“My wife and mother-in-law used to call it the “Peter & Steven Show” whenever we would get together because we’d...
Honda Cafe Racer
Honda is currently the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan. In the 1960s they became a household name in the USA thanks to their “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” advertising campaign. By the 1980s, they produced upwards of 3 million bikes a year. The Honda CB750 has been credited with being the world’s first superbike and has become the poster child of the modern cafe racer scene.
Craig Rodsmith’s ’84 Interceptor project began when a fellow builder offloaded it to him. As Craig put it “He gave...
The ‘Super CB750 Cafe Racer’ is Dario’s demonstration of what can be done to solve the rider size conundrum. “I...
Unikat, which translates to ‘Unique Piece’, opened its doors a mere 18 months ago. It all began when Grzegorz completed...
“As a teenager I always wanted to build a custom motorcycle and spent my time (when I wasn’t riding) drawing...
As far as timeframes go David says the Ad Hoc CB750 has been a hard one to wrap up. “Due...
Jeff’s story is one that might sound familiar. He found himself looking for a new source of income, and didn’t...
Obviously Honda’s little 400 four isn’t the biggest bike around. So the plan was to make it larger while retaining...
At first glance you could mistakably name this bikes donor as a CX500, which is wrong, but not far off....
“For years, I had watched all the motorcycle builder shows on TV and had always wanted to build my own...
“My bike, Paula Dean, was based on a ’76 Honda CB550k that cost us $500 in May of 2015. Work...
After acquiring the poor condition Bol D’Or in January of 2015 the brothers spent 2 months planning the build of...
The weekend following the rider class, I bought my first bike. I was hooked. I picked up a 2009 Vulcan...
After receiving a tip off from a friend the boys got their hands on a well priced, running 1975...
Your first ride on a motorcycle is probably as memorable as your first kiss. Full of excitement and fear as...
“The customer brought me a donor bike that most would’ve considered a ‘lost cause’. The engine was far beyond running,...
When an expert in form works with a master of function the results can be breathtaking. After being blown away...
It’s no secret that Honda’s CX series from the late 70’s has gone through a resurgence in the last five...
These days the chance of anyone having the privilege of owning or riding an RC166 are slim to none, but...
Today’s feature is about a different breed of Z. It’s a totally revised and, for lack of a better term,...
“As a child my father used to race enduro and motocross professionally but had to retire early because he had...
Much like their Honda CB550 “SL” cafe racer the CB350 has undergone a comprehensive rebuild. “Marek rebuilt the engine completely”...
For anyone who enjoys tinkering with motorcycles, there will come a day when you’ll need to invest in some real...
After deciding to open their workshop back in 2015 this was the second custom build that the Wrench Kings undertook...
“My bike is a 1976 Honda CB750K6. I have been working on it on and off for about a year...
A few years back I met Cliff Overton, a fellow cafe racer enthusiast, and backyard builder. When Cliff completed his...
Bad Winners workshop owner Walid was exposed to working on motorcycles from an early age. Tinkering on bikes with an...
Can you imagine the horror at Moto Guzzi’s HQ when Honda unveiled their first CX500 in 1978? A Japanese manufacturer...
“Lex was very specific about his wishes.” says Bran. “As the owner of an advertisement company, he had a very...
“It all started with my toy bikes as a child. I would cut off parts with my scissors and colour...
Since moving to the States from Japan Kiyo has played an important part in the Californian custom scene working on...
Daryl Villanueva, the main man behind Bandit9 got in touch to tell us about this exclusive limited edition machine. “It’s...
“I studied industrial design in university where I developed my own design aesthetic” explains Spencer. “During my studies I also...
When he’s not designing race-winning catamarans, French-Canadian professor in electronics, Sylvain Carignan likes to turn his hand to custom motorcycle...
So how did KickMoto get started? Jeff: We all met through a mutual friend and hit it off because of...
“My first encounter with motorcycles goes back to when I was a child, maybe 8 or 9 years old. My...
Thanks to a huge increase in the popularity of the custom motorcycle scene many hobby builders have turned a passion...
Dual Sport motorcycles have very different proportions to your average cafe racer, so Isidore set about salvaging and retro-fitting the...
Rob Chappell of Canada’s ‘Origin8or’ workshop is no stranger to customising Honda’s CB900F. A few years back he built one...
I’ve had a rather unhealthy obsession with Honda’s CR750 for as long as I can recall. I think it stems...
“I’m a carpenter by trade and have always worked with my hands. I started riding a motorbike in March 2014...
Our first build was Zeke’s “Lucky” Honda CB200 cafe racer. He tells me he’s done the ton on it, but...
After the success of the K0, thanks to Dick Mann’s efforts at the Daytona 200 on the Honda CR750 racebike,...
After 2 years of running his business after hours, Wido managed to turn Wimoto into his full-time career and now, 2.5...
The project and the donor bike arrived at the Kerkus workshop via Singapore. After an artist from the Lion City...
I stuck with motorcycles mainly because they take up less space than cars, and are generally cheaper. I got into...
After picking the best of the two 1966 Honda CB160s we decided that this would be a build completed entirely...
Why is it that when you really want to focus on something life throws a constant stream of distractions at...
Ten years after Honda turned the motorcycling world on its head with the release of the CB750, they decided it...
