The Modern Motorcycle Company is a custom workshop based in Melbourne, Victoria. Owned and run by Christian Condo the workshop...
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.
There was a time when it seemed that every other custom build to roll out of a workshop was built...
I met Michael Capraro some years ago at a communal motorcycle workshop I was involved in. His enthusiasm for bikes...
Gold Rush is Daniel’s 3rd XJR1200 based build. As you would expect by now he’s become somewhat of an XJR...
A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of meeting the Muharremi brothers, the duo behind the United Kingdom’s...
Yamaha’s Yardbuilt series is the brainchild of the companies visionary project manager, Shun Miyazawa. The series kicked off back in...
This bike was built by George Woodman, a carpenter slash furniture designer slash interior architect from Biarritz, France. Yes, his...
The Yamaha Yardbuilt series has been running for an impressive 7 years now. Since then Yamaha has commissioned over 50...
In 2007, Gregg DesJardins of GC Customs crafted an unparalleled streetfighter motorcycle, representing the pinnacle of customization. Starting with a...
This 1981 Yamaha XV750 Virago has been transformed into a cafe racer, featuring a metallic gray finish with gold accents....
Buying any customised or incomplete motorcycle can be fraught with danger. That’s why we recommended against it in our 10...
As with the other Yamaha XJR1300 Yardbuilt bikes the Botafogo-N was constructed without performing any modifications to the bike’s frame....
The Winning Loser. Saved from a scrapyard and transformed in to a piece of custom motorcycle art, this Yamaha SR 250...
Over in the UK Shaun & Carl of custom workshop ‘Down and Out’ Cafe Racers usually play with parallel twins, but...
The mighty Yamaha XS650 has been a hot favourite in the custom scene for decades and a personal favourite of...
Boner…That’s what this custom Yamaha XS650 is called. Not your usual custom build title but Death Spray Customs isn’t your...
The saying ‘to bite off more than you can chew’ is one that many budding bike builders can relate to....
After more than 35 years of production, the Yamaha SR400 has had little in the way of design modifications. The...
With 200bhp on tap and an astounding 2.5 second 0-60mph time, the Vmax V4 engine is well suited to dragstrip...
All hail Yamaha. As part of their Yard Built series they’ve been sponsoring some of the wildest, genre-pushing builds we’ve...
But, dear reader, should you? Is it worth tracking down one of Yamaha’s cheerful little runabouts for your next custom...
Auto Fabrica has transformed this Yamaha XJ600 into a one-of-a-kind modern classic sports bike known as the “Type 24”. This...
Sadly it looks like Yamaha’s venerable SR400s time is coming to an end. Like so many other motorcycles falling victim...
“Raw & Rough. I´ve always wanted a little Cafe Racer for the urban and offroad section. It’s a kind of a...
It wasn’t until I featured our first Yamaha TRX850 cafe racer back in 2013 that I learned of their existence....
Berry Bads Motorcycles are yet another Japanese custom tuner/builder who’s work has caught my attention. With a gallery full of Bobbers,...
The Yamaha Yardbuilt series will soon be celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Originally the brainchild of Yamaha Project Manager, Shun...
For the Yardbuilt 2017 XSR700 project, Yamaha selected 7 workshops from different European locations to take part in the event. Representatives from Italy,...
Just got home after spending the day out with the guys from Fuel Tank TV and Christian from Modern Motorcycles....
“My name is Teguh Setiawan. I’m a 23 years old and studying at a university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In 2012...
Despite its huge success, the Yamaha XSR700 is, in my opinion, one of the least classic-looking modern-retro motorcycles on the...
There have been many custom workshops that have evolved their brand into an apparel range. In Taiwan, the clothing label...
Tim Kills BSA A65 Bobber On November 3rd & 4th I co-hosted a custom motorcycle exhibition in Melbourne named Oil...
The Yamaha XS-V1 Sakura (Prototype ie coming soon!) oozes Cafe Racer style and should pck plenty of punch based on...
There are a handful of motorcycles that became the poster children of the “new wave” cafe racer scene at the...
Not content with simply building a tidy Yamaha SR based Cafe Racer, the crew at Rocker Classic Cycles decided to...
Unless you’re living in one of those rule-free American states where they let tipsy 13-year-olds ride drag bikes on public...
When great minds come together, great things happen. Often in the world of custom motorcycle building workshops keep to themselves....
We all know Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s second only to McDonald’s for making Americans fat and scaring farm animals globally....
Santi García has been contributing to the build portfolio at the Barcelona workshop of La Carono motorcycles for the past...
My dog doesn’t care for the Yamaha XSR900. When I arrive home on any other motorcycle the small ball of...
There’s two ways you can build a custom motorcycle. One way is to have a design idea that’s laid out...
Here’s a great segment from the cutting room floor of Cafe Racer TV. In this online episode they reveal the...
Shaft driven motorcycles have been around since the early 1900’s, but Yamaha’s shaft driven debut didn’t come until the late...
“I have been riding motorcycles on and off road for more than a decade and I wanted to combine my...
After a complete tear down the XJR’s subframe was trimmed to tighten the bike’s proportions. In place of the original...
Few motorcycles have the cult status of Yamaha’s SR400. During the past decade, the SR has come into the spotlight...
With a workshop name like “it roCKS!bikes” the Portugese builders Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos have set the bar high...
