Fresh 5Four hits the road: Guy Willison’s striking hand-built custom Honda CB1000R is revealed

Motorcycle customiser Guy Willison has unveiled the finished version of the second custom Honda built under his 5Four brand. Willison first built a CB1100RS in 2019, before turning his attention to the CB1000R last year. Now the completed bike has been released and is available to order.

Related articles on MCN

• Guy Willison’s Honda CB1100RS 5Four
• Honda CB1000R review
• deBolex create carbon custom from Ducati Monster 1200

“In keeping with the 5Four mantra: if anything on a motorcycle doesn’t look great or make it go it shouldn’t be fitted,” says Willison. “I have created a motorcycle that has lost some weight, is super-comfortable and über-cool.”

The biggest visual change is the composite headlight fairing that’s designed to give the bike an aggressive look, while also providing some decent protection from the elements.

Out the back all the ‘rear scaffolding’ has been ditched, with a new tail tidy fitted to clean up the design. All the mounting hardware is internal, allowing the low-level numberplate mount to be ditched.

Above is a custom leather seat, hand-stitched in the 5Four diamond pattern, while the rear pad has been laser etched with the 5Four logo.

Premium touches are found elsewhere, with LSL dog-leg clutch and brake levers, billet mirrors and a custom titanium Racefit Growler-X exhaust. The brains of the bike – dash, ABS, traction control – function as on the stock CB. And, of course, there’s also the gorgeous paint.

“The paintwork has been inspired by the original Honda endurance racing paintwork, brought bang up to date in candy red, blue and pearl white,” adds Willison. “Even the Honda wing logo on the tank has been hand-painted.”

Because 5Fours are built in partnership with Honda UK, they can be ordered from any regular dealer and the warranty is unaffected. You can even get finance such as HP or PCP if you don’t have the £16,954 asking price to hand over up front.

---

Official Guy Willison 5Four special Honda CB1000R unveiled

First published 4 August 2021 by Jordan Gibbons

Honda UK have yet again teamed up with customiser Guy Willison to create another short run of specials.

This latest model, limited once more to just 54 individually numbered units, is built around a stock CB1000R with no changes to the chassis, engine, or electronics (barring the addition of an OE quickshifter) – meaning it retains all of its riding character, competence and ease of use.

Related articles on MCN

• Guy Willison’s Honda CB1100RS 5Four
• Honda CB1000R review
• deBolex create carbon custom from Ducati Monster 1200

Where the 5Four steps out on its own is a raft of small cosmetic changes that add up to a complete transformation.

The standout change comes from the special ‘Honda Endurance’ paintjob with hand-painted Honda wing tank logo. The scheme extends to the hand-crafted headlamp cowl, single seat unit and hand-stitched diamond pattern leather seat with laser-etched 5Four logo.

The stock numberplate hanger comes with the bike, but it’s really meant to use the bespoke tail tidy which, along with the Racefit exhaust, is for ‘circuit use only’.

The 5Four retails for £16,954, which is just over £5000 more than a stock machine. As an official model, you can get it on a PCP deal for £199 a month which includes a £750 Honda dealer contribution. Be quick to grab one.

---

Hot new 5Four: Limited edition Honda CB1000R prototype breaks cover ahead of official unveiling

First published on 01 July 2021 by Richard Newland

When the legendary CB750 celebrated its 50th birthday back in 2019, Honda UK teamed up with custom bike guru Guy Willison – who will be familiar to anyone who watches Henry Cole’s various TV series – to build a limited edition of 54 special CB1100RS models. And now the alliance has reformed to give the 2021 CB1000R the same ‘5Four’ makeover.

Related articles on MCN

• Guy Willison’s Honda CB1100RS 5Four
• Honda CB1000R review
• Seventies styling meets 2021 tech in Honda CB1000F concept

While there’s been no official confirmation of the new model yet, MCN recently managed to get our hands on the prototype of the new bike to pore over the details and put it through its paces on some glorious sinuous tarmac in Wales.

This special edition model – expected to be limited to just 54 units again, all individually numbered – is underpinned by a stock CB1000R with no changes to the chassis, engine, or electronics – meaning it retains all of its riding character and competence (so often ruined by ‘special builds’).

Where the 5Four will differ is in a raft of cosmetic changes and a screamingly aggressive Racefit titanium Growler-X exhaust with 5Four logos laser etched into the stubby can.

Levers are replaced by LSL ‘Dog Leg’ items, while the dinky CNC mirrors are also LSL. But the standout visual shift comes from the special ‘Honda Endurance Racer’ paintjob that marries candy red, blue and pearl white with a pleasingly retro hand-painted Honda wing tank logo.

The scheme extends to the cowled single seat unit and hand-stitched diamond pattern leather seat with laser etched 5Four logo bum-stop pad, as well as the cute hand-crafted headlamp cowl.

The stock numberplate hanger comes with the bike, but it’s intended to run a bespoke tail tidy which allows for a 7x5in ‘show plate’, nestling beneath the new slimline LED taillight.

Despite the changes being fundamentally cosmetic, the combination of a glitzy aesthetic with the more bombastic soundtrack and the impact of sitting on a different seat pad and touching different control levers all conspire to actually make the 5Four feel a bit special on the move. While it’s raucous, the retention of the stock headers and large OE collector means that it’s not too offensive on your earholes.

This prototype bike has actually been built on a 2020 model CB, but the real deal will arrive on a 2021 base – while that won’t significantly affect the look or feel of the final bikes.

With no real interference to chassis or mill, it rides with the same sharp, compact and compliant aggression of the stocker – it just feels imbued with a bit more specialness: the difference between owning ‘a CB’ and having ‘your CB’ that’s been tickled to turn production homogeneous design into something more personal.

As we await an official announcement of the model run, there’s also no confirmed price – but we expect it to leave a circa £17,000 hole in your pocket. Compared to a stock CB1000R at £11,649 (or £12,999 for a Black Edition), that initially feels like a salty price hike – but you couldn’t build one cheaper – and this one has the blessing of being an officially sanctioned Honda UK limited edition.