Swedish brand CAKE released the cheapest electric bike – for kids. Add to that the news of a Steve McQueen-owned CB750 for sale, a custom CCM from Goblin Works Garage host Anthony Partridge and a Weslake-powered vintage racing bike from the Japanese store Berrybads MC.
CAKE Go is released “Start young,” the saying applies, and CAKE clearly takes that advice to heart. It has just released three bikes as part of ‘Children’s Evolution Programfrom a balance bike to a $3,500 off-road bike electric motorcycle.
The range is aptly called Ready, Steady, Go, and the second bike is the one we’re interested in here. It is designed for riders six years and older and has a top speed of 40 km/h (25 mph).
CAKE knows how to do it right, so To go features a quality tubular Chromoly steel frame and beautiful plastic.
It weighs just 32 kg (70 pounds) including battery, and the output power can be adjusted from 600W to 1.5kW depending on the rider’s capabilities. Charging the battery takes four hours from a standard household outlet, which should give it an hour or more of use.
The conventional fork with 95mm of travel at the front is combined with a preload-adjustable air shock absorber. The wheels are F14/R12 aluminum and fitted with luxurious Michelin Starcross knots.
CAKE Go can be delivered worldwide and we doubt it will be another hit for the revolutionary Swedish brand.
Selling Honda CB750 Ex – Steve McQueen 1969 We’ve seen some dubious claims about bikes owned by Steve McQueen in the past, but this one seems to hold true. And the bike itself is incredibly desirable, regardless of its history.
It’s a genuine ‘sandcast’ CB750 K0 was acquired by McQueen’s company in 1969, and it’s only been restored for two years. All documents are checked, and there are only 22,000 miles on the clock.
The glorious inline quartet, complete with early production ‘sandcast’ boxes, has been renovated by Charlie’s Place of Glendale, California. (This particular machine is the 1,064th CB750 built.)
The rest of the machine has been rebuilt using the original parts, with a new chrome finish applied as needed. Even the frame has been refurbished and painted black after the media blast.
As part of history, the better this is. It’s on sale on Mang A Trailer right now, with Auction due to close shortly after we published this section. At the time of writing, the bid was $65,000 — and likely much higher.
CCM Spitfire by Anthony Partridge If you are in the UK and watch the TV show Goblin Works Garage, you may have watched CCM Spitfire built already. Anthony Partridge is one of the hosts, and a household name in European custom.
He told us: “This is a quick fire build, to help CCM launch a custom program internally. “The brief was to build something clean and simple, yet impactful, to showcase what can be done with CCM’s single 600cc platform. So all mods are bootstrapped and can be done by anyone with a bag of wrenches and a little know-how! ”
We think Ant is underestimating his talent a bit here, because the key mod is the solid aluminum bodywork. It is manufactured from a sheet of waterjet metal, which is folded and welded just like origami.
The engine has a stainless steel 2-in-1 exhaust, with the gas escaping just under the racing foam seats via an SC Project silencer. All billet aluminum parts have been anodized black, and the frame has been repainted (from matte to glossy) to match the bodywork.
Credit goes to Paul Drake for help with rendering and CAD, and Ollie Mullard of Automated manufacturing of Olliminium for metallurgical support.
Ant said: “I loved CCM’s proportions from the start, so ‘less is more’ with this build.
“The bike is fun to ride – it weighs just over 110kg. The Husqvarna engine produces 55 hp and 43 lb-ft of torque, so it’s a city-appropriate thug bike! ”
Funnily enough, Ant is going to have to sell it.
“I knew that if I took it to the extreme, I would lose my license or end up in jail!” [Partridge Design]
Berrybads racer Weslake Kyohey Sugimoto’s Berrybads MC is one of Japan’s senior builders that deserves more appreciation outside of his homeland.
He built this beautiful machine during the Covid lockdown, with the aim of competing in classic racing events prior to 1972. At the core of the car is the 8-valve Weslake Nourish engine: originally designed by Mr. Renowned engine designer Harry Weslake, it was developed and fine-tuned by racing engineer David Nourish.
Sugimoto-san has rebuilt and reinforced the engine to cope with the rigors of the track, and added a pair of new Keihin CRS37 cabins. He then fitted it to a nickel-plated Seeley Mk 4 frame, using the motor as a bearing unit.
Power is transmitted to the rear wheels through a Bob Newby main drive system and the gearbox is a 6-speed gearbox of TTI New Zealand experts.
The suspension is a veritable fusion of parts and eras, starting with an early Yamaha SR hub at the front and the current-style YZ setup at the rear. The rims are Excel, the fork is a classic 35mm Cerianis and the shock is a modern Nitron NTR.
The fuel tank is made of aluminum but, despite the looks, the tail unit isn’t – it’s fiberglass and hides an alloy oil catcher.
Sugimoto has called this amazing creation ‘Beeley Westlake’ – Beeley is a combination of Berrybads and Seeley, and ‘Westlake’ refers to his hometown, on the west bank of Japan’s largest freshwater lake.
He raced it in the ‘Classic Legends’ series and won his first event at the Fuji Speedway with the bike hitting 230 km/h through a speed trap. The final race, at the Tsukuba lap, didn’t go quite as planned, with an accident while Sugimoto was chasing the race leader.
Currently, Weslake is being repaired and is preparing to return to the track. It is in good hands. [Via]
