Looking for something specific? You can find builds according to make, model, and type from this page, or use the searchbox to find the bikes that inspire you.
BMW Airhead Cafe Racers - BMW “Airheads” are mainly those motorcycles which feature the BMW 247 engine — an air-cooled, two-valve, flat-twin boxer engine produced from 1969 to 1995. The “/5” (Slash 5) series were introduced in 1969, “/6” (Slash […]
BMW Cafe Racers - BMW Motorrad has been producing motorcycles since the 1920s, and tuners have been customizing them ever since. Whether you’re interested in cafe racers based on the BMW airhead engines, flying bricks like the K-series, oilheads […]
BMW Custom Scramblers - BMW Motorrad has the honor of inventing the whole genre of adventure touring motorcycles. In 1980, they introduced the world to the R80 G/S, an air-cooled boxer twin designed to tackle pavement, dirt, and anything […]
BMW K100 Cafe Racers - In 1982, BMW introduced their first liquid-cooled four-cylinder motorcycle engine in the K100 — a quantum leap forward from the air-cooled flat-twin “airheads” for which they were known. Uniquely, the new engine was mounted on […]
BMW Street Trackers - BMW motorcycles may not seem like the most ideal platform for flat track-inspired builds, but BMW street trackers have been quite popular — particularly the air-cooled boxer twins of the 70s and 80s. The airheads […]
BMW Supermotos - Though supermotard bikes are typically based on single-cylinder motocross bikes with lowered suspension and 17-inch wheels, we’ve seen an increasing number of BMW flat-twin boxer supermoto bikes from custom builders around the world — possibly […]
Brat Cafe Racers - A “brat cafe racer” is typically a bike that has most of the cafe-style details, such as low clip-on or clubman bars and rear sets, but has a flat “brat style” seat instead of the […]
Ducati Cafe Racers - In the mid-1950s, Ducati engineer Fabio Taglioni developed the desmodromic (“desmo”) 90° V-twin engine. Since then, “Ducatisti” have been customizing the Italian company’s line of race-bred steeds. If you’re looking for a Ducati cafe racer, […]
Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racers - In 2015, the new Ducati Scrambler went on sale, an air-cooled V-twin roadster that incorporates design elements from the company’s original Scrambler series of single-cylinder enduros: off-road handlebars and footpegs, as well as fork guards, […]
Harley Cafe Racers - While a Harley-Davidson may not sound like the most ideal platform for a cafe racer, these American V-twins make surprisingly solid cafe bikes — both in style and performance. The Sportster is the popular candidate […]
Harley Sportster Flat Trackers - We are huge fans of Harley-Davidson Sportster flat tracker and dirt tracker builds. Harley-Davidson V-twins have long been dominant in flat track racing, and the new “Hooligan” and “Super Hooligan” classes have revived the interest […]
Harley Sportster Scramblers - In production since 1957, the Harley-Davidson Sportster may not seem like the first choice for a scrambler build, but this air-cooled V-twin cruiser has proven itself to have surprising potential as a heavyweight, multi-cylinder dirt-eater. […]
Harley Sportster Street Trackers - We are huge fans of Harley-Davidson Sportster street tracker builds. Both the XL883 and XL1200 have become popular donors for these builds, as well as the earlier XLH and Ironhead Sportsters. The newer bikes are […]
Harley-Davidson Scramblers - Harley-Davidson Motor Company was designing and building motorcycles to withstand the rigors of off-road riding more than 100 years ago — back when American soldiers needed their motorcycles to survive on the battlefields of France. […]
Harley-Davidson Sportster Cafe Racers - The Harley-Davidson Sportster has been built since 1957. It cut its teeth in the world of flat track racing, but builders have long been attaching clubman bars, rear sets, bum stop seats, and longer rear […]
