When this sleek Honda popped up on our email, it stopped us in our tracks. And then we got an extra surprise?it?s based on a police bike. We just had to find out more.
We got talking to builder Irwann Cheng, who intrigued us with his tiny b?s?zoku-style custom a couple of years ago. And it turns out that the backstory on this machine is just as interesting as the cyberpunk-influenced bodywork.

In the 80s and 90s, one of the most popular bikes used by police forces around the world was the Honda CBX750 P. It?s similar to the Nighthawk, but has an 18-inch front wheel, a slipper clutch, and easy-maintenance shaft drive.
The Malaysian police force was one of Honda?s big clients for this bike, and decommissioned examples occasionally pop up on the local secondhand market. Three years ago, Kerkus Motorworks of Kuala Lumpur built a custom based on the CBX750 P; now it?s the turn of Irwann Cheng and his FNG Works shop, a couple of hours up the road in Ipoh.
?The Malaysian government now uses newer bikes such as the VFR800,? says Irwann. ?There are a few CBX750s still being used, but it is being phased out. A lot are auctioned to the public, but most end up in the hands of retired policemen.?
This striking 1994 CBX is definitely not the sort of bike you?d expect to be owned by a former cop. But it is?

?The brief was simple,? says Irwann. ?He wanted a ?cafe racer? but with no frame cutting or modification. This is my second cafe racer build, and I wonder, why do some older ...