Steel Bent Customs 750 Nighthawk
By Anthony van Someren - 19 Jan 14
Steel Bent Customs always get our attention with their super-clean minimalist builds, usually based on big cc Japanese inline fours and the odd Triumph thrown-in. Donors for their Japanes builds are usually Honda CBs, but this time around proprietor Michael Mundy wanted to work on a less popular platform to show what can be done with a bit of vision.
The donor is a 1999 Honda 750 Nighthawk and was commissioned by an overseas customer. Having seen what Steel Bent can do with a Honda he had originally asked for a CB750, but good donors are getting harder to find, so in came the Nighthawk, which when stripped-down has all the right basic components.
First up, the frame was reworked, as usual, but with a shallow upwards incline from the midpoint to allow for a stepped 'stadium' style seat, with a little more padding than SBCs usual perches. An earlier CB750 tank was sourced and grafted on.
Motocross bars were fitted for wide leverage into the turns and better riding position, and the lighting was replaced, using LEDs mini turn-signals. A mini speedo also keeps it all tight and light with a single bar-end mirror.
The carbs were ultrasonically cleaned and given the Dynojet stage 3 treatment running pod style filters while a modified Mac 4 into 1 exhaust took care of the outflow, and soundtrack.
Finally the wheels were powdercoated and fitted with chunky 110/150 tyres, and the bike was finished in lustrous dark green and badged with the bikes new name, Brandy.
It's a lovely bike and exactly what we'd expect from Steel Bent Customs in Tampa, Florida. See more from Michael Mundy and Co on their Website and on The Bike Shed’s Steel Bent Customs pages.