Honda USA custom concepts

When three young designers from Honda's R&D Americas studio are given carte blanche to create whatever they desire, with the only stipulation that the Honda VT1300 be the canvas, this is what results - the Slammer, Switchblade and Furious.

Based in Southern California, the Honda Reseach & Development Americas design studio gave Nick Renner, Edward Birtulescu and Erik Dunshee a limited budget and were tasked with creating motorcycles that stay true to original bikes' ethos. They each had three months to create these customs, which include a bagger, a hardtail chopper and pro drag design.

Is this a sign that Honda is serious about getting into the custom scene, and could we see an expanding catalogue of official parts for owners to truly customise their rides? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.

"Furious" (Hardtail Chopper)
The final Honda concept is based on the VT1300 CX Fury, and Nick Renner's custom bike is "a bold blend of new and old school flavour". Rolling on a large 23-inch front wheel and a 20-incher on the rear, "Furious makes no apologies" according to Honda. It features an eye-catching rake of 45-degrees while the converted hard tail delivers "a clean, pure statement that is simply chopper". The shaft drive is retained -- and exposed -- and there's been plenty of mods to the frame to create the unique look. Oversized drag bars and a custom exhaust finish off this Japanese-American custom.

Honda VT1300 Furious Specs:
- Stock: VT1300cc engine & tank
- Wheels: Front 23-inch, Rear 20-inch
- Exposed shaft drive
- Hard tail custom spec frame conversion (37degree head pipe with a 8 degree fork angle offset)
- Custom oversize drag bars - custom paint
- Custom straight pipe exhaust
- Custom diamond stitched leather seat and rear hugger

"Switchblade" (Pro Drag)
This custom Honda VT1300CS was created by Edward Birtulescu and is claimed to be a "racing inspired cruiser that took styling cues from Formula1 and MotoGP". The purple cruiser boasts a full carbon-fibre kit, plus three-way adjustable racing suspension paired with a single sided swing arm and 535 chain conversion to "optimise the single focus of this design, speed". Beefed up Brembo brake callipers, carbon fibre front (21-inch) and rear (18-inch) wheels, a GPS lap timer, data acquisition unit and upgraded airbox are all aimed at improving its track day suitability.

"Slammer" (Bagger)
Based on a 2010 Honda VT1300CR Stateline, the Slammer is influenced by the Bagger custom, and designer Erik Dunshee has added a fully adjustable air-ride suspension setup for an adjustable ride, along with a leather drop seat. It gets a custom crossover twin pipe exhaust, new airbox and a 23-inch custom front wheel. The front end has been redesigned, all of which was achieved without frame or engine modifications. And it looks to have taken a few pages from the Victory book of design. It also boasts digital speedo nav screen screen with a 10-inch subwoofer and a 500 watts stereo.

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