For better or worse, some mods have become commonplace. Air boxes get removed, smaller batteries get installed, and subframes are almost always redesigned. Especially when you’re dealing with the Honda CX500.
No one ever accused the CX500 of being pretty, and it’s the awkward flow of its rear end that carries most of the blame. The solution is usually to hack it off and start over?but what happens when your client asks you really nicely not to"

This 84-model CX500 comes from Kerkus Cycles, and was brought in by a lady rider looking for her first cafe racer. But Kerkus founder Azahar was under strict instructions: anything his crew did had to be reversible. Because, in Malaysia, the CX500 is rare.
And by rare, we mean really, really rare; there are only four known CX500s on the road. Legend has it that the bike was never officially imported, but the big wigs at the Malaysian Honda distributor brought a few in for personal use.
Azahar’s actually an architect, but Kerkus is where he really gets his creative juices flowing. ?Custom bikes are my passion,? he says, ?it’s where I channel my stress, gain calmness and polish my design skills.?
Together with his partner-in-crime Raveen, Azahar manages a four-man crew out of ‘The Garage’ [instagram.com/thegaragekl]?a ?hub for petrolheads? in Kuala Lumpur. And they were more than happy to take a crack at this CX500.

After brainstorming with the owner, it was agreed that while nothing was...