The XJR1300 was delivered to the Denmark workshop of the Wrenchmonkees with the basic brief of “make it even better”....
Yamaha Cafe Racer
Yamaha’s first motorcycle appeared in 1955. The 125cc two-stroke YA-1 went straight to the racetrack and started winning titles. Yamaha has built on those race credentials over the years, winning at the IOM TT and the Paris Dakar. Yamaha continues to run a successful factory race team in Moto GP.
Yamaha’s contribution to the custom motorcycle world includes the highly successful and long loved SR400 and SR500 singles we see in so many café racer builds. Other Yamaha custom favourites include the seventies XS650 twins and more recently their XSR700 and XSR900 Sport Heritage range.
Yet another outstanding issue of Fuel Magazine is just about to hit the shelves. Grab a copy to see my...
When great minds come together, great things happen. Often in the world of custom motorcycle building workshops keep to themselves....
I never thought I was a fan of muscle bikes until I rode a Yamaha XJR1300. It was in 2015...
“Building motorcycles is probably the only thing I am good at.” professes Aseem. “The FS350, my first custom motorcycle, was...
Back in 2005, when I first became interested in the Japanese custom motorcycle scene, finding insights into their world took...
Since launching Return of the Cafe Racers back in 2006 I have only come across two builders who have managed...
Yamaha’s ‘Race Developed’ series of motorcycles from the early seventies left a lasting impression on the motorcycling world. The 1973...
I’ve worked on my fair share of custom builds to know that things can get a little stressful. When I...
My dog doesn’t care for the Yamaha XSR900. When I arrive home on any other motorcycle the small ball of...
Yamaha’s XS650 would have to be in the top 5 list of most customised motorcycle in the world. It’s bullet...
The Varkain (“Finnish for By Stealth”) Yamaha SR400 is one of my favourite creations to come out of Raider Motorsports...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
This 1982 Yamaha XV750 Virago has undergone extensive customization with a range of unique components. These custom additions include a...
I spent the weekend in Sydney celebrating a mates Birthday (which I am still recovering from!) and while I was...
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. For seasoned motorcyclists, nostalgia can quickly become an obsession. A chance sighting of a beloved...
If you happen to be near The Dues Ex Machina store in Camperdown Sydney this week a quick visit is definitely in...
There are countless failures throughout automotive history. All of the big motorcycle manufacturers have at least one they’d prefer to...
This bike was built by George Woodman, a carpenter slash furniture designer slash interior architect from Biarritz, France. Yes, his...
Trevers father, John Scales, was a 2 stroke road racer during the 1970s. “I heard so many stories from my...
The Modern Motorcycle Company is a custom workshop based in Melbourne, Victoria. Owned and run by Christian Condo the workshop...
Recently found XS650 Chopper website which has a load of custom Yamaha XS650 projects. Great for inspiration or to just perve on...
During the early 1970s, Kenny Roberts shot to stardom as a rider in the American Yamaha racing team. In 1973...
The Blue Rhapsody takes its main inspiration from the 90’s race bikes Keinosuke saw on the streets of Japan in...
Mike, who is a designer by trade, takes pleasure in finding lemons online. Not because he likes to own basket...
Feast your eyes on Jay LaRossa’s 1978 Yamaha SR500 “Solus” in this short video by Ricki Bedenbaugh. This video reminds me of...
Looking at this custom Yamaha SR500 built in Japan turns me in to the equivalent of that crazy fish in Finding...
The Arcanum build began when I picked up a ‘78 Yamaha SR500 from a guy in Newcastle, it was an...
If you’re going to customise a motorcycle it’s always best to start out with a bike that’s got a good...
After more than 35 years of production, the Yamaha SR400 has had little in the way of design modifications. The...
This post apocalyptic road warrior is Icon’s Kawasaki ZX-7 ‘Thunder Chunky’. It’s the latest addition to Icon’s series of custom...
Over in the UK Shaun & Carl of custom workshop ‘Down and Out’ Cafe Racers usually play with parallel twins, but...
For the Hyper Modified campaign Yamaha approached three well known custom builders and gave them a straight to the point...
The old saying ‘practice makes perfect’ rings true in the custom motorcycle community. Over the years I’ve seen many builders...
The story of the TX750 is one that Yamaha would rather we all forgot. The bike, which was set to...
Some people find it a real struggle to sit still. Take Stu Lloyd for example. It hasn’t even been 4...
Sadly it looks like Yamaha’s venerable SR400s time is coming to an end. Like so many other motorcycles falling victim...
“Sport Heritage” Never has the combination of those two words made as much sense as when applied to the Yamaha...
Auto Fabrica has transformed this Yamaha XJ600 into a one-of-a-kind modern classic sports bike known as the “Type 24”. This...
There was always a motorcycle in our house when I was growing up, but my father’s real passion was collectible...
Looking back over a few of our recent features it seems that building retro customs out of modern sports bikes...
At the end of World War 2 many British motorcycle manufacturers were on the verge of closure or had already...
The red ‘Monster’ which was built back in 2013 for the Yokohama Hot Rod and Custom Show and the blue...
The Winning Loser. Saved from a scrapyard and transformed in to a piece of custom motorcycle art, this Yamaha SR 250...
I’ve been covering the Yamaha Yardbuilt series of custom bikes for some time now and have really enjoyed the projects...
Here’s a great segment from the cutting room floor of Cafe Racer TV. In this online episode they reveal the...
After one full day of owning the 1979 XS650 Special Giancarlo’s called it quits. Stranded on the side of the...
We all know Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s second only to McDonald’s for making Americans fat and scaring farm animals globally....
There are a handful of motorcycles that became the poster children of the “new wave” cafe racer scene at the...
