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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Kawasaki motorcycles have been in production since 1962. During the late sixties, the Japanese manufacturer established a foothold in the US market with their legendary H1 Mach III, a motorcycle that was both revered and feared for its straight-line speed and unpredictable handling. Today Kawasaki is one of the world’s most recognized motorcycle brands. From the iconic Z1000 of the seventies through to today’s supercharged, 330kmh+ H2 they continue to produce motorcycles that push the boundaries of performance. In recent years Kawasaki themselves have adopted the cafe racer style with their Z900RS series of motorcycles.

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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Readers ride – New York Dave’s W650

Looking over the photos it’s the smaller details that really make his bike special. The W650 features a spattering of...
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Honda Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe RacerMoto Guzzi Cafe RacerMotorcycle VideosReaders RidesYamaha Cafe Racer

Readers Rides

Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
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BultacoHonda Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

Readers Rides: Kwaka 125 Street Racer

The motorcycle above it’s a custom Kawasaki Ninja 250r from Donny in Jakarta, Indonesia. The time it takes to build...
PinKawasaki GPZ550 Cafe Racer
Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Retro Revamped – OSG Kawasaki GPZ550

My parents once gifted me an old Toyota. Mum was worried about me riding and thought that giving me a...
PinEICMA 2021 neo retro modern classic
BenelliElectric MotorcycleKawasaki Cafe RacerMotorcycle NewsMV AgustaRoyal Enfield Cafe Racer

Retro Round Up – New Modern Classics from EICMA 2021

Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse one of our favourite motorcycle events on the planet got cancelled....
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Return of the Mach – Mr Martini Kawasaki Vulcan

Through a special collaboration with custom builder, ‘Mr Martini’ Kawasaki motorcycles Italy have released a limited edition Vulcan S. Only...
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Honda Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe RacerMotorcycle VideosTriumph Cafe Racer

Rickman motorcycles

Rickman Honda CR750 Brothers Derek and Don Rickman  established Rickman motorcycles in 1960 from which they manufactured motorcycles up until...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Rickman Resto – John’s Kawasaki CR-Z1000

Someone had sacrilegiously painted the bike’s frame in a past life, hiding the trademark Rickman nickel plating, so it had...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Rodsmith Kawasaki KZ750 Cafe Racer

The art of coachbuilding and metal shaping is a dying art form. Finding skilled individuals who can take a flat...
PinKawasaki EL400 india cafe racer
Kawasaki Cafe RacerRoyal Enfield Cafe Racer

Rossi Racer – MotoKraft Customs MK46

The “MK46” is the work of Samik Chatterjee, owner operator of MotoKraft Customs in New Delhi. After graduating from Art...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Saki Racer – Paul’s Kawasaki GPZ750

As gaudy as the eighties were they certainly produced some cool motorcycles. Sharp angular styling, bold colour schemes and groundbreaking...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Show us your Cafe Racer

Today we have added a new feature to the site allowing you to submit your own Cafe Racer project. Return...
PinKawasaki KZ400 cafe racer sly fox
Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Sly as a Fox – Kawasaki KZ440 Cafe Racer

“I acquired this 1980 KZ440 in bits from a friend who had lost interest in the project.” recalls 26 year...
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Kawasaki Cafe RacerTriumph Cafe Racer

Steve McQueen’s 1967 Triumph T120R Bonneville

I came across this eBay auction the other day and was amazed by how similar the T120R Bonneville looks to...
PinBrock's Performance Kawasaki Z900RS StreetMeg Exhaust
Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe RacerPartsReview

Stupid Fast – Z900RS Brocks Performance Exhaust

There are several reasons why you might want to install an aftermarket exhaust on your motorcycle. It could be that...
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Kawasaki Cafe RacerMotorcycle Videos

Sunday Screening – Kawasaki KLR650 rebuild

After literally killing his Kawasaki KLR650 Fort Nine’s “tell it like it is” vlogger Ryan Kluftinger has resurrected the bike in...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Supernova KZ650 Cafe Racer

There’s nothing like a bit of competitive spirit to egg a build on and when it’s between 2 brothers you...
PinNitron R2 rear shock on Kawasaki Z900RS
Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe RacerMotorcycle ModificationsParts

Suspension Upgrade – Nitron NTR R2 Install

There’s virtually no limit to the extent that you can modify a motorcycle. This, of course, includes its performance and...
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Kawasaki Cafe RacerSuzuki Cafe Racer

Suzuki GT550 Cafe Racer “Honduki”

Motohangaris a custom motorcycle workshop based out of Vienna, Virginia. With services ranging from general maintenance through to specialised custom...
PinBull Dock custom Kawasaki Z1-R
Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Tangerine Dream: Bull Dock Japan Kawasaki Z1R Resto-mod

Some will call it sacrilege but I have a soft spot for resto-mods. The thinking behind a resto-mod is simple....
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BikesBMW Cafe RacerHarley Davidson Cafe RacerHonda Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe RacerLifestyle StoriesSuzuki Cafe Racer

