Based in Hangzhou, China, the mononymous RoninSu doesn’t have a bona fide workshop. But what he does have, is a wild imagination, a handful of handy skills, and an undying devotion to choppers.
Those qualities have culminated in this nutty Honda Cub chopper. Built by RoninSu over six months, the stretched Honda underbone has more chopper swagger than some bikes twice its size.
As far as RoninSu is concerned, the key to building a radical chopper is getting the ingredients right. “In my opinion, chopper building is an art of subtraction,” he explains, “but that doesn’t mean you don’t consider every detail and proportion. Each step of the process requires careful consideration before it can be executed.”
RoninSu may have started the project with a humble Honda Cub, but very little of the donor bike remains. For starters, the engine’s been swapped out for a 125 cc mill from the popular Chinese motorcycle manufacturer, Zongshen.
Then there’s the most obvious change—the Cub’s bespoke hardtail frame. RoninSu tells us that he started with a stock frame, but he’s done so much cutting, stretching, and adding, that it’s hard to tell which bits remain.
The resulting twin-beam chassis gives the Cub a 1.54-meter [five-foot] wheelbase, with the front forks measuring a whopping 94 cm [about 3 feet]. It’s a neat design too, with the upper tube flowing seamlessly into the rigid rear triangle. The Cub rolls on 18F/16R wheels, with a handmade aluminum fork brace adding some stiffness to the front end.
CNC-machined yokes hold the forks in place, while dog bone risers clamp custom-made handlebars higher up. The semi-automatic Zongshen engine doesn’t require a clutch lever, RoninSu has removed the front brake, and the Cub is devoid of turn signals or a speedo. So all you’ll find in the cockpit are a pair of chopper grips and a throttle.
Gear shifts are executed via a custom-made hand shifter, mounted down low on the left-hand side of the bike. RoninSu has retained the original footpegs, but he’s also mounted ‘highway’ pegs further forward.
The bodywork consists of a modified six-liter [1.6-gallon] peanut tank and an elegant ducktail-style rear fender. Wedged between them is a classic quilted seat, built on a handmade fiberglass seat pan.
RoninSu kept the original pressed steel section that lives under the Cub’s saddle, modifying it with new side covers. It now not only hosts the battery but the ignition barrel too.
The Honda Cub’s only lighting is a small headlight up front, with a chromed bucket and yellow lens, and a simple LED taillight. The former is attached to the lower yoke via a hand-crafted mount. The latter is embedded in the bike’s custom sissy bar, which sports a coiled design inspired by safety pins.
The sissy bar holds the license plate too, and is flanked by a perfectly-placed torpedo muffler.
The pint-sized chopper’s livery was designed by RoninSu and executed by his local paint shop. It’s an all-burgundy affair, with enough flake in the mix to make the color flip in the sunlight. Intricate airbrush and silver leaf details on the tank add another dose of quintessential chopper style.
The mere idea of a Honda Cub chopper is hardly conventional, but RoninSu has never bothered with convention. “Almost all worries and fears come from one’s own imagination,” he reasons. “Only when you really do something, will you discover how happy it can make you.”
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