The late seventies Honda CB650 is commonly referred to as being a ‘standard motorcycle’. We doubt anyone would be using...
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.
After spying these new shots of the Cafe CB750 by Whitehouse and Motorimoda on the Bikeexif facebook page, I thought I’d share...
“The ’73 CB350F came to the workshop as a reasonably well-done cafe racer with a quite tidy tail section and...
Back in 2007 I came across a Honda Dream on display in a motorcycle store in Leederville, Western Australia. I...
The 2018 Bike Shed show has been and gone. For those who were lucky enough to attend the London based...
After receiving a tip off from a friend the boys got their hands on a well priced, running 1975...
Darrell Schneider of DS Restorations isn’t the kind of guy to shy away from a challenge. With 30+ years of...
The ‘Super CB750 Cafe Racer’ is Dario’s demonstration of what can be done to solve the rider size conundrum. “I...
“The One-Up Moto Garage name is relatively new to the game” says workshop founder Taylor Henschell. “I’ve been working under...
“The bike was originally an ’81 Honda CM400. I purchased it the day after my previous build was stolen. At...
“The customer brought me a donor bike that most would’ve considered a ‘lost cause’. The engine was far beyond running,...
Fancy owning a Wrenchmonkee motorcycle? The Gorilla Punch is going under the hammer along with Monkee #7. You can place...
Built by Preachers Hot Rod Cycle Design in 2012, this 1971 Honda CB750 appeared on four episodes of the television...
Up until he was 24 Pierluigi Intini’s experience on two wheels was limited to 50cc scooters. In 2007 he began...
Bad Winners workshop owner Walid was exposed to working on motorcycles from an early age. Tinkering on bikes with an...
Everyone needs a hobby. German-born Holger Breuer found his back in 2004 when he built his first custom motorcycle. Since...
While the average person may think Italy’s best export is its cuisine, lovers of automobiles will argue otherwise. That’s because...
We have been receiving some stunning Cafe Racers from our readers. If you have a Cafe Racer you’ve built in...
The Honda Cafe Racer which started out as a rather sad looking scrapyard find, underwent a ground up custom rebuild...
Straight from one end of Honda’s CB range to the other. Yesterday it was a CB125 Cafe Racer from the...
Let’s take a closer look at them… Kawasaki Z900RS Café Kawasaki had already unveiled their stunning new Z900RS at the Tokyo...
As the world’s largest producer of motorcycles, it comes as no surprise that Honda cafe racer builds are commonplace here...
If there was one thing I learnt at art school that has always stood true it’s that colour is king....
Cream Motorcycles have released their ninth build, a 1980 Honda CB 750 named “Brownie” and it’s sweeeeet. The build took...
Back in the early nineties Jim was customising Yamaha SR’s and British bikes under the influence of the Japanese custom...
The Honda CB750 Four is, without a doubt, an iconic motorcycle. It’s been labelled as one of the greatest motorcycles...
Someone once said, “It’s more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow“. Not everyone is...
“I’ve been working on cars since I was 16, however I’ve only been into bikes for the last 18 months....
…and all of a sudden you’re hooked. The RC166 won an amazing 10 out of 10 1966 World Championship series...
Building a custom Honda CX-500 on a budget takes careful planning and hands-on creativity. The process so far has included...
The motorcycle above it’s a custom Kawasaki Ninja 250r from Donny in Jakarta, Indonesia. The time it takes to build...
“Two years ago, after looking at some cool bikes on the internet I decided to build one for me and...
The Honda CB750 first came into production in 1969 and made a major impact on the motorcycle industry by being...
Looking at the picture above one could be convinced that they are viewing an engine built by Vincent Motorcycles (I certainly...
I’ve always been a naked guy. Not like the ones that run across the field during the Ashes or walk...
It’s been almost a year since I featured Andy Mergerle’s Honda CB750 cafe racer project. It’s not often I publish...
We knew that this Honda project would be a challenge for us. When we received the motorcycle it was almost completely disassembled....
We’ve all seen the listings on eBay. “Perfect project bike”, “Needs some attention”, “It’s all there, just requires reassembling!”. The...
Much like the ASK Motorcycles 2014 Yamaha SR125 ‘Material Woman’, Rad has continued his “very skinny, low and long” theme...
Pour yourself a stiff drink and sit down. I’ve got news for you. This neo cafe racer by Turin’s Officine...
“I live in the small but beautiful island of Cyprus (population 700,000) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. I’ve always been...
As far as weird-looking motorcycles go, this one is pretty wild. It’s a unique four-cylinder hot rod-inspired café racer with an impressive...
“I bought this motorcycle from a friend at the end of November 2013. After riding it around for 2 months...
Hey Daryl, It’s been a while since we last spoke. What’s been happening at Bandit9? “There’s only one way to...
From his ‘Tannermatic’ workshop in Hull, Massachusetts, Matt Tanner restores and fabricates composite parts. An average day at Tannermatic consists...
Let’s face it. We don’t all possess the ability to rebuild an engine, to hand form steel or to even...
My name is Ryan Despres, I’m 31 years old and live in Alberta, Canada. I work as a Helicopter pilot...
In recent years we’ve seen a spate of new motorcycles inspired by classic bikes. Models like the Kawasaki Z900RS and...
“As a teenager I always wanted to build a custom motorcycle and spent my time (when I wasn’t riding) drawing...
