The Honda CB500 cafe racer that staved off bankruptcy

Building custom motorcycles can be a tough game. And the Swedish builder Fredrik Pål Persson was ready to throw in the towel, just before the commission came in for this rather chic Honda café racer. His shop, Malmö-based PAAL Motorcycles, has been operating for five years now. But last year, the business almost closed down. “We basically hit rock bottom,” Fredrik admits. “We were paying for costly mistakes we made, and we had to downscale everything. We sold everything we could sell, and held our breath to avoid going bankrupt.” “When a client asked us to build a CB500, I...