Want a classic endurance racer, without the nightmare of finding a vintage racebike, and making it rideable? Here’s a very cool skunk works project out of England, a collaboration between Honda UK and custom bike designer/builder Guy Willison. It’s called the Honda CB1000R 5Four/. It’s really just a skin-deep alteration, it’s a great example of what happens when the buying public and the industry are both excited about their products.

As the name implies, the basis of this bike is Honda’s CB1000R neo-retro motorcycle. That machine was updated mechanically last fall, with minimal changes made to keep the bike Euro5-legal. The engine is pretty much the same as the previous model, rated for 143 horsepower at the crank.

And, it seems that’s what this semi-custom take on the CB1000R also has. Honda UK’s webpage for this bike doesn’t list any performance modifications, except for a titanium Growler-X exhaust, which likely sheds weight, offers a vintage aesthetic and maybe even a gutsy sound … but probably does little for max horsepower. This is supposed to be only used for racing, but most owners will leave it in place for street usage.

The rest of the modifications are basically skin-deep as well. New bodywork, fresh paint, LED lights. New clutch and brake levers, new mirrors. A tail tidy, a hand-stitched leather seat. A very attractive package indeed, if you’re a fan of superbikes from the era before full fairings.

Honda UK says these are a limited production run machine, with every bike individually numbered and coming with a signed certificate of authenticity. Output will certainly be limited by local production capacity, if nothing else. If you want, you can opt for Guy Willison’s signature on the bike as well. Asking price is a £16,954 MSRP; if you really wanted one of these in North America, it’s probably doable with some overseas shipping expertise, but the price tag would rise even higher from there. For more information, see Honda UK’s website.

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