Honda CB750 - Roku
Honda CB750 - Roku
ROKU — Precision from Ruin
Every now and then, a build arrives not so much as a bike, but as a lesson. In patience. In process. In the quiet discipline of bringing something back from the edge — not just to restore it, but to make it better than it ever was.
This is ROKU.
Named after the Japanese word for six. Why? Because we painted a hexagon pattern on the tank, and, well... hexagons have six sides. That’s it. No profound reference to displacement, cylinder count, or racing heritage. It’s a CB750. We just really committed to the shape.
ROKU began life as a 1992 Honda CB750 — the RC42 — one of the most quietly reliable machines of its era. It ended up at our door in pieces: corroded, cracked, seized, and contained within a series of cardboard boxes. Nothing moved. Everything was stuck. Some bolts sheared before they even saw a spanner. The kind of project that tests your resolve before you’ve even lifted the frame out of the van.
And yet.
Where others might see a lost cause, we saw an opportunity — a chance to rebuild every single component, to treat even the hidden hardware with the same care as the paintwork. Every surface re-touched. Every function considered. Not just a rebuild, but a rethink, wrapped in the skin of a city-ready urban scrambler.
Design with Direction
The idea behind ROKU was clear from the start: a stripped-back, matte-finished urban machine, built for cafe-hopping through the backstreets. A city bike in silhouette, but a fully capable custom classic beneath the surface.
The forks are standard CB750 units, shortened and braced, powder-coated in structured grey and black to match the tone of the build. YSS rear shocks complete the stance. Wheels are the originals, finished in gunmetal grey and wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion rubber — aggressive but composed. Brakes are standard too, but refinished in burnt bronze Cerakote, paired with carbon gel lines and a Nissin superbike master cylinder to bring the feel up to date.
The bars are Renthal high enduros, with a Domino throttle and clutch, and Highsider mirrors with built-in indicators, all wired through Motogadget switchgear and our custom loom, developed in-house specifically for the CB750 platform.
Built to the Core
Mechanically, the engine was taken back to bare aluminium, stripped and rebuilt with new internals: pistons, bearings, cam chain, machined head, clutch — the full suite. It was Cerakoted in satin black and burnt bronze, then treated to a completely custom 4-into-2 stainless exhaust system, fabricated by Den in-house and finished with SP Engineering stubby silencers.
The carbs were rebuilt and rejetted to suit the K&N filters. The battery? Moved to a hidden box integrated into the swingarm, housing a Shorai lithium unit for weight savings and balance. The electrics live beneath a custom brushed aluminium undertray, also built in-house, holding both the original ECU and the Motogadget M-unit control module.
At the rear, the frame was looped and fitted with a handmade LED tail light built into a single acrylic fin. The seat unit, made specifically for ROKU, was upholstered in grey Alcantara and black leather, stitched in a signature hexagon pattern that echoes across the build — from the tank design to the headlight panel. Six… remember?
Even the rear hugger is custom: a Ducati-style trellis made from stainless, with a laser-etched BGM logo and integrated number plate light. Subtle. Purposeful. Exact.
The Signature Finish
The final visual language is one of muted sophistication — Mercedes AMG matte grey on the tank, with the ROKU hex pattern airbrushed to match the seat and graphics. The chassis and major components are satin black, with carefully placed bronze and gunmetal accents grounding the palette. The overall effect is deliberate — a sense of control, balance, and calm that masks the complexity underneath.
ROKU’s Legacy
ROKU was unveiled at The Bike Shed Show 2022, and later featured in Built Magazine. It’s one of the most detailed builds we’ve ever completed — the kind where no part was left untouched, no fastener left unconsidered. Every square inch speaks of the hours poured into it.
It began in boxes. It ended up as a complete reimagining of the CB750 — a modern classic, urban-styled but mechanically timeless.
Sometimes, the best results come not from a blank canvas, but from something completely broken, to be remade with patience and precision.
Six sides. Four cylinders. Zero shortcuts.