Tank Moto issue 2

After months of hard work and seemingly endless nights of writing, issue 2 of Tank Moto is ! Just like...
PinAMS Garage Kawasaki ER6N
Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Bully – AMS Garage Kawasaki ER6N

Bali’s AMS Garage is back with yet another incredible example of their metal shaping skills. In our last AMS feature,...
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The little things that count

As 2014 comes to an end I thought I’d take a (close up) look at some of the incredible work...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Queen B – Dexter’s Kawasaki KZ1000

In my hometown of Melbourne, we’re lucky to have a great cafe racer community. Thanks to clubs like the “Melbourne...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Saint Kawasaki W800

Deus Ex Machina are continuing to expand their footprint by opening flagship stores around the globe. Since their first store...
Pincustom kawasaki zzr600
Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Samurai – AMS Kawasaki ZZR600

I’ve been an invited guest at Kustomfest Indonesia for 5 years now. Thanks to the show I’ve made some great...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Silver Saxons

Any guess at how much one of the beauties would set you back these days? “In 1978 S&S Performance bought...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Temper Kawasaki Versys

Back in March I was lucky enough to pay a visit to the workshop of Studio Motor in Jakarta, Indonesia....
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Honda Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

The Thorn by Twinline Motorcycles

Ever since seeing the “We R Winning” short documentary about Twinline Motorcycles I’ve been a huge fan of the Seattle...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

The Underdog – Essenza Kawasaki Vulcan S

Earlier this month the first series of the Essenza 1/8th mile sprint challenge was completed at the Glemseck festival in Leonberg,...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Top 10 Kawasaki Cafe Racers

Since 1963 Kawasaki Motorcycle Co. has introduced a plethora of technological innovations which have gone on to become industry standards....
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

True Potential – Ruffo Black Kawasaki KZ650

Today’s quick update has been a long time in the making. As we’ve seen here before the Kawasaki KZ650 has...
PinKawasaki Z900RS Review
Kawasaki Cafe Racer

True Spirit – 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS

At the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show last weekend the Japanese manufacturer wowed the motorcycling world once again with the all-new, retro-styled...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Valtoron La Bestia Kawasaki Z1000 R

Valtoron in Valdetorres de Jarama, Spain, is the workshop of two brothers, Pablo and Carlos Delgado. Since 1995 the brothers...
Pinbuilding a cafe racer Kawasaki W650
Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

Vive la France – Custom tank and seat arrive.

The seat is also of top quality. The inner shell is made from thick, hard plastic which looks very durable....
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer

Throttle open, chin on the tank and your parallel twin rocketing you from point a to point z....
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Black paint and deeper breaths

All you need to do is remove the right side cover by unscrewing the 2 screws on the side and...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Brake light install

Replacing the rear tail light on the W650 is probably one of the simplest modifications I have done so Far...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Changing the handlebars (Part 1)

Swapping the handlebars on any bike sounds like an easy job but your choice of handlebar can dramatically affect the...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Changing the handlebars (Part 2)

Now assuming you’ve takenin to account all the points I mentioned in part one of my handlebar swap posts you’re...
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Kawasaki Cafe RacerParts

W650 Cafe Racer – Daytona Speedo

I dropped in at Deus Ex Machina in Sydney and picked up a new speedo for the W650. As the...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Front fork/shock covers

To remove the covers you can do 1 of 2 things, either remove the forks from the triple clamps slide...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Front indicator replacement

So I purchased a set of Posh Faith polished alloy indicators from Deus ex Machina in Sydney for $99 a pair (sounds...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – On the road again

Well it’s been 7 months since I purchased my W650 and started the Cafe Racer conversion. It’s been a great...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Polished top bridge

I’ve just finished fitting a polished top bridge/triple clamp to the W650 Cafe Racer. After fitting the clip on bars...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Rear blinkers (and removing your rear springs)

Not to be beaten by my lack of tools I came up with a solution to remove the Ventura rear...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – removing your fuel tank

What have I done! One job I have had to perform a few times during my W650 Cafe Racer project...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer – Rewiring the front end

One of the jobs I didn’t forsee when I was fitting the clip on bars to the w650 was adjusting...
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Building a Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

W650 Cafe Racer hits the streets

Here are a couple of shots of the W650 Cafe Racer. At 90% complete I’m really happy with how the...
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Kawasaki Cafe RacerMotorcycle Videos

Wrenchmonkees Kawasaki W650 Mistress

The Mistress was commissioned by Mistress Gentlemens Motorcycle Club a motorcycle club based in Lisbon. The club allows members to...
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Kawasaki Cafe Racer

Wrenchmonkees Kawasaki W800 custom

I was left disappointed after Kawasaki released the W800 back in 2011. The switch to EFI (damn emission laws!) and...
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Ducati Cafe RacerKawasaki Cafe Racer

Wrenchmonkees ride again

The boys in Denmark have been very busy since they last graced the pages of this site. Their new workshop...
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Est. 2006 Return of the Cafe Racers is the world's premier cafe racer focused website. We publish regular features on custom motorcycle builds, riding gear reviews, how to guides and event coverage from around the globe. If you're a fan of cafe racer motorcycles and style then you've come to the right place!

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