In the early days of Yamaha’s venture into motorcycle production their YA-, affectionately known as the Akatombo or Red Dragonfly,...
“Purpose Built Moto came about after I started modifying street bikes of my own. I then became frustrated that no...
Yamaha’s XS650 would have to be in the top 5 list of most customised motorcycle in the world. It’s bullet...
The old saying ‘practice makes perfect’ rings true in the custom motorcycle community. Over the years I’ve seen many builders...
This is the Mongrel. A custom Yamaha XT600 haling from the darker side of Sydney’s Cafe Racer scene. The Mongrel...
The story of the TX750 is one that Yamaha would rather we all forgot. The bike, which was set to...
As 2014 comes to an end I thought I’d take a (close up) look at some of the incredible work...
It’s not often that I feature Bobbers on the site and even less often that I feature custom motorcycles from...
This Yamaha SRX600 has been meticulously transformed into a bespoke cafe racer with a sleek and unique style. It boasts...
I hate to say it but there is a downside to riding a classic British cafe racer. Sure you’ll revel...
Daniel cut his teeth on cars and bikes at a young age. “I drove my first moped at the age...
Back in 2016, Yamaha bit itself off a decent-sized chunk of the modern retro market with the release of the...
In motorsport, race teams are always looking for new ways to improve lap times. Back in the fifties when motorcycles...
Bernhard Naumann, aka Blechmann, grew up in Burgenland, a federal state of Austria in central Europe. Growing up in a...
Back in 2006 one of the first motorcycles that really got me excited about the custom scene was a Yamaha...
On a recent trip to Sydney I stuck my head in at Deus (as always) and grabbed a copy of...
If you happen to be near The Dues Ex Machina store in Camperdown Sydney this week a quick visit is definitely in...
Despite its 43-year production run ending in 2021, the SR400 remains a hot favourite amongst riders in Japan. The SR400’s...
Jamie’s younger years were spent in the UK. He was bitten by the motorcycle bug at an early age after...
“I guess, it’s a modern take on a Cafe Racer, but I was born around 20 years too late to...
The Wrenchmonkees have just released details of the bike that represents a half-century of custom motorcycle builds from the Denmark based...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
A collaboration with El Solitario seemed like the perfect pairing for Yamaha’s next Yard Built project, but as El Solitario’s...
The red ‘Monster’ which was built back in 2013 for the Yokohama Hot Rod and Custom Show and the blue...
The Arcanum build began when I picked up a ‘78 Yamaha SR500 from a guy in Newcastle, it was an...
Yamaha’s ‘Race Developed’ series of motorcycles from the early seventies left a lasting impression on the motorcycling world. The 1973...
When you are the organiser of what is arguably the biggest custom motorcycle event in the world it goes without...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
You could be forgiven for thinking that laying bricks and building custom motorcycles have nothing in common. But if you’re...
As it always goes, popularity affects price, so the days of picking up a bargain XS are gone and it...
This may sound ridiculous, but sometimes I wish I lived in a place where riding during winter wasn’t an option....
After one full day of owning the 1979 XS650 Special Giancarlo’s called it quits. Stranded on the side of the...
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. For seasoned motorcyclists, nostalgia can quickly become an obsession. A chance sighting of a beloved...
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know there are very few commonalities between nautical craft and motorcycles. Infact the...
This Cafe Racer thumper hails from the Japanese workshop Gull Craft. It’s an extensively modified Yamaha SR400 Cafe Racer complete...
After my recent purchase of a Yamaha TW200 I have rediscovered my love of “little” bikes. While I’m not about...
After building his own bobber and plenty of customer bikes, James decided it was time to set himself a new...
In the early 1980s, Yamaha introduced a new family of four-stroke motorcycles, with the XJ550 being one of them. These...
Feast your eyes on Jay LaRossa’s 1978 Yamaha SR500 “Solus” in this short video by Ricki Bedenbaugh. This video reminds me of...
Yet another outstanding issue of Fuel Magazine is just about to hit the shelves. Grab a copy to see my...
If you’ve been following Enginethusiast for a while, you’ve probably noticed that Anthony Scott has a soft spot for vintage...
After spying the Yamaha XJR400 cafe racer on their website we contacted C-Racer crew member Antonis Kapetanios who was kind...
Opening up the emails I receive through the “Submit a motorcycle” link on the site is one of my favourite...
“Building motorcycles is probably the only thing I am good at.” professes Aseem. “The FS350, my first custom motorcycle, was...
You’ll have to forgive me for veering off the Cafe Racer path slightly but when I see a custom motorcycle like this...
Down here in Australia it seems like Mother Nature’s hell bent on killing us all off. Our surrounding oceans are...
Firstly a design was rendered in conjunction with Oberdan Bezzi Design which took styling cues from the Yamaha FZ750, a...
At the end of World War 2 many British motorcycle manufacturers were on the verge of closure or had already...
This 1975 Yamaha RD350 underwent a café racer conversion in 2014. The changes encompassed an orange repaint over a black...
Recently found XS650 Chopper website which has a load of custom Yamaha XS650 projects. Great for inspiration or to just perve on...
The Blue Rhapsody takes its main inspiration from the 90’s race bikes Keinosuke saw on the streets of Japan in...
Spotted this great Yamaha R5 “Giant Killer” custom on Garage Project motorcycles. After a bit of digging all I managed to...
