Today we e-sit (an e- prefix, how 90's!) down with Doug Devine of Modern Metals out of Kentucky to talk about his background and what lead up to the building of this 1981 Honda CX500.
The Twisty Lady
1981 Honda CX500 Custom
Can you explain your
background and what it is that lead you to motorcycle customization?
My name is Doug Devine (ModernMetals), and I was born in
Louisville, Kentucky in 1970. My teenage years were spent on the west coast of
Florida in the small town of Bradenton. Growing up on the coast, naturally, I surfed
and drove air-cooled Volkswagens along with the occasional 2-stroke dirt bike. My
background has really nothing to do with motorcycles as I’m a licensed
electrician and certified welder. Before embarking on my current journey, I mostly
worked at an inland ship yard. I began
customizing and building motorcycles about six years ago when I converted a 1971
Honda CB350 into a race-inspired bike.
What was it that
drove/sparked the overall design of this build?
The Twisted Lady is a 1981 Honda CX500 Custom belonging to
Phil Garber. Last summer, I did some tuning and electrical work so Phil could simply
ride the bike for the season with an intention to bring her back to me in the
winter for some customization work. Once winter rolled around, we sat down and
decided on the frame mods, battery box, electrical compartment, seat pan, and
seat design by Ginger at NewChurchMoto in Portland, Oregon. Once I completed
what we had agreed upon, the bike just didn’t look complete to me. I asked Phil to come over and see what he
thought hoping that he would agree that the bike was missing something. When he
showed up, he loved the seat and the frame mods but agreed that the bike looked
unfinished. In order for the bike to look complete, but not like a pristine
show bike, we decided on the removal and replacement of gauges, the big clunky
master cylinder, and to lower the overall appearance of the top of the triple
tree. My vision for the bike was to make it look and feel much smaller than a
stock over bulked up CX500.
What is your process
like?
For starters, I always begin a project with the motorcycle’s
stance. This bike really threw me off with its really low and curvy rear
section and a 16-inch rear wheel. Usually, I like the headlight, tank, rear
area of the fender, and seat to all be pretty level so this was probably my
biggest challenge. I enjoy being out of my element so I wasn’t going to give up
on this bike. I knew from what I’ve seen from other CX500s, I could do limited
frame and suspension modifications along with some new and adjusted
accessories. Because I have absolutely no drawing ability, my building process
starts with mocking the bike up before I can build it.
How much time did you
spend on this build?
Overall, I spent about 2.5 months which is about 55 hours of
actual build time.
What are you most
proud of on this build?
My customer is so excited about riding this bike that he is
selling his modern Honda CBR600. I also believe I reached my ultimate goal of
making the bike look more light weight with a better stance and less frumpy.
What skills do you
wish to acquire or develop further?
I wish to acquire an increased skillset working with
different metals and proper techniques for forming them. I’d like each
motorcycle I build to top the previous one. I’d like to continue to step
outside of my comfort zone on every build and be confident enough to try more
things.
What’s next on your
plate?
Currently, I’m building a 1979 Yamaha XT500 for a customer
from Vermont, as a twin sister to my Single
Naked Chick XT500 that I built last year. It will debut at the Kentucky
Kick Down Vintage Bike Show here in Louisville on September 13-14. Next up, I’m
working on a 1978 Honda CX500 which will have a vintage road race style pulled
from the 1960s. After that comes a1978 Kawasaki KZ650 Baja-inspired motorcycle.
As of today, the winter project is a 1968 Triumph T120 Chopper custom build.
Spec List
Tarozzi 35mm Clip-ons
Mike’s XS Single Micro Master Cylinder and lever with
stainless braided line
Small micro speedometer
Customer had custom pipes make previous to the build
An IgniTech CDI ignition module
A ballistic 8-cell 12-volt battery
Rebuilt carbs with new o-rings, accelerator diaphragm, and
bigger pilot and main jets for pod filters
A custom seat pan and rear fender with counter sunk rear LED
taillight/brake light
Seat pan upholstered by NewChurchMoto in PDX in black suede and
leather with silver stitching
Built an electronics compartment and new battery box
Cut six inches off the original frame and reformed, welded,
and cleaned up the rear section to follow the flow of the seat
Lowered the front 1 inch
Added a new, longer airline for these very odd air charged
front forks
Disassembled a set of 78 CX500 rear shocks and cleaned,
painted, and reassembled them
Hit certain details of the metal with scouring pads, wire
brushes, and other scuffing materials
Photo credits to the
awesome shots of Seth Schikler.
