We can’t get enough custom shapes around these parts: we introduced more than 20 of progress over the years. But the Cub scene is now plagued by the same problems that racecar builders CB café and BMW airheads have — they all start out the same.
So how do you come up with something different, without sacrificing realism or heading into cartoon territory? That’s a tough question Deus‘Bali outpost. But they overcame it with an elegant C100 that harks back to classic Italian style motorcycle.
This C100 was built for a local customer named Nicco. “We have done quite a few Honda Cub conversions over the years,” said Deus director Anthony McInerheney. “But when Nicco approached us to build the full C100 in 1979, we didn’t want to go back to the old ground.”
“The streets of Bali are now littered with beautiful people in Honda C70s going from their yoga classes to their co-working spaces!”
“Perhaps the best thing we can say about the sponsor bike is that it is one of the rarer and well-documented C100s. Today it’s about turning it into something of a unicorn,” said Anthony.
It’s tempting to think that all Cubs are the same, but there are differences. The concept was developed by a team led by Soichiro Honda himself, using a monolithic chassis made from steel. Performance has always been remarkably good, thanks to Honda’s focus on well-built and high-rpm engines.
Despite the ‘100’ nomenclature, the air-cooled C100’s output is just 49cc – but it makes a useful 4.5hp at 9,500rpm.
The Deus crew decided to rebuild the whole thing. “We put our Cubs on a photo-heavy diet in the past,” says Anthony. “The footpads and other optically ‘bulky’ items have been removed, to show off the slim lines of the underlying frame. But people have done it now, so we went in the opposite direction this time.”
The foot guards on this C100 are inspired by Vespas and Lambrettas from the 70s-90s and are handcrafted from sheet aluminum. After a few months — and a few failed iterations — the studio team of Dylan, Arwin, and Koko finally found a suitable shape.
It’s a silhouette more reminiscent of Italian heritage than the Asian origin of Honda.
This pretty little metal fold makes the bar tall, but Deus followed suit with a host of other clever details. The 5.5-inch Daymaker LED headlights are housed in a stainless steel tank, and Arwin built a new side skirt that uses more aluminum panels. Further down are the billet and knurled aluminum footpegs, with a little acid etched logo added at their ends.
Then it’s time to delve deeper into the logo archive and craft handcrafted metal Deus badges for the front and side panels. The original long chair has been reworked through a slight metal rearrangement and a new seat cushion, with upholstered cushions in brown suede.
Motivation wise, Deus had to start from scratch. The diminutive four-stroke engine has been scrapped and all the internals have been refreshed — including the bearings, roller bearings and washers. New gears and a new clutch were fitted, and for extra good measure, Deus restarted the cylinder to get an oversized piston.
A new slide carb keeps the engine running, and the shop’s mechanics have built a classy stainless flat grinder to tackle the exhaust.
The Japanese TK Racing brand’s stainless steel rims are paired with IRC’s SP1 tires, to add even more vintage vibes.
The C100 is now better than ever, so Deus upgraded the rear suspension with a new pair of forks from a local specialist. They also replaced the rear brakes with old new ones and added a brake disc at the front – with a newspaper reservoir next to the Japanese Posh switch.
The new stainless steel bars have been raised from the Yamaha RXZ-135, a popular two-stroke bike in Indonesia. And while it’s not exactly a trio, the plate that combines the standers with forks is another inspirational piece of crafting.
The paint gives Anthony and the crew a few gray hairs. “Inspired by British green car races, we had a headache about how we could ride in the dark before the blacks got to town!” A transparent jacket on top and a small pear shaped pear keep everything nice and shiny.
Deus has outfitted their C100 with a brake light made from a milled billet alloy, plus a small LED indicator from Posh. As with all the other details on this build, the approach is more classy than flashy.
Top marks for the Bali crew for avoiding the cliches — and building a custom transport that will work great in any modern city, as well as the dazzling beach roads around around Canggu.
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