I remember the first time I clapped eyes on a Honda GB500 TT, about ten years ago. It was a pristine mid-80s model with a black tank, parked outside a garage in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. I had absolutely no idea what it was, but was instantly smitten.
German designer Oliver Aschenbrenner had a similar experience, also ten years ago. As a student, he spotted this 1990 GB500 at his local Honda dealer and fell in love. ?I said, ?I?m absolutely broke, but I need to have that thing!?

Oliver handed over a small pile of cash as a deposit, and promised to return in six months. The deal was done, and he returned in the middle of winter to pick up the bike. It wouldn?t start, so he pushed it home.
Over the years, he fixed all the maintenance issues, and installed a Mikuni TM40 carb and an exhaust system from SR-Racing. It gave the SOHC radial four-valve engine a little extra pep?enough to take Oliver all over Italy, France and Spain.
After a few years the trusty GB500 was looking the worse for wear. By now Oliver was a motorcycle designer, so he decided to tear it down and customize it. A stint working for Triumph Motorcycles in England mothballed the project?but Oliver has now returned to Bavaria, set up his own company 271 Design, and finished the Honda.
?Perfect lines, volumes and proportions are important to me as a designer,? says Oliver. ?The original tank and frame were the foundation. My early training was in the field of building aircraft, so I also ...