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 […]
Tag: Cafe Racers
“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, […]
Kawasaki KZ1000 Restomod by Nova Motorcycles
Few motorcycles have the long and varied history of the Kawasaki KZ1000. Known as the Z1000 outside North America, the big air-cooled inline four debuted in 1977, and the police model would remain in continuous […]
Ideal RD: Yamaha “RD380” YPVS Café Racer
The ideal RD, built by the man who wrote the book on Yamaha Two-Strokes… The Yamaha RD350 YPVS type 31 — sold in the US as the Yamaha RZ350 — was one of the most […]
Zero to Hero: Honda CB175 Cafe Racer
From Zero to Hero: Honda CB175 built from a junked chopper… The Honda CB175, introduced in 1969, was based around an air-cooled parallel twin engine with dual carburetors and a 5-speed transmission. The bike offered […]
