Honda have made some truly beautiful machines over the years, but they’ve also had their share of aesthetic bungles. The mid-70s CB750, for example, is downright elegant; the mid-90s Nighthawk model, not so much.
This didn’t stop Kaspeed Moto from hitting a home run with a Nighthawk cafe racer last year. They turned it into a limited series of made-to-order builds, and it paid off?they’ve already filled three orders, with two more bikes currently on the bench.

But the German crew was presented with an even tougher challenge recently. They had to build something decent with an even more awkward mid-90s Honda?the rather ugly NTV 650 Revere.
The SOHC, V-twin NTV 650 is a weird mash-up: a retro sport-tourer back end, and a barebones roadster front end. But it’s also been praised for its reliability as a daily runner, and even though it only makes 50-something horses, it’s a fun ride.
That (and the fact that it uses a shaft drive) prompted one of Kaspeed’s clients to buy a 1996-model NTV 650, and drop it in their laps.
?We just needed to make it look, sound and ride more fun,? Kaspeed’s Jimmy Dressel tells us. ?And get rid of some weight, of course!?

Jimmy, his twin brother and their father run Kaspeed from their workshop in Glauchau, Saxony. Their first hurdle was just figuring out a direction to take the build in.
?This wasn’t an easy job,? Jimmy admits. ?We couldn’t just take our Honda CB750 cafe racer plan out...