CMBL Customs

Images CMBL Customs

As the custom bike scene matures, morphs and meanders through our culture, genres and sub-genres emerge and challenge our perceptions about what it is to be a biker. Amongst these sub-genres is the Deus Bali motored mutant that is the Beach Hopper.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, these usually consist of small-calibre weapons (originally reflecting Indonesia’s tough displacement regs), creative destruction in the shape of stripping off unneccesary panelwork, and the addition of a couple of slide-slung racks into which fit perfectly the surfboard of your choice. Of course you’ll tweak everything that will need to be tweaked, from the pipes to the bars to the headlamp and the rubber, too. But it’s the side-racks that are the kicker.

Surfers, being generally an environmentally-focussed lot, like the idea of not having to resort to their erstwhile vehicle of choice – large diesel wagon – when purveying the sport of their passion. For Deus, in balmy Indonesia, these little machines made perfect sense and were an inspiration. It didn’t take long til the world took notice.

John Eldridge of CMBL customs is one of the latest to produce one of these little gems. His Cornwall-based workshop has turned out this tasty little morsel – the first in a series of projects that will turn the Cornubian surf scene onto the benefits of flitting from beach to point to reef on a low-emitting, fun little ride rather than that all- but-superflous VW Transporter. In the summer months at least.

We’ve often wondered what happens when that howling offshore catches you on the crested hill of a North Devon headland. But we’ll forget that because we dig the concept so much.

John tells me that CMBL will have its own workshop by the end of the year next to a cafe he is opening at St Breock, near Wadebridge in Cornwall. He hopes to create a nice space in which he and his wife will represent surf, art and motorcycle culture.

St Breock fronts on to the Atlantic Highway, which is a great motorcycle ride and is not too far from various decent surf spots. There is scope in the future to have a motorcycle workshop based up on the same site as the cafe, which is slowly being developed into a really cool place to visit.

So if you like the idea of what John and family are doing keep an eye out for the cafe and the motorcycles and surfboards.