The Honda CB650R has a lot going for it. The middleweight roadster is easy to ride and well made, and it comes with decent suspension and a 94 hp inline four. It also has some of the best exhaust pipework of any showroom-stock bike.
This modern CB doesn?t, however, get the love that the older CBs have attracted in the custom scene?or the attention lavished on less elegant rivals such as the Yamaha MT-07. And that?s a shame, given the strength of the underlying mechanicals.

This might be about to change, though. Dirk Oehlerking of Kingstom Custom was recently commissioned by Honda Germany to customize a CB650R, and he?s delivered an absolute banger of a street tracker.
We tend to associate Dirk with high-end, show-quality builds such as his boxer BMWs with all-enveloping bodywork. But he?s a very adaptable builder who can also turn out bikes that are funky, fun and streetable.
Honda wanted to explore the custom potential of the CB650R, so they didn?t smother Dirk with restrictions. After all, the TÃœV laws already make life hard enough for German builders.
?I was given a free hand for the design,? says Dirk. There were no ?specifications?. And when I saw the bike, I knew it was going to be a ?flat tracker for the road?.?

Dirk started by dismantling the CB650R, examining the elements to see how he could best implement his design ideas without messing with the ?technological? parts of the Honda.
The biggest job was the new bodywork. After setting aside the stock plast...