1978 Honda CBX1000 CRC special

This is, without doubt, the craziest thing I’ve done. It’s a unique bike designed and built by CRC Motorcycles in Wembley. They commissioned a complete motorcycle wiring loom design and build, including wiring diagram. As with any one-off, the spec changed a few times so the cable colours could be simpler (see the CRC Magnum). All-new components include Dyna ignition, Smiths clocks, Motogadget warning lights, Deutsch connectors and an optional immobiliser.

The central problem was making the Hypermotard switchgear talk to the rest of the loom. On the original Ducati the switchgear plugs into the ECU, which translates its signals into the usual indicators, lights etc. But without the Ducati ECU the switchgear doesn’t make any of the right connections. We enlisted the help of electronics expert Darren Dignam to develop an interpreter box – a PCB fixed in resin inside an aluminium case behind the battery. It allowed us to make sense of the signals from the switchgear. We called it the D-Unit in his honour.

The bike won Best Street Special at the 2013 Stafford Show, and also at MCN Live in 2014.