Space-Gray Café from MacVittie Motorcycles… Over the years, the Yamaha XS650 has earned a tongue-in-cheek nickname as “The Best British Bike Never Built.” Introduced in 1969, this Japanese parallel-twin owed much to the style and […]
Tag: Cafe Racers
Café Racer Kit: Yamaha XSR900 C-S
Café-Sport: XSR900 C-S Kit from Hóo-Bué… In 2016, Yamaha introduced the XSR900, which combined the highly-rated CP3 engine of the MT-09 with retro styling. Unlike most retros, however, the XSR didn’t hark back to the […]
“The Ideal Big Single” – KTM 690 Duke
Super Single: KTM 690 Duke “Road Sport” by 46works… In 1969, a Norton Manx piloted by Godfrey Nash was the last single-cylinder machine to win a 500cc Grand Prix. Even as multi-cylinder machines came to […]
HRC Inspired: Honda CX650 Café Racer
Stunning CX650 from MCafeGarage of Sardinia… The Honda CX650 was the last of the CX series, which began with the well-known CX500. The CX machines had a Guzzi-like engine layout, but that’s where the similarity […]
The Perfect Café Racer: Honda CB550 “Sapphire”
For Sale: Matt MacVittie’s 1977 Honda CB550 “Sapphire”… If you had to choose one vintage Japanese motorcycle to serve as the base for a café racer project, you’d be hard-pressed to improve on the Honda […]
Track Weapon: Moto Guzzi MGR 1400 “Tricolore”
1400cc Guzzi Café Racer from Radical Speedshop… Radical Speedshop has been at the forefront of Moto Guzzi tuning for nearly three decades. Run by the Bronold family of Germany, the workshop has earned a reputation […]
Best of Both Worlds: Honda “CB500R” Café Racer
Ellaspede EB1236: 1973 Honda CB450 x 2013 CBR500R… The Honda CB twins of the 1970s remain some of the most beloved Japanese vintage motorcycles of all time — and with good reason. They offered riders […]
Stibnite Super7: Scratch-Built 700cc Café Racer
“I couldn’t own the name of being a bike-builder until I really did build one from scratch.” We’re as guilty of it as anyone else. We often talk about bike “builds” and “builders,” when the […]
Flacheisen S: Moto Guzzi 1100 Café Racer
Reborn: “Flacheisen” (Flat Iron) from Radical Speedshop… For nearly 30 years, the Bronold family of Germany’s Radical Speedshop has been building, customizing, and racing Moto Guzzi machines. Truly, you can hardly speak of Guzzi performance […]
“Maximum Purification” — Zephyr 750 Café Racer
Zephyr Café Racer from Tumulte… Introduced in 1990, the Kawasaki Zephyr 750 was part of a 90s resurgence of air-cooled, twin-shock, retro-style standards with roots in the Universal Japanese Motorcycles of the 70s. In 1992, […]
