Biff

1974 Honda CB125
Brat Café Racer

Jan Sallings’ passion and craftsmanship has a way of touching everyone he meets. Before Jenny Spelts, friend of the Sallings family, met Jan, she had no interest in motorcycles whatsoever. It didn’t take long for that to change once she laid eyes on JMS Customs’ café racers. In 2016, Jenny worked with Jan to build a bike of her own—the nifty, retro 1974 Honda CB125 brat café racer known as Biff.


I do not have a long history with motorcycles at all. … I was actually a little afraid of them and thought they were dangerous. Silly me! When I saw what could be done with them and how they can look as classy as a café can look, I was in.

Jenny Spelts

In the summer of 2015, she bought the perfect starter bike—a 1974 Honda CB125. Its light weight and short stance made it ideal for learning to ride. Plus, the bike was already in running order, so she could start riding right away.


Initially, Jenny didn’t really care to turn it into a show bike, she just wanted to ride. She rode it through the summer, but in November, she was forced to park it. "So after having some trouble getting it started we figured there was some transmission issues. … I knew I had to take the engine off so I decided to just strip it down and customize the whole thing,” she said. Over the winter and spring, she and Jan worked together on Biff from Jan’s shop.


I was given a manual and pushed to figure it out. Of course whenever I needed fabricating, welding, or just some help when I got stuck on some issues, Jan Sallings was there to help.

Jenny Spelts

One of Jenny’s favorite aspects of café racers is their individualism, so she took the opportunity to personalize her own. Her personal style drew influence from the 1950s—namely rockabilly fashion and classic cars—and she designed Biff accordingly. The rockabilly style is typical feminine ‘50s fashion with an edge, combining the wholesome playfulness of the decade’s mainstream fashion with the angst of old-school rock and country music. Jenny evoked a similar dichotomy with Biff by applying the iconic ‘50s color scheme—mint green, cream, and chrome—to the aggressive brat café racer form. The result is one keen motorbike fit for a greaser.

Specifications

Donor
1974 Honda CB125
Engine
Stock
Head and cam modified to fit ball bearing and bushing
Transmission
Stock 4-speed
Pistons
+1mm oversized
Carburetors
Stock
Air Filters
Cone filter
Exhaust
Custom megaphone exhaust pipe by Jan Sallings
Ignition
Stock breaker-point ignition
Starter
Kick
Frame
Detabbed and smoothed stock frame
Custom rear hoop by Jan Sallings
Front Suspension
Stock
Rear Suspension
Stock
Front Wheel
Stock
Rear Wheel
Stock
Front Tire
2.75 - 18 Michelin Gazelle
Rear Tire
3.00 - 17 Michelin Gazelle
Front Brake
Stock, painted disc brake
Rear Brake
Stock drum brake
Headlight
Stock, converted to 12V bulb
Taillight
Mystery 50s-style taillight
Fuel Tank
Stock fuel tank with custom paint and decals by Jenny Spelts and Jan Sallings
Seat
Custom seat by One-Up Moto Garage
Handlebars
Clubman handlebars
Hand Controls
Stock
Foot Pegs
Stock
Foot Controls
Stock
Speedometer
2.5" chrome speedometer with white face from Dime City Cycles
Miscellaneous
Custom perforated aluminum side panels by Jenny Spelts and Jan Sallings

Builders

Jenny Spelts
Jan Sallings