Written by Andrew Jones
The parallels between riding a motorcycle and riding a horse are obvious. I’d argue that in a lot of ways, motorcycles are just the industrial revolution version of the good old Equus Caballus. In the 1850s, a horse would provide personal transport, you could use them at work, police would ride them as would soldiers, and they were a hell of a lot of fun on the weekends, too. Channelling this thought, Georgia’s David Meyer has created a happy medium of the two. No, it’s not some half moto, half horse cyborg. It’s actually an immaculate Honda CB550 cafe named after Achilles? immortal war-horse, ?Balios?.

David starts the briefing with some Ancient Greek lessons. ?Balios was an immortal horse,? he tells us. ?One of two which pulled the chariot of Achilles during the Trojan Wars.? And no, it wasn’t that giant wooden one that was full of soldiers. ?It?s a fitting name for a bike that even after 40 years is more capable and beautiful than when it was first born.? As a jet aircraft technician by day, David likes to let off steam after hours by working with some less high-tech hardware. ?I love the wow factor of a functional machine that is also visually appealing. Just look at the underside of the wing of any of our Gulfstream jets. It?s beautifully smooth with no protrusions or bumps.?
?Bike building is somewhat of a return trip for me. Like many of us, I rode dirt bikes as a kid with my Dad. I had a well-used Honda SL70....