James Fawcett of Slipstream Creations breathed new life into a neglected 1975 Honda CL360 scrambler, a bike with immense sentimental value that had been given to its owner, Chris, for his 14th birthday back in 1985.
Over the course of four decades, the motorcycle had lapsed into severe disrepair from being stored outdoors, prompting a complete restomod transformation. Utilizing the CL360’s robust tubular steel frame, Fawcett stripped away unnecessary factory tabs and welded on a custom rear seat hoop bent from one-inch chromoly steel.
This Is One Cool Custom Honda CL360 Scrambler
He fabricated a custom steel seat pan and hand-shaped a saddle upholstered in a diamond-patterned black marine vinyl, matching the angles of the bike’s fuel tank wing graphics. The fuel tank itself was salvaged and its mounts slightly repositioned to establish a perfectly clean, fluid visual line with the new subframe.
Because decades of outdoor exposure had ruined the original engine, Fawcett sourced a recently rebuilt replacement 356cc parallel-twin, finishing it in a durable black 2K epoxy with textured black powder-coated covers and stainless hardware.
Performance was sharpened by swapping the stock Keihin carburetors for Mikuni VM30s, modifying the stock headers to fit shorty mufflers finished in satin-black Cerakote, and restoring the original high-mount scrambler heat shield with a chromium powder coat finish. The front end was completely overhauled with replacement fork tubes, powder-coated lowers, and an upgraded front disc brake setup borrowed from a CB360 featuring a braided stainless line and drilled rotor.
The wheels were rebuilt with satin-black powder-coated hubs laced to polished aluminum rims wrapped in aggressive Shinko 705 dual-sport tires. The bike was rounded out with a trimmed front fender, a custom-extended rear fender to protect the open air filters, a mini speedometer and tachometer cockpit, and a striking metallic blue and silver Honda wing paint job.
Sources: BikeBound, Slipstream Creations
