We live in strange times. So it feels right to kick off 2017 with one of the strangest customs we?ve seen in the history of Bike EXIF.
Yes, this is a fully functioning motorcycle with stone bodywork. It?s a 1982 Honda CX500 modified by Chris Zernia, who lives in Mendig, Germany, and is clearly one wave short of a shipwreck.

The bike is Zernia?s entry into the charmingly-named ?Build da Fukker? contest run by the German magazine Custombike. Not surprisingly, Zernia is now one of the three finalists in the competition.
The stone is basalt, mined from the Eifel mountain range a few kilometers away from Zernia?s house. Basalt is a dense volcanic rock, and rather heavy, but it can be shaped relatively easily.

Zernia started out with 450 kilos (990 pounds) of basalt, and whittled it down to individual pieces weighing around 60 kilos in total. First off was the fuel tank: It?s similar in shape to the Honda original, with a small cavity inside for the fuel. The standard fuel filler neck still fits, although it?s been lengthened.

Zernia has reinforced the CX500?s frame, we are most pleased to hear, including extra runs of four-millimeter steel tube along the top to help support the screwed-on seat unit. (Which is a work of art, right down to the tuck and roll pleating of the ?upholstery.?)
The seat is not as unpleasant to use as you?d imagine, Zernia says. ?I’ve sat down for a long time, I swear.?

There?s an LED striplight neatly flushed into a carved recess at th...