Dauphine-Lamarck's Honda 125
By Anthony van Someren - 28 Dec 13
The Honda CG125 is one of the most popular and dependable bikes in the known universe, responsible for providing transport for millions of people around the world, but they don't usually look this good. This mini street custom - based on Honda's unstoppable workhorse - can be found cruising the suburbs of Paris and is the work of Dauphine-Lamarck.
Dauphine-Lamarck specialise in small capacity 60s, 70s & 80s Hondas, providing accessible, affordable customs to those that appreciate their philosophy and approach.
They love the popularity and ubiquity of the little Hondas, but what they really enjoy is making them relevant to the modern streets and to the cafe custom scene.
The other issue in some parts of Europe is keeping your custom motorcycle legal. "The main idea of my project was reliability! The objective was to use this bike everyday in Paris, and not to get arrested at every traffic light, for a too much caferacerisation"
The donor for this build is a 1998 model, complete with topbox, which was well passed it's sell-by date. According to the guys the only thing they needed to keep from the bike was "the essence". The tank come from a 1975 CG175 and "ducktail" seat from a CB50. It looks a little like a mini CB350 scrambler.
The 12v electrics have all been replaced with Takegawa components' the CDI, lighting, speedo, etc. The power was beefed-up by transplanting a carb and header pipe from a CB750 Four, which improved the soundtrack as well as the grunt.
The whole thing comes together into a very desireable little street custom - part brat, part scrambler, all understated class, amplified further by cool photos from the lens of David Marvier. If you were looking for a credible learner legal runaround that would last forever, this would be a great contender.
