Despite the fact that motorcycles seem to keep getting bigger, the six-cylinder engine layout has never really caught on. Only a handful of bikes have employed it, and these days it’s reserved for mammoth tourers. That gives the Honda CBX 1000 a touch of the mythical.
Even though it was eventually outsold by the CB900F, the CBX 1000 was Honda’s flagship sportbike at the time. These days, it’s fast approaching cult status?which is why Dimitri at Lys Motorcycles picked one to customize.

Based in the northern French region of Hauts-de-France, Dimitri has been building custom motorcycles for a while but it’s only been a full-time gig for the past year. So he needed a personal bike that he could show off at events, and the CBX 1000 sprung to mind. ?I chose the CBX for the engine,? he tells us, ?and especially the sound of the six cylinders. With the FCR carbs and six-into-one exhaust, it’s like a Formula One car. And except for the Kawasaki Z1300 and the BMW K1600, inline-six cylinders are not common in a motorcycle.?

Dimitri started with a 1982-model CBX?the upgraded model that featured Honda’s Pro-Link mono-shock system. Since he squeezed the work in between client projects, it took him a year to wrap it up ? but he put that time to very good use indeed.
His idea was to blend modern and classic elements, while keeping the vibe aggressive. Top of his list was to narrow the bike to showcase the monstrous power plant, and to give the CB...