Who hasn't got a soft spot for the original Honda CB500 Four? As a donor for a cafe/brat builds it's a great start, and unless you really mess things up, you can be sure you'll end up building something desirable. This extremely desirable Ceebee Four belongs to William Guerin who acts as Communications Manager to David Chapius, the boss at Pure Motorcycles in the South of France. ...We're trying not to be too envious of the beach shots. The bike is actually William's 'spare' CB500, we assume he kept the other one standard (?) but he and David built this one for William to ride, and we love the fact that they've sent pics of them both out riding, rather than just studio shots. David rides a Honda 550 AKA "Black Diamond". "I'm David Chapuis, I'm 38, I live in Cannes (french riviera) and I am passionate about old mechanics from a very young age. I'm very eclectic, I first started by restoring the Vespa collection, so I made it my job through my store "Vespissimo" which I founded in 2000. Inspired by this, I went on to acquire and restore several cars; a Fiat 500, Mini, Mercedes "Pagoda", Austin Healey, Porsche 356, 911 and various old race bikes. My first bike was a Harley 883 . I was 22 years old . At 35 years old, when the desire to ride a motorcycle returned, I got hold of a CB 500 Four. it was my daily ride, but I still wanted a motorcycle more distinctive, more Rock'n Roll, so I bought a second 500 Four which I completely disassembled to create "Blue moon" in just 3 weeks. This build heralds a new career for me. My future will be "Honda-Old school". This first bike already has "little sisters", but it is in my possession and is not for sale. It is my shop window. The donor is a 1972 model. The forks and rear suspension were both shortened to lower the stance of the bike. The rims were powdercoated black and fitted with Firestones. Clip-on bars provide a proper cafe racer riding position and the seat was shortened, reformed and reupholstered into something slimmer and prettier.

Love the warning lights drilled into the original bar clamp mounts. Nice touch. Mini 60mm speedo with black face does the rest.

The engine is in it's original state, but fitted with electronic ignition and upgraded carbs. Although the sidepanels have been retained, the wiring has been re-made to run under the seat. Indicators are Kellerman and complement the smaller headlamp and tail light. The double ventilated disc brakes come from a Honda 750 Four.

A reminder to us all what these things are made for... open face lids on twisty roads and warm sunny days.

William Guerin is in the flat cap and black T. Pure proprietor David Chapius is in light blue with the tasteful tattoos, on a sunny day, near Cannes.

Two lovely bikes. We look forward to seeing more from Pure here on The Bike Shed. Maybe we'll catch them at Wheels & Waves this year? They look like the prefect rides for it.