect. I originally thought it’d be a quick fix to get up and running again, but as I started working on the bike I started falling in love with it. I’ve decided to fully build the bike and add it to my personal garage.

I didn’t intend to like the bike this much, in fact, I didn’t intend to keep the bike at all. But, working on bikes has that effect on people. The feeling of seeing something you worked so hard on becoming a final product is something that can’t be matched. So was it worth it? Was it worth all the time and money I’ve spent just to figure out how to wrench on a bike? Absolutely. I’ve had the opportunity to work with my dad and my friends on a lot of my projects and this process has been one to remember. I’ll be getting another one soon after this one is finished, and I don’t plan on stopping for a long time to come. If you don’t have a project bike yet you’re missing out on an incredible experience.