When I started pulling this list together I was expecting to get a fairly balanced bunch of bikes. By this,...
Ironically, this journey began with a puncture. A nail to the rear tire a few weeks into owning my Honda...
Starting life as a 1989 Honda CG125, the “De Palma 05” is the latest machine to roll out of their...
Thankfully the F2’s engine was its saving grace. Even though the bike used a detuned version of Honda’s air-cooled inline...
“We have been so consumed with customer work that we haven’t been able to build a shop bike since we...
A surefire way to look really goddamn cool is to be seen stretched out over a long, low fuel tank,...
One of Edi’s latest achievements is this 1981 Honda CB900 cafe racer. It’s one of two new builds to roll...
The team at Honda Indonesia have been watching the scene closely and for 2017 have launched a new initiative to...
“We wanted a fully customized bike with modern cafe racer styling and bulletproof reliability,” says Iñaki. “Because of that, we...
“The ’73 CB350F came to the workshop as a reasonably well-done cafe racer with a quite tidy tail section and...
One builder who perfectly blends race track styling into his road-going motorcycles it’s Pepo Rosell of XTR Pepo. However, to...
This project began last September. I had just sold my ‘79 Honda CB750 named ‘smooth sailing’ to a famous NFL...
“The idea we discussed was to make a simple, beastly motorcycle,” Fre recalls. “A clean and pure machine that was all...
Shortly after moving to New Braunfels, Texas we became friends with Karly Kothmann and her husband Tanner. Blake and I...
Let’s take a closer look at them… Kawasaki Z900RS Café Kawasaki had already unveiled their stunning new Z900RS at the Tokyo...
Thankfully, 3 years ago, Ivor spotted something that motivated him to revisit his forgotten project. “I came across an old...
Antonio Lupiañez and Salvador Alasino of Vida Bandida motorcycles are two Argentinian Industrial Designers who devote their spare time to...
The Honda was built by Andy Megerle, a German car enthusiast who’s had his heart set on building this Honda...
For Marcos Vazquez of Spain’s Free Kustom Cycles the decision was made easy. After rolling an early nineties Honda CB500f...
The sale came about after Flo was approached by Evy and Andy of Hermanus workshop in Bruges, Belgium. After attending...
It’s clear looking at his work that Rad prefers a sportier aesthetic. He applies a healthy dose of café racer...
“It is a Honda XLR250R that has been in the works for about 3 years now,” says Rad. “I have...
At first glance you may not think that the Wabi Sabi philosophy has been applied to this slick Honda CB750...
Marco, a tattooist from Toulouse France well aware of the risks when buying a secondhand motorcycle. Since his teenage years...
Skateboarding and motorcycles go hand in hand in the United States. Many pro-skaters like Caballero ride motorcycles and some, including...
We knew that this Honda project would be a challenge for us. When we received the motorcycle it was almost completely disassembled....
Once the bike was dismantled the 600cc inline four received a complete overhaul with specific attention being paid to the...
In 2015 Italian restauranteur Alessandro Dell’unto rented a small workshop space 500m from his restaurant. Why? Because when he’s not...
Someone wittier than me once said “It’s more fun to ride a slow motorcycle fast than to ride a fast...
The 2018 Bike Shed show has been and gone. For those who were lucky enough to attend the London based...
The act of swinging a leg over a mates bike and actually riding it are two completely different experiences. This...
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. I have no doubt Mr. Da Vinci would be repeating those words if he was...
I’ve seen plenty of personal builds that have been inspired by professional ones. It’s not often they stack up to...
From his ‘Tannermatic’ workshop in Hull, Massachusetts, Matt Tanner restores and fabricates composite parts. An average day at Tannermatic consists...
Is there such a thing as a factory built cafe racer? If you ask a purist they’ll tell you no...
During the sports bike boom of the 1980s Japanese motorcycle manufacturers were in their prime. In 1982 Honda released a...
Earlier this month I ventured to Indonesia with Luke from Fuel Tank. This was our 5th year attending the Kustomfest...
It’s been almost a year since I featured Andy Mergerle’s Honda CB750 cafe racer project. It’s not often I publish...
While ground up builds that push the boundaries of design and engineering are great, its the less ostentatious projects that...
In the world of modern-retro motorcycles, there’s a new player who is somewhat of a black sheep. That’s mainly due...
There are only a handful of automotive films that I regard as truly great. Sitting at the top of the...
It’s not often I hear of custom workshops offering 3-year warranties. However, new Bulgarian workshop Thracian bikes are doing just...
The Honda CB400 Super Four is a run of the mill naked UJM which first hit the streets back in...
We’ve always found video to be one of the most inspiring forms of media. Over the years we’ve seen some...
Good mates building bikes together. That’s essentially what you’ll find at Bold Motorcycles HQ, which happens to be a home...
When Honda finally joined the new wave modern retro movement with the CB1000R Neo Sports Cafe we knew it was...
Having the luxury of being able to build motorcycles at your own pace isn’t something most professional workshops enjoy. For...
As the world’s largest producer of motorcycles, it comes as no surprise that Honda cafe racer builds are commonplace here...
Years ago I saw some pictures of a very low, very mean blue CB750 cafe racer and it was a...
I love a good backstory. For many builders, it was the influence of a family member or friend that got...
