Punk rock and café racer motorcycles are an important part of Stu Lloyd’s life. Lloyd grew up in England and he came of age in the late 1970s when bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash were taking to the stage. He was also influenced by a friend’s father who had an old motorcycle in the garage.
“He was always tinkering on something,” Lloyd says of that mentorship. “Since the age of 14, I’ve been around bikes. In England, you could start off riding a 50cc moped, and of course you’d play with it and make it go faster. Then, you could move up to a 250cc – that’s since changed to a 125cc – but I got a Yamaha LC250. You could always make a two-stroke fast, but also reliable.”
With a passion for things mechanical, Lloyd trained as an aircraft engineer and worked as a technician with the Royal Air Force. He then moved to Saudi Arabia and took a job as an aircraft instructor. That’s where he met his wife, and in 2001 they relocated to Calgary. He’s now a fertilizer plant manager, but in his spare time and in his suburban garage, Lloyd works with simple hand tools to build exotic café-racer motorcycles. He doesn’t have a lathe or a mill — just a large chest of tools and the willingness to invest some sweat equity. To see two of Lloyd’s previous builds, type ‘Stu Lloyd’ into the search bar at www.returnofthecaferacers.com.
Rider’s view of the minimalist cockpit. The custom Honda CX500C is street legal, equipped with all lights and horns. CREDIT: Stu Lloyd Photo by Stu Lloyd
“I know how to manipulate metal, and I do it all by hand on the bench in a vise,” Lloyd says. “I don’t build bikes that are trailered from show to show, I build them to be ridden every day, I can’t see the point of doing it any other way.” This is a hobby for Lloyd. He doesn’t take on customers and only builds motorcycle for family and friends. Jason Nycz considers himself lucky to fall into the latter category.
“I used to ride but gave it up for quite a few years,” Nycz explains. “But when COVID hit, I got back into motorcycles and bought an Aprilia Shiver.”
Lloyd and Nycz connected years ago because their sons are best friends. But neither of them was entirely aware of their shared interest in powered two-wheelers.
When I showed Stu the Aprilia, that started a conversation about building a custom motorcycle together,” Nycz says, and adds, “When someone as artistic and creative as Stu asks if you’d like a custom bike, you don’t say no.”
For a platform, they settled on a 1982 Honda CX500C, and a donor machine was found in Edmonton.
“The idea behind the café racer is to take an old bike and turn it into what you want it to be,” Lloyd says. “I’ll just park a bike in the garage and stare at it, forming a vision for what it should become.”
Stu Lloyd grew up in England immersed in punk rock and cafe racer motorcycles. Since moving to Calgary he’s built a few custom machines for family and friends, including this Yamaha SR500 for his daughter — it was selected one of the Top 10 builds of 2021 by returnofthecaferacers.com. Photo by Adam Gregory
Originally equipped with dual rear shocks, Stu Lloyd modified this 1982 Honda CX500C with a rear mono shock from a Honda CBR600. Photo by Stu Lloyd
Stu Lloyd commissioned Mad Exhaust of the Netherlands to bend and weld together the intricate exhaust system for his friend Jason Nycz’s cafe racer ’82 Honda CX500C. Photo by Stu Lloyd
Cafe racer builder Stu Lloyd says he crafted this Honda around two main elements — the 500cc transposed V-twin engine and the Lyta-style aluminum gas tank. Photo by Stu Lloyd
For Nycz’s CX500C, the plan was to strip the machine down to its most basic elements, and that’s the 500cc transposed V-twin engine and a portion of the original Honda frame. Another key design component was Lloyd’s decision to fit a Lyta-style polished aluminum gas tank originally made for a late 1960s BSA.
“Someone might ask why put a tank like that on a CX500, and I really did it just to see if I could – I’d always wanted to build a bike with that tank,” Lloyd says, and continues, “That tank has a very wide tunnel, and it’s almost like it was built for that bike.”
To improve suspension the stock twin rear shocks were disposed of, and a Honda CBR600 mono shock was modified to fit the swingarm. Up front, forks and brakes from a 2011 Suzuki GSXR1000R were installed. A custom fabricated aluminum fairing from Omega Racer in Thailand graces the CX500. The only paint on the bike was applied to the tail section, and a blue and a black stripe on the fairing and top of the gas tank. Lloyd did the paintwork himself. Another distinctive element is the stainless-steel exhaust system custom built in the Netherlands for the CX500 engine by Mad Exhaust. Lloyd had two systems bent and welded together and swapping them out dramatically alters the overall look of the machine.
The Honda has a full Motogadget system to control the electrics, including signal lights.
“It’s a big lump of an engine, but the bike’s not heavy,” Lloyd says, and of the completed project he adds, “The riding position is so balanced, and it marries vintage style with a modern riding experience.”
Nycz concludes, “The creation is beyond all my expectations.”
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or [email protected].
Keyword: Hand-built cafe racer a labour of love