For this bike we wanted to set up a date between our two favourite worlds; classic lines and racing. This meant building a bike that accelerates, turns and stops like a racer while maintaining the classic soul of the golden days of motoring.

The bike started out as a standard R80 frame. Maybe not the first choice when thinking “racer”, but it had to be a beamer and we love a challenge. This meant we chopped off the rearas usual and welded new arches from the backbone to match the curve of the upper engine cover. We fortified the frame with crossmembers to reduce torsion & flex and created a more ridged ride. Next up was the swingarm which has alsobeen heavily modified to fit a fully adjustable Wilbers race monoshock. The trellis-style modifications were necessary due to the big chunk we had to cut out of the swingarm to fit the 17-inch rear rim. The front suspension was stolen from a CBR 900 Fireblade, offering proper performance without having to compromise on classic looks. The custom set of trips compliments this classic look. The 17-inch front rim houses a Ceriani 230mm 4LS brake drum. This gives it some serious old-school stopping power. The switch to 17-inch rims enabled us to whip on a set of proper sticky tyres.

The stock R80 engine and gearbox were both given a complete rebuild. The engine is fitted with the full Siebenrock 1070 CC kit, hence the name R107. The electrics areupgraded to twinspark-ignition and a Mosfet charge system. Serving the engine’s new thirst capacity is a set of Dell’Orto40 mm carbs. A stainless custom 40 mm exhaust system ensures the necessary plumbing capacity ending with a titanium Laser can.

With the essential riding characteristics sorted, it’s time for style. The body is a full sheet metal monocoque to keep that sleek Nozem look. The grey paintjob keeps it classic and the orange stripes show off its naughty side. A small classic yellow rally-beamer is mounted on the front to light the upcoming corner. Two small taillights are integrated in to the frame that serve as blinkers, brake lights and regular lighting. The bike is equipped with the full Motogadgets electronic system, starting with the Motoscope pro mounted in the trips. The M-unit serving as backup ensures all the functions are enabled. Keyless contact deletes the necessity of an ignition key.

As most customs the cx started out as.. well.. ugly.

With our vision of making it a slick proportioned ride only the tank could be salvaged. Lowering the front shocks, bumping up the tank a bit and slipping on that fat rear Firestone tyre gave the bike stance we were looking for. Chopping of the rear frame relieved the sweet girl of some heavy (ugly) bones.

After reconstructing the frame the slick rear end was created from fibres, which brought the flow back in the bike. Connecting the tank and the rear a brown leather seat makes here a doozy to drive. Harley shocks were chosen to uphold that sweet little behind. Lighting the future is a yellow jeep rally light and lighting the past are two Nozem custom made rear lights with integrated brake lights.

Playing the symphony as we ride are two hooligan mufflers with a ceramic coated custom exhaust system. The engine and frame were given a proper spit shine and dipped in a new black coating afterwards. To keep the bike clean and slick only a small speedo reveals that the bikes actually has any electric components. The paintjob is what we like to think of as the first in the Nozem line, dictating our vision on fit looks. The pinstripe accentuating the flow is something which was to become a Nozem standard.

The XS850 from origin big, heavy and not necessarily ugly but no where near slick enough to meet our standards. Although being a very nice base for a classic cafe racer we had to go Micheal Jackson on her ass. This off course involved chopping, patching, welding and rebuilding it from the bear bones.

The operation started by making a incision just under the spinal back bone. The following two incisions were made at the swingarm mounts. A full new rear Ducati style pelvis section was fabricated. Two Harley air shocks were used as prosthesis to replace the old legs. Front forks were re sprung and new triples, with a built in smiths speedo, were milled to hold them together. The brakes were updated to a set of golden brembo’s. A big yellow Cibi lens was used to change the eye color, at the back two custom tail lights were stitched on.

No dramatical engine surgery was required, except for a blood transplant and small standard miscellaneous stuff. Frame and engine received a nice spray tan to shine as new. To shield her lungs from dirt a custom airfilter was built. The old intestines were replaced with a customs stainless pipe system topped of with a set of laser cans to make those gasses flow again.

For the body work we used an old XS 850 classic tank and chopped it up. For the tail piece we chose to make it self carrying, which means there is no frame inside. It is essentially a part of the frame, holding the two shocks together. The sharp lines in the bike truly resemble our vision on a cafe racer. The immaculate paintjob makes the bike maintain a classic look. Big halleluya to Livinstone from Airbrushlab LifeCreations.

Big up to the guy riding his new mistress in front of his other mistress. She will soon be shipped to him in LA.

“We thought it was time for something different,” Nozem co-founder Lorenzo explains. “We love café racers, but this one is a mix. A bit of tracker, bobber, and chopper.”

The design might be quirky, but the levels of finish are superlative. Behind the engine, the frame is completely new—and considerably lower than stock.

This is the final product of a collaboration between Nozem & AAAFresh. The bike was built for Rotterdam based artists Maikel Kleinjan, Roderick Faassen and Hans Kleinjan. They work under the name AAAFresh. They painted the bike in their style and exposed it in their extraordinary gallery.