The ultimate cafe racer from Oil In The Blood filmmaker Gareth Roberts… The Ducati MH900e (Evoluzione) is an ultra-rare, hand-built retro sport bike that paid homage to Mike Hailwood’s (MH) victorious 1978 Isle of Man […]
Tag: Cafe Racers
Problem Child: Kawasaki Zephyr 550 by Vintage Sykles
A 70s flat track racer returns to his roots… The Kawasaki Zephyr series was the company’s range of retro-styled naked superbikes, which took inspiration from the original Kawasaki Z1. That meant twin rear shocks, […]
Old East Metal: MZ ETZ 250 (300cc) Bobber
A two-stroke bobber from the founding city of MZ… MZ, which stands for Motorenwerke Zschopau (Zschopau Engine Works), began building motorcycles in 1922, making them one of the world’s oldest motorcycle manufacturers, and the factory […]
High-Spec: BMW R100-HS by Magnum Opus
The BMW R100 was the last and most powerful of the beloved airheads, boasting a 980cc air-cooled boxer engine that made 70 horsepower at 7000 rpm. When BMW Motorrad tried to cease production in the […]
The Rickman Zed: 1075cc Air/Oil-Cooled Cafe Racer
Thirty Years with a Rickman Z900: From 1/4-mile sprinter to cafe racer… Rickman Motorcycles, founded by brothers Derek and Don Rickman — both AMA Hall-of-Famers — is possibly the world’s best-known name in motorcycle frames. […]
Babe Blue: Ducati 800 SCR Cafe Racer
The Ducati Scrambler has become one of the most popular modern platforms for customization. Available in 400, 800, and 1100 versions, the V-twin Scrambler is a revival of the brand’s classic Scrambler series of dual-sport […]
Scarlet Witch: Honda CB450 Cafe Racer
“The True Spirit of a Racer”: From barn find to Handbuilt Show… In 1965, Honda introduced their first “big” motorcycle, the original CB450 “Black Bomber” — a 43-hp straight-twin that could do 101 mph. The […]
STG Tracker: Kawasaki KZ750 Twin
In 1976, Kawasaki introduced the KZ750 Twin, meant to compete against large-bore vertical twins like the Triumph Bonneville, Yamaha XS650, and the bygone British twins of yesteryear. But the KZ was no throwback — the […]
Two-Stroke Café Racer: Suzuki GT185 Adventurer
Milwaukee’s Steve Baugrud builds one sweet smoker… In 1973, Suzuki unveiled the GT185 Adventurer, a 21-hp air-cooled two-stroke parallel twin with Ram Air, crank case oil injection, electric start, and a front disc brake. The […]
Honda Hornet 600 “Elise” by Nicola Manca
Introduced in 1998, the Honda CB600F — better known as the the Honda 599 (USA) or Hornet (Europe) — utilized the old mid-90s CBR600F sportbike engine, tuned to 97 horsepower and set in a basic […]
