Little bikes are fun; little classics are adorable. But little, rare Italian classics are irresistible—especially when they’re as nice as this ‘Honcati.’ Certainly, the name was made up, because this commuter is unique. It belongs to Jeff Gittleson of Kinesis Moto, who built it by combination of a Ducati 160 Monza Jr. motor and a Honda CB175 frame.

“It’s not very often, when I get to work on a project for myself,” says Jeff, “but when I do it, I prefer to create something special.”

“I’ve been waiting for a chance to play with a Ducati engine long ago, but every time I see someone else built, it was always a 250, 350, or 450. So when the 160 fell into my lap, I was really delighted.”

By “fell into my lap,” Jeff means that he found only the 1966-model Monza Jr. motor on eBay. Luckily he had a spare 1971 CB175 frame and front end waiting for him in his New York workshop…

“I always loved the aesthetic of the Ducati motors—the singles in particular,” he explains. “So I figured, why not install it on what I had? It seemed to be a practical way to get another bike on the road, and it makes a great little commuter every day.” Jeff wanted to give the Ducati 160 motor a proper makeover, so he turned to specialist Tom Bailey for a piece of advice. According to Tom, the 160 is the closest motor to the original bevel singles used for endurance racing—and he knew just how they were tuned.

Under Tom’s expert tutelage, Jeff set about rebuilding the Monza’s internals. He’s tried not to miss details, milled the barrel to raise compression, added a digital ignition and upgraded the charging system to 150W. Then he mated it to a 22mm Mikuni carb, via a custom-made intake manifold, and built a new exhaust system. “By adding length to the intake manifold,” Jeff explains, “and using a carb with an oval port, the torque curve was influenced, giving the motor beautiful grunt for its size at much lower RPMs than in its original form.”

But the bike-makers didn’t overwork. “Most of the time the bike will be ridden on local roads,” says Jeff. “So any performance increase couldn’t sacrifice the reliability these motors were well known for.” To get the Ducati 160 motor into the CB175 frame Jeff axed the old mounts, then installed the motor into the frame, while making sure that the proper ten-degree engine tilt was maintained. He also switched the chain over from the left to the right, and fabricated new mounts to hook it all up.

Jeff’s Honcati is also wearing the CB175’s front suspension, brakes and wheels are refreshed, of course. The front’s been lowered by 2,5cm, and there’s a new set of Hagon shocks out back. The bike’s also sporting a new seat, clip-ons from Woodcraft and rear sets from Dime City Cycles. Jeff’s completely re-wired it too, and installed a new headlight and speedo. Kinesis projects are usually painted, coated or polished right down to the last part, but Jeff broke character this time and left the engine casings untouched. So all the patina’s still there, hinting at the motor’s age and giving it an ‘unrestored original’ view.

For the paint, Jeff’s taken inspiration from his first performance car—a 2004 Pontiac GTO. The tank was done in Impulse Blue Metallic, with Action Powder coating redoing the frame to match. Jeff considers his motorcycle to weight only about 90kg. & So he’s named it as ‘The Featherweight.’

“Since we upped the power, and made the bike lighter, it’s hard to remember it’s only 160,” he says. “Simple, lightweight, and distraction free.”

#Honda #HondaCB #Cb175 #Caferacer