Two years ago, Dave Mucci scored a king hit with his Honda CX500 custom—one of our most popular bikes of all time. And now he’s back with another build, a lithe Yamaha SR250 with clean lines, thoughtful details and a natural palette. It’s Dave’s first frame-up design, where every detail, control and finish was paid its due attention.
The lucky client was Dave’s girlfriend Kara, who was ready for her own wheels after a year on the back of the CX500. “Within two days of her saying she wanted a bike I‘d tracked down the Yamaha, took it for a test ride, handed over the cash and was riding it home in the most cramped manner possible,” Dave reports. He’s 6’3”.
Dave has focused on a light and nimble theme. All extraneous parts were removed or relocated, to free up the frame as much as possible. To tighten up the core of the bike, the large stock fuel tank was switched out for the tank of a Honda CD175. “My intention was to make some new badges for the tank, but after blasting them and finding a gorgeous brass finish underneath, I decided to run with it. They were too pretty to toss aside.”
The tail of the frame was shortened and hooped to give more overhang over the rear wheel, and a custom pan and seat were made to match. Some meaty Bridgestone Spitfire tires (120/90-18F & 150/80-16R) were chosen to contrast the overall petite aesthetic. The stock fenders were trimmed down and the electronics were relocated to the battery box under the seat.
Simple POSH mini switches were installed, along with a new mini gauge, a simplified throttle, a Bates-style headlight and CNC’d bar end mirrors. One-inch tube stocks were welded to the rear of the frame to discreetly integrate the LED turn signals, and the horn was hidden behind the headlight.
A minimal amount of paint was used. The frame was brightened up with a light silver and the tank, wheels and battery box were sprayed with matte light aluminum paint. To give the bike some warmth most of the hardware was nickel plated and brushed. New knee pads were made from scratch and wrapped in the same distressed Oxblood vinyl as the seat and grips, with a light tan contrast stitching. “Rod’s Designs knocked the upholstery out of the park as always,” says Dave.
Dave’s now looking to move into sharing a larger industrial space with likeminded creative folks of different backgrounds. “For me, building custom motorcycles is the unification of my two passions, design and wrenching, and I intend to push towards making this my sole venture. With the acquisition of a new space will come the kickoff of the new company, a new build (a Honda Dream 150) and a focus on items that will reflect a bit more of my industrial design background.”
It’s worth keeping an eye on Dave Mucci’s progress, and you can do that via his website right here.
Photos by Patrick Daly.
