A straight-up resto wouldn’t do though. Ton-up wanted to give the early 70s CB500 up-to-date handling and performance, without losing the original CB aesthetic and nostalgia. So it became a restomod with a few non-negotiables: it needed a four-into-four exhaust system and spoked wheels, and the original tank and side panels had to stay.
To upgrade the handling, the team grafted on the upside-down forks and brakes from a 2002 Yamaha R1. They only needed one disc, so the other was retrofitted to the rear wheel for better braking all round.

The rear frame work was much more than a cut-n-shut job though. Ton-up ditched the original twin-shock setup, and modded the frame to accept the rear mono shock and aluminum swing arm from a 1990s Yamaha FZR 400R sportbike. Ton-up also tore into the CB500’s motor, but opted to keep everything OEM spec. So they?ve rebuilt it from the ground up, using only original Honda parts. The carbs were refurbed too, and treated to foam pod filters.

The speedo’s a Motogadget Chronoclassic, slotted into a custom-made casing that attaches to the headlight ears via clever hand-shaped braces. The rest of the cockpit is neatly packaged, with new clip-ons, grips and controls, mini-switches and a Motogadget RFID keyless ignition. (Moving the start button to on top of the triple clamp was a nice touch too.)
Rear set foot controls round out the package, with smaller touches like upgraded brake fluid reservoirs not going unnoticed.

Once...