If you fancy yourself a romantic, consider this: have you ever built a custom motorcycle for your significant other" Uwe Kostrewa has, and it’s an absolute peach.
We all know Uwe as the guy behind Hombrese Bikes in Cologne, Germany. His style is distinct; if it’s a flat tracker or scrambler with a charming retro vibe, Uwe probably built it. This time he’s applied that recipe to a humble 1979 Honda XL500S, turning into a zesty race bike for his girlfriend.

?I needed a flat tracker for my love, Steffi, because she wanted to start riding and racing flat track,? Uwe tells us. ?I’m a big fan of flat track bikes and their design. This is not my first build, so the idea for a design normally pops into my head automatically.? ?But in this case, Steffi also had a lot of ideas that I implemented. It was supposed to be her bike, after all.?

The main reason for picking the XL500 as a donor, other than the fact that Honda thumpers are notoriously bulletproof, was its size. Steffi has zero flat track experience, so she needed something light and manageable. A stock XL500S weighs around 135 kilos [297 lbs] dry?this one’s now down to 114 kg [251 lbs].
The couple tracked down a donor that was, according to Uwe, ?in a normal condition for an enduro bike of that age.? The engine was good enough not to need a rebuild, so he simply repainted it and swapped the air box for a K&N filter. (A carb upgrade is on the cards for next season.)

The XL500S ca...