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. […]
Tag: Cafe Racers
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 […]
“Stormbringer” Harley-Davidson Sportster Café Racer
In 1972, English illustrator Paul Sample created Ogri for Bike magazine, a cartoon whose leather-clad star — Ogri himself — wears a set of Thor-like wings on his helmet and rides a self-built 1000cc Norvin […]
Black Russian: Honda CB750 Cafe Racer by Drive-In Workshop
Leonid Skakunov of Russia’s Drive-In Workshop cut his teeth as a mechanic at various workshops before renting a small space of his own in 2016 to build custom bikes. In the last four years, his […]
Japanese Muscle: Yamaha XJR1300 “Geisha” by Unik Edition
The Yamaha XJR1300 was a fire-breathing brute of a machine, a two-wheeled muscle car whose air-cooled engine could be traced back to the 1980s. By the time the 1251cc powerplant found its way into the […]
To The Rescue: “Unexpected” CX500 Cafe Racer by BCKustoms
Honda cafe racer built for a French Coast Guard rescue diver… Yann Le Douche of BCKustoms (Breizh Coast Kustoms) has an enviable pedigree for a custom bike builder. In his long career, he’s worked as […]
