Leave it to Deus Ex Machina to take the Honda Super Cub, the most produced motor vehicle in history, and turn it into something absolutely magnificent. What started as a relatively mundane 1961 Honda Super Cub was transformed by Deus Japan’s Director of Motorcycle Operations Matthew Roberts into The Firefly, a pole-position-ready racer. The final product looks nothing like the bike it is built from and inspired by, and that transformation took a serious amount of effort. Roberts himself designed and built the modified frame and epoxy composite monocoque body inspired by the “GP and TT steeds of the 1950s and ’60s with long, low lines.” Crammed inside that sleek (and perfectly painted) exterior you’ll find the fuel cell, battery, coil and electric components precisely laid out along the backbone of the bike, because, well, as you can see, there isn’t much space in there. When it came to getting the half century old bike running, it required going back to the old factory blueprints to create nuts, bots and bearings from scratch on a mill or a lathe. Like every other Deus creation, The Firefly is as stunning on the outside as it is technically awesome on the inside.
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Huckberry’s Essential Holiday Gift Guide
Unzip your coat and have some mulled wine on the house—you’ve arrived at your final gifting destination: The Holiday Gift Guide. It’s like your friendly neighborhood one-stop holiday shop, except instead of balsa wood ornaments, ours is packed with thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list. Future heirlooms, small-but-significant stocking stuffers, and gear for getting out there (or staying in)—are all right here. There’s no music playing in the background though, so you’ll just have to hum Bing Crosby while you click around instead.