Honda Cafe Racers - Since the 1960s, Honda has been the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan. At the height of production, they were producing more than three million bikes per year. Honda is recognized as revolutionizing the image of […]
Honda CB Cafe Racers - The Honda CB Series of motorcycles are perhaps the world’s most popular cafe racer platform. Engine sizes vary greatly, from the diminutive CB50 to the mighty six-cylinder CBX. The CB Series bikes were designed mainly […]
Honda CB350 Cafe Racers - The Honda CB350 — aka 350 Twin — was a 325cc parallel twin built from 1968-1973, with 36 horsepower and a top speed of 110 mph. It was one of the most popular models in […]
Honda CB550 Cafe Racers - The Honda CB550 is perhaps the perfect cafe racer candidate. The bike packs a strong punch from its gutsy middleweight inline four, and the handling is lightning-quick and crisp. Donor bikes have become more expensive […]
Honda CB750 Cafe Racers - The Honda CB750 is often hailed as “The Original Superbike,” the first modern four-cylinder motorcycle from a mainstream manufacturer. Introduced in 1969, the bike offered 68 horsepower and a top speed of 125 mph. Cycle […]
Honda CBX Café Racers - Introduced in 1978, Honda CBX1000 would become an instant classic thanks to its 1047cc six-cylinder engine. Designer Shoichiro Irimajiri knew just what kind of machine he had on his hands: “Something in the CBX that […]
Honda CX500 Cafe Racers - The Honda CX500 — along with variants like the GL500 and GL650 — incorporated a variety of innovative features for the late 70s / early 80s. These included liquid-cooling, shaft drive, electric-only start, and an […]
Honda CX500 Scramblers - Introduced in 1978, the Honda CX500 would be one of the most innovative street bikes of the era, featuring liquid-cooling, shaft drive, modular “Comstar” wheels, and an unconventional engine layout for the 80° V-twin engine. […]
Honda Goldwing Cafe Racers - The Honda Goldwing may not seem the ideal candidate for a cafe racer build. After all, the big shaft-drive machine has become the king of long-distance tourers — a machine intended for eating up long […]
Honda Goldwing Customs - Introduced in 1974, the original Honda GL1000 Goldwing was the second-fastest production motorcycle you could buy — second only to the Kawasaki Z1 in the quarter mile that year! Though the original flat-four Wings and […]
Honda Goldwing Scramblers - The Honda Goldwing may not seem the ideal candidate for a scrambler build. After all, these giant flat-four and flat-six tourers were designed as kings of the highway, capable of cruising long miles in comfort. […]
Honda NX650 Dominator Scramblers - The Honda NX650 Dominator has become one of the most popular base bikes for custom scramblers worldwide. The bike was built from 1988 to 2001 –a 36 to 44-hp air-cooled dual-sport with a bikini fairing […]
Honda Scramblers - Honda motorcycles are popular platforms for scrambler builds. In particular, the single cylinder Honda “thumpers,” such as the XR series and the ever-popular NX650 Dominator, make bulletproof, hard-to-kill scramblers that can jump curbs in the […]
Honda Street Trackers - Honda motorcycles continue to make popular platforms for street tracker builds across the world. In particular, the NX650 Dominator has become a mainstay of the genre, an air-cooled 650cc single that’s inexpensive, well-built, and tail-happy […]
Honda XL Scramblers - The Honda XL series was a range of four-stroke enduro/dual-sport motorcycles. In 1979, the first XR model was produced, and the XR remained the purpose-built, dirt-only competition range as opposed to the street-legal XL series. […]
Honda XR Scramblers - The Honda XR is a series of four-stroke dirt bikes produced from 1979 onward. The models with an “R” suffix were the competition enduro models, typically not street-legal from the factory, while the “L” models […]
Kawasaki Cafe Racers - Kawasaki makes some of our favorite cafe racer platforms, from the Z/KZ series to the GPz and the mighty two-stroke Kawasaki triples. Here you’ll find some of our favorite Kawasaki cafe racer builds we’ve featured.
