CB550 Black and Tan Client Build

Custom build by Seaweed and Gravel in San Diego built by Brady Young. The inspiration for this build was spawned from a previous personal bike of Brady's, made from spare parts and a few weekends. The bike was rough, full of character, and frequently saw the dirt. Nonetheless, it caught the eye of the client that commissioned this build, but with new shoes and a classy attire.

Our goal for this build was to create a simple, clean, minimalistic bike with an aggressive, low stance; pulling elements from both the cafe racer and brat style palettes, whilst preserving the classic lines that were buried in stock form. Once the form and stance of the bike was set, we moved forward with making it function.

The top end was rebuilt with new internals and tuned by a retired racer and mechanic of the time, making it a true one kick cold started. The client wanted a kick and electric start, so we called upon the guys at Antigravity Batteries. Their compact, powerful battery powers the new from scratch harness with an updated rec/reg combo. With this setup we were able to retain our goal of a clean and minimal design.

Our theory on the finish of our bikes is overall modesty with bold features. With an all black bike we incorporated matte, satin, and gloss finishes to add some contrast. We here at Seaweed & Gravel feel we've produced a bike that we can be proud of, and have welcomed a new member into our family of weirdos. -- Brady