A second attempt at anything in life usually results in a better outcome than the first. Whether it’s sitting for...
After picking the best of the two 1966 Honda CB160s we decided that this would be a build completed entirely...
Shortly after moving to New Braunfels, Texas we became friends with Karly Kothmann and her husband Tanner. Blake and I...
This 1971 Honda CB450 underwent extensive customization, highlighted by a shortened rear frame, green bodywork adorned with military-style tank graphics,...
This 1978 Honda CB750K was modified with an aluminum fuel tank, side panels, front fender, and a cafe-style tailpiece. Noteworthy...
Found this 1974 Honda CB 750 Cafe Racer on eBay. I’m not completely sold on the look (mainly the headlight...
Their name may conjure up images of a suspect automotive salesman, but rest assured Crooked Motorcycles is anything but dodgy....
Our first build was Zeke’s “Lucky” Honda CB200 cafe racer. He tells me he’s done the ton on it, but...
“This was my first ever build, a ’76 Honda CB550 F1 Super Sport that I picked up from my mate...
Back in 2012 Raider custom built the GB and labelled it their SLS (Salt Lake Sickle). It was created as...
Jeff’s story is one that might sound familiar. He found himself looking for a new source of income, and didn’t...
Sourced from Just Bikes. Sammy the CB100 is the creation of Ace builder Darren Brown. Sammy is described by Darren as “more of...
Along with the shots of the fairing Junior also sent a couple of detail images to reveal even more...
For Marcos Vazquez of Spain’s Free Kustom Cycles the decision was made easy. After rolling an early nineties Honda CB500f...
If you’ve been following Return of the Cafe Racers for a while you’ll have figured out I’m a fan of...
Building a bike that matches both the look and the performance a rider wants can be a big challenge. The...
“It is a Honda XLR250R that has been in the works for about 3 years now,” says Rad. “I have...
Honda’s evergreen Hornet has been sold in the tens of thousands since its release in ’98. As a result, there...
Family heirlooms come in many forms; from jewellery to antique furniture or even a motorcycle. Taking ownership of something that...
“My bike is a 1976 Honda CB750K6. I have been working on it on and off for about a year...
Honda is continuing to expand their modern-retro segment, or as they call it ‘Neo-Sports”, with the addition of the 2022...
A few years back I met Cliff Overton, a fellow cafe racer enthusiast, and backyard builder. When Cliff completed his...
After recently featuring AdHoc’s 3rd Cafe Racer build it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t take a quick look back...
When I started pulling this list together I was expecting to get a fairly balanced bunch of bikes. By this,...
Since moving to the States from Japan Kiyo has played an important part in the Californian custom scene working on...
Ahh Google Translate, how I love your ability to allow me to converse with people whose native tongue is 100% indecipherable to me! Which...
This 1976 Honda CB400F Super Sport underwent a cafe racer transformation, showcasing a sleek makeover. It boasts a fiberglass tail...
For Nick Xiromeritis working as an automotive designer has had its benefits. Born in Detroit Michigan Nick has been lucky...
Unikat, which translates to ‘Unique Piece’, opened its doors a mere 18 months ago. It all began when Grzegorz completed...
So how did KickMoto get started? Jeff: We all met through a mutual friend and hit it off because of...
Honda’s groundbreaking CB750 Four not only demonstrated Japan’s ability to produce sophisticated large-displacement motorcycles but also sparked a thriving aftermarket...
For the US release of David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, actress Rooney Mara has done away with...
By the early 2000s Honda had diluted its once iconic CB series so much that any connection to the original...
For us, it’s often the small details that make a custom motorcycle special. Intricate details demonstrate a workshops commitment to...
Small details. That’s what separates a good build from a great build. Of course there’s a whole heap of work...
Verona based workshop Fabbris Motorcycles has been in operation for an impressive 42 years. Started by Luciano Fabbris in 1979...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
When I launched this site all those years ago Cafe Racers were my focus, but I’ve always been into all...
This popped up on the Biltwell facebook page and I felt compelled to share. It’s a heavily customised ’84 Harley Davison...
Huge events like Verona’s Motobike Expo offer custom builders the opportunity to try something different. After all, how else are...
Skateboarding and motorcycles go hand in hand in the United States. Many pro-skaters like Caballero ride motorcycles and some, including...
Ever since seeing the “We R Winning” short documentary about Twinline Motorcycles I’ve been a huge fan of the Seattle...
It’s no walk in the park for a custom workshop to stay fresh and original. Constantly pushing boundaries, reinventing styles...
“I started Cognito Moto with the black and red Honda CB550 featured on Return of the Cafe Racers last year. This...
Another great bike built by De Luxe in Sydney. This time it’s a Honda CB 400 Cafe Racer built on...
The motorcycle featured here began life as a standard 1984 Honda Gold Wing, but it no longer resembles the factory...
After 2 years of running his business after hours, Wido managed to turn Wimoto into his full-time career and now, 2.5...
Antonio Lupiañez and Salvador Alasino of Vida Bandida motorcycles are two Argentinian Industrial Designers who devote their spare time to...
Once upon a time, there were two brothers, Marc and Phillip. They grew up doing all the things two brothers...
Todd McLellan is a Canadian still and motion photographer whose work includes this outstanding series of restored and customised vintage...