Honda CB Seven Fifty "DE PALMA 01" .
De Palma Cycles is a project by Barcelona based fashion designer Gregorio Fernandez .
https://www.facebook.com/DePalmaCycles
Being the vintage bike lover he is, a few years ago he had released a fashion collection inspired by the first motorcycle gangs. The collection is called "1%" and was released for AW.SS 2011-2012 (www.goridepalma.net).
In 2014 this new project took shape as an extension of the Gori De Palma brand, a mix of fashion and motorcycles.
For the launch, the chosen piece was a Honda Seven Fifty from 1992, that we consider combines reliability and design. The engine was replaced by one of the last Seven Fifty series from the year 2000, with less than 20 000 km, and painted in black.
The pillar of this project was to maintain the Gori De Palma style, that is heavily influenced by rock, postpunk and punk music. This is how the Honda, De Palma 01 was born.
The list of customizations is extense. The first and most important one was finding a lighter and more classic gas tank. It ended up being a replica of a metallic Honda RC110, one of the designer's favorite models. The change required a modification of the chassis, drawing a horizontal line from the tank to the seat, very similar to the RC110 one. This first important change was spot on and defined great part of the customizations that followed.
Next step was the fork from a Honda CBR 900 Fireblade whose steering axles' length was increased. The designer has a special predilection for these forks for their classic design, length and quality. The calipers were kept as they were, original CBR 900 ones, 4 pistons NISSIN. The original rear brake was kept, but we handcrafted a new flat disc that gave a harsher look of the back.
The grips are "cocacola" with aluminium shorter clip-ons.The front wheel is 18-inch and the back 17-inch, both radial, with the radius on the outer side of the toroid, with no need to have an inner tube. There is a new seat unit made in steel and topped off with leather and metallic rivets. The idea behind the steel and keeping it flat was to keep the two seat option. A round taillight to keep this 70s style that we were aiming at.
The exhaust pipes, a 4-2, have been shortened and painted in black, as most of the other parts. The mufflers have been changed for a par of Supertrapp in aluminium, and the air box has been replaced by cone filters. The battery was hidden in the hub of the swinging arm, and the speedometer was simplified in a round classic shape.
De Palma Cycles achieved a modern bike with excelent performance and a classic rock&roll spirit. We will keep this signature in the next projects, as we acquired a Guzzi V50 III Monza and a Morini 350 sport, that will challenge us in the difficult but inspiring and satisfactory job of customization.
PHOTOS BY: Cristian Di Stefano www.cristiandistefano.com
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