Kawasaki KZ650 Cafe Racers - The Kawasaki KZ650, known as the Z650 in many markets, is one of our favorite custom platforms. Sometimes known as the “Son of the Z1,” the bike had a quick-revving inline four with middleweight punch, […]
Kawasaki Scramblers - Kawasaki motorcycles remain some of the most popular platforms for custom scrambler builds across the world. These include scramblers built from the KZ series inline fours and twins, the W series modern retros, the range […]
Kawasaki Street Trackers - Kawasaki continues to be a popular make for tracker builds, whether they be traditional street trackers, brat trackers, or pure flat trackers. Popular donors include the vintage KZ series, the newer W series, and the […]
KTM Scramblers - KTM builds some of the world’s most potent off-road motorcycles. The Austrian manufacturer won their first motocross championship in 1974 and has gone on to become one of the most successful names in all of […]
KTM Trackers - KTM has earned a reputation for building some of the capable off-road bikes on the planet. While their early racing efforts were focused more on motocross and enduro, KTM flat track bikes have become a […]
Moto Guzzi Cafe Racers - Italy’s Moto Guzzi is the Europe’s oldest manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Founded in 1921, the company was first to the scene with a number of innovations, including the center stand, wind tunnel, and eight-cylinder […]
Royal Enfield Cafe Racers - Royal Enfield remains one of the most renowned names in all of motorcycling history — the only surviving brand that’s spanned three different centuries — the 19th, 20th, and 21st. The company began in the […]
Royal Enfield Scramblers - Royal Enfield is one of the most legendary names in motorcycle history — a brand that got its start in the late 1800s making precision firearms parts, quadricycles, and various cycle parts. The brand’s most […] Sportbike Cafe Racers - A sportbike (or sport bike) is any modern motorcycle designed and optimized for cornering, accelerating, and braking on paved roads or tracks. As Kevin Cameron of Cycle World states: “A sportbike is a motorcycle whose […]
Suzuki Cafe Racers - Though Suzuki cafe racer builds are less common than some other marques, we love platforms like the GS Series — great for budget builds — and the mighty two-stroke GT series. We’re also seeing more […]
Suzuki Custom Scramblers - Suzuki continues to be popular make for custom scramblers. These range from small GN series builds — one of the most popular learner bikes in the world — to high-seat, curb-jumping, enduro-based big single builds […]
Suzuki Street Trackers - In recent years, Suzuki has become a popular make for street tracker builds around the world. Builders have turned the small GN series bikes — some of the most popular learner bikes in the world […]
Triumph Bonneville Scramblers - The original Triumph Bonneville and its predecessors were some of the most popular scramblers and desert sleds in the California desert racing heyday, ridden and raced by the likes of Steve McQueen, Bud Ekins, and […]
Triumph Cafe Racers - Many of the early cafe racers built in post-war England were of Triumph Engineering manufacture, founded in Coventry in 1885 and later based in Meriden. In the 1980s, after the original company went bankrupt, Hinckley-based […]
Two-Stroke Cafe Racers - There’s nothing quite like the banshee wail of a 2-stroke cafe racer, screaming through the pines, or the ghostly blue smoke left in the wake of such a machine. The manic powerband of legendary two-strokes […]
Two-Stroke Scramblers - For many of us, the scent of burning two-stroke oil brings back memories of childhood dirt bikes — long days riding in the fields or woods or on the local motocross track. That nostalgia, coupled […]
Two-Stroke Street Trackers - While four-strokes have long been dominant in traditional flat track racing, many builders are opting to build two-stroke street trackers. After all, it’s hard to beat the 2-stroke / 2T motor for light weight, cheap […]
Vintage Cafe Racers - Generally, we regard bikes built prior to 1980 as vintage, though there is some wiggle room there. Here we have a selection of our favorite vintage cafe racer builds.
Yamaha Cafe Racers - Yamaha has produced some of the most popular platforms for cafe racer builds, including the XS, SR, and two-stroke RD series of bikes. More recently, the company has sponsored the Yamaha Yard Built series, asking […]
Yamaha Custom Scramblers - Yamaha motorcycles continue to be popular donor bikes for custom scrambler builds. These range from vintage XS builds to single cylinder SR bikes to dual-sport curb-jumpers based on the company’s long-running XT series — plus […]
Yamaha DT Scramblers - The Yamaha DT was a range of street-legal two-stroke enduro motorcycles that began with the granddaddy of all enduro motorcycles, the 1969 Yamaha DT-1 — a lightweight, affordable, easily obtainable 250cc dual-purpose motorcycle that would […]
Yamaha Street Trackers - Yamaha continues to be one of the most popular makes for street tracker builds. Popular donors include the XS650, the Virago series, the single-cylinder SR250/400/500, the SX225 Scorpio so popular in Asian markets, and the […]
Yamaha Virago Cafe Racers - The Yamaha Virago, introduced in 1981, was the company’s first V-twin cruiser. While the XV750 version is the most common, the bikes were offered in a vast range of sizes over the years, including the […]
Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racers - Built in the style of the British twins of yesteryear, the Yamaha XS650 makes a great cafe racer platform. For the pro and semi-pro builder, the design and lines lend themselves to such builds. For […]
Yamaha XT Scramblers - The Yamaha XT was a range of street-legal four-stroke enduro/dual-sport motorcycles that began with introduction of the now-legendary Yamaha XT500 in 1976. The twin-shock single-cylinder machine would win the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979 and 1980, […]