To improve the v-twin’s power and torque Yamaha fit the SRV with a beefier cam profile, two carburetors rather than...
While Yamaha has previously focused on customising bikes from their Sports Heritage range during the Yardbuilt series, Faster Sons will...
Berry Bads Motorcycles are yet another Japanese custom tuner/builder who’s work has caught my attention. With a gallery full of Bobbers,...
Nothing makes me happier than featuring custom motorcycles that have been built in my hometown. Today’s café racer is the...
“We want to challenge the trope of nostalgic and aesthetically led custom motorcycles by encouraging others to experiment with the...
Rapid prototyping, CNC machining, 3d printing! Whatever happened to good old hammers, spanners, and the occasional grinder? I get a...
Yamaha produced the mighty TZ 250 from 1973 all the way through to 2004. When the model was first released...
This is the Mongrel. A custom Yamaha XT600 haling from the darker side of Sydney’s Cafe Racer scene. The Mongrel...
Jesse attributes his interest in building bikes to a 1971 Honda CB175 he restored with his father at the age...
With a name like “Vintage Addiction”, it’s odd to see the YZF sitting in their build portfolio, but when the...
A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of meeting the Muharremi brothers, the duo behind the United Kingdom’s...
Brrr… Lars and Jorg of Motorradtke GbR in Germany traditionally build and maintain Superbikes for the race track. However after...
Opening up the emails I receive through the “Submit a motorcycle” link on the site is one of my favourite...
These days you don’t get much of a bike for 300 quid. Every now and then though you hear about...
With a workshop name like “it roCKS!bikes” the Portugese builders Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos have set the bar high...
This Yamaha XS650 stands out as a captivating and tastefully modified representation of the popular classic Japanese motorcycle. Crafted into...
“Purpose Built Moto came about after I started modifying street bikes of my own. I then became frustrated that no...
Nothing beats a hand me down, especially when it’s in the form of a motorcycle. When Christian was given his...
As it always goes, popularity affects price, so the days of picking up a bargain XS are gone and it...
Tim Kills BSA A65 Bobber On November 3rd & 4th I co-hosted a custom motorcycle exhibition in Melbourne named Oil...
Review Summary: The 2022 Yamaha XSR900 Retro Triple is a much meaner and more powerful bike than its sibling, the...
This 1975 Yamaha RD350 underwent a café racer conversion in 2014. The changes encompassed an orange repaint over a black...
It’s not often that I feature Bobbers on the site and even less often that I feature custom motorcycles from...
Boner…That’s what this custom Yamaha XS650 is called. Not your usual custom build title but Death Spray Customs isn’t your...
This Yamaha SRX600 has been meticulously transformed into a bespoke cafe racer with a sleek and unique style. It boasts...
We love cafe racers trimmed to perfection. Bikes built for a narrow purpose. A ride with lights removed, brackets cut...
Japanese workshop AN-BU Customs has developed an instantly recognisable style of their own. Their recipe involves mixing tight proportions, with...
All hail Yamaha. As part of their Yard Built series they’ve been sponsoring some of the wildest, genre-pushing builds we’ve...
Theo’s Frankenstein bike started out as a ‘96 Yamaha TRX but very few TRX components remain. The new engine hails...
The Yamaha SR400 was the poster child of the “new wave” custom scene back in ’08/’09. Thanks to workshops like...
No sooner had the doors of the 2015 One Motorcycle Show closed for another year, than the brothers Busch and...
During the mid-70s, the Yamaha RD400 was the ultimate middleweight sport bike. Known for its explosive power and lightweight frame...
Santi García has been contributing to the build portfolio at the Barcelona workshop of La Carono motorcycles for the past...
You’ll have to forgive me for veering off the Cafe Racer path slightly but when I see a custom motorcycle like this...
Thanks to their continued support of custom workshops, Yamaha Motorcycles have played an integral role in the growth of the...
After my recent purchase of a Yamaha TW200 I have rediscovered my love of “little” bikes. While I’m not about...
Neo-retro cafe racers have certainly become “a thing”. Merging retro styling with modern engineering is a very appealing proposition for...
The Eau Rouge Yamaha XJR1300 features a plethora of custom fabricated components made in house by the Deus Italian workshop....
There’s two ways you can build a custom motorcycle. One way is to have a design idea that’s laid out...
The mighty Yamaha XS650 has been a hot favourite in the custom scene for decades and a personal favourite of...
I’ve always been intrigued by Yamaha’s MT-01 V-twin “muscle bike”. Back in 2008 I got really excited when they released...
The Yamaha TX650, introduced in the early 1970s, was a motorcycle designed to rival the dwindling popularity of British twins....
When I think about Bobbers my mind conjures up images of cruising along a winding coastal road, sitting comfortably atop...
Down here in Australia it seems like Mother Nature’s hell bent on killing us all off. Our surrounding oceans are...
Andrew Starkman and the team at Roast Moto in Phoenix Arizona pride themselves in spotting the potential in an old...
Spotted this great Yamaha R5 “Giant Killer” custom on Garage Project motorcycles. After a bit of digging all I managed to...
The Skorpion Sport was produced by German motorcycle manufacturer MZ (Motorrad und Zweiradwerk) between 1994 and 2004. Although you may have never...
Yamaha’s legendary XS650, it’s reputation precedes it. The XS is one of the most widely customised bikes in the world so to...
The Yamaha features the same Benelli 360 tank and custom seat combo that Greg used on the last Virago, but...
You could be forgiven for thinking that laying bricks and building custom motorcycles have nothing in common. But if you’re...
With 200bhp on tap and an astounding 2.5 second 0-60mph time, the Vmax V4 engine is well suited to dragstrip...