From fiery basket case to The One Moto… The Honda CB360, a four-stroke twin, debuted in the mid-70s as an alternative to Honda’s more expensive and complex lightweight fours. The 34-hp engine was tuned for […]
Tag: Cafe Racers
Yamaha XV750 Virago Custom by De Stijl Moto
The Yamaha XV750 — aka the Virago 750 — was a V-twin cruiser with an air-cooled, 55-hp engine and shaft drive. Introduced in 1981, the middleweight Virago would remain in production until 1998 — one […]
Yamaha R5 Cafe Racer by Zanutto Engineering
The Yamaha R5, introduced in 1970, was the first of Yamaha’s new generation of two-stroke parallel twin “giant-killers” — a design architecture which would evolve into the RD350, RD400, and even the liquid-cooled RZ350/RD350LC. Lee […]
“Cafe Sleeper” Yamaha XJ650/900 by Eastern Spirit
For Sale: 900cc “Cafe Sleeper” from the Polish Master… The shaft-driven Yamaha XJ650, introduced in 1980, is an often-overlooked machine. The bike boasted an air-cooled, twin-cam, 650cc inline four good for 73 horsepower. With a […]
“White Lightning” Honda CB400F by Wayne Hawes
Honda CB400 Four resurrected after 30 years sitting outdoors… The Honda CB400F is one of our favorite bikes from the entire CB series. It was an evolution of the CB350F, introduced in 1972 as the […]
“Pantah” Ducati Monster 821 Cafe Racer by XTR Pepo
The Ducati Pantah (“Panther”), introduced in 1979, heralded a whole new generation of modern Ducati V-twins, with belt-driven camshafts and trellis frames — features that remain Ducati hallmarks to this day. What’s more, the Pantah […]
“Alpina” Suzuki T500M Cafe Racer by Paul Courbot
Paul Courbot of Titan Performance rebuilds the T500 he’s owned since age 19! The Suzuki T500 Titan, introduced in 1969, quickly earned a reputation as one of the best big two-strokes of the era, proving […]
“Poseidon” Kawasaki GPz1100 Custom by RW Motorcycles
A Sea-inspired Kawasaki GPz from the Algarve Coast… For a riotous period in the 1980s, the Kawasaki GPz1100 was king of the air-cooled superbikes. A decade later, Kawasaki re-introduced the GPz brand with the liquid-cooled […]
“Reina Del Camino” Continental GT 535 Cafe Racer
A “Queen of the Road,” built by Iron Macchina Customs… The Royal Enfield Continental GT draws on the heritage of the original British-built 250cc version of the 1960s, a 21-hp “factory cafe racer” that came […]
Sick RD: Yamaha RD350 Cafe Racer
Yamaha RD350 Giant Killer from California… The Yamaha RD350 is one of our favorite two-stroke street machines of the 1970s. The 39-horsepower parallel twin could compete with larger bikes due to its excellent power-to-weight ratio, […]
