I’ve worked on my fair share of custom builds to know that things can get a little stressful. When I...
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.
The mighty Yamaha XS650 has been a hot favourite in the custom scene for decades and a personal favourite of...
While Yamaha has previously focused on customising bikes from their Sports Heritage range during the Yardbuilt series, Faster Sons will...
If you ask me there’s two types of custom build, the clean and the down right dirty. Richard and Lex...
Looking back over a few of our recent features it seems that building retro customs out of modern sports bikes...
For the Hyper Modified campaign Yamaha approached three well known custom builders and gave them a straight to the point...
The Yamaha Yardbuilt series will soon be celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Originally the brainchild of Yamaha Project Manager, Shun...
There was always a motorcycle in our house when I was growing up, but my father’s real passion was collectible...
Yamaha’s legendary XS650, it’s reputation precedes it. The XS is one of the most widely customised bikes in the world so to...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
Deus Bali appeared on the scene only a few short months ago and it seems they are already wheeling some...
While the idea of belting down a freeway at a ton and a half on a big bore Cafe Racer...
For the Yardbuilt 2017 XSR700 project, Yamaha selected 7 workshops from different European locations to take part in the event. Representatives from Italy,...
There are a handful of motorcycles that became the poster children of the “new wave” cafe racer scene at the...
Yamaha XS650 Classic Cafe built by the Wheely shop. A beautiful balance of old styling and modern technology. ...
Firstly a design was rendered in conjunction with Oberdan Bezzi Design which took styling cues from the Yamaha FZ750, a...
Recently found XS650 Chopper website which has a load of custom Yamaha XS650 projects. Great for inspiration or to just perve on...
Feast your eyes on Jay LaRossa’s 1978 Yamaha SR500 “Solus” in this short video by Ricki Bedenbaugh. This video reminds me of...
I’ve been covering the Yamaha Yardbuilt series of custom bikes for some time now and have really enjoyed the projects...
The Yamaha features the same Benelli 360 tank and custom seat combo that Greg used on the last Virago, but...
“I have been riding motorcycles on and off road for more than a decade and I wanted to combine my...
The Wrenchmonkees have just released details of the bike that represents a half-century of custom motorcycle builds from the Denmark based...
Adrián Campos and the crew at Spain’s Bolt Motor Co. are back again with yet another impressive build. This time...
After one full day of owning the 1979 XS650 Special Giancarlo’s called it quits. Stranded on the side of the...
I hate to say it but there is a downside to riding a classic British cafe racer. Sure you’ll revel...
On a recent trip to Sydney I stuck my head in at Deus (as always) and grabbed a copy of...
The bike Spartak’s customer found was a rare find in his hometown of Minsk, a late eighties Yamaha XJ600. The...
Tower’s been messing about on bikes since he was a kid, but in 2008 a chance meeting with Ian Halcott...
The Modern Motorcycle Company is a custom workshop based in Melbourne, Victoria. Owned and run by Christian Condo the workshop...
Here’s a great segment from the cutting room floor of Cafe Racer TV. In this online episode they reveal the...
Rapid prototyping, CNC machining, 3d printing! Whatever happened to good old hammers, spanners, and the occasional grinder? I get a...
Despite its huge success, the Yamaha XSR700 is, in my opinion, one of the least classic-looking modern-retro motorcycles on the...
Brrr… Lars and Jorg of Motorradtke GbR in Germany traditionally build and maintain Superbikes for the race track. However after...
Some people find it a real struggle to sit still. Take Stu Lloyd for example. It hasn’t even been 4...
The red ‘Monster’ which was built back in 2013 for the Yokohama Hot Rod and Custom Show and the blue...
“Purpose Built Moto came about after I started modifying street bikes of my own. I then became frustrated that no...
Buying any customised or incomplete motorcycle can be fraught with danger. That’s why we recommended against it in our 10...
Yamaha’s beloved SR400 may have ceased production back in 2021, but it remains a hot favorite amongst custom builders in...
When you are the organiser of what is arguably the biggest custom motorcycle event in the world it goes without...
This Cafe Racer thumper hails from the Japanese workshop Gull Craft. It’s an extensively modified Yamaha SR400 Cafe Racer complete...
Unless you’re living in one of those rule-free American states where they let tipsy 13-year-olds ride drag bikes on public...
Santi García has been contributing to the build portfolio at the Barcelona workshop of La Carono motorcycles for the past...
Jesse attributes his interest in building bikes to a 1971 Honda CB175 he restored with his father at the age...
Down here in Australia it seems like Mother Nature’s hell bent on killing us all off. Our surrounding oceans are...
Bernhard Naumann, aka Blechmann, grew up in Burgenland, a federal state of Austria in central Europe. Growing up in a...
All hail Yamaha. As part of their Yard Built series they’ve been sponsoring some of the wildest, genre-pushing builds we’ve...
Yamaha produced the mighty TZ 250 from 1973 all the way through to 2004. When the model was first released...
This 1981 Yamaha XV750 Virago has been transformed into a cafe racer, featuring a metallic gray finish with gold accents....
Back in 2005, when I first became interested in the Japanese custom motorcycle scene, finding insights into their world took...
Nothing beats a hand me down, especially when it’s in the form of a motorcycle. When Christian was given his...
We all know Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s second only to McDonald’s for making Americans fat and scaring farm animals globally....
This Yamaha XS650 stands out as a captivating and tastefully modified representation of the popular classic Japanese motorcycle. Crafted into...
During the early 1970s, Kenny Roberts shot to stardom as a rider in the American Yamaha racing team. In 1973...
The Skorpion Sport was produced by German motorcycle manufacturer MZ (Motorrad und Zweiradwerk) between 1994 and 2004. Although you may have never...
The story of the TX750 is one that Yamaha would rather we all forgot. The bike, which was set to...
Yamaha’s XS650 would have to be in the top 5 list of most customised motorcycle in the world. It’s bullet...
After more than 35 years of production, the Yamaha SR400 has had little in the way of design modifications. The...
Over in the UK Shaun & Carl of custom workshop ‘Down and Out’ Cafe Racers usually play with parallel twins, but...
In motorsport, race teams are always looking for new ways to improve lap times. Back in the fifties when motorcycles...
I met Michael Capraro some years ago at a communal motorcycle workshop I was involved in. His enthusiasm for bikes...
You could be forgiven for thinking that laying bricks and building custom motorcycles have nothing in common. But if you’re...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
In 2007, Gregg DesJardins of GC Customs crafted an unparalleled streetfighter motorcycle, representing the pinnacle of customization. Starting with a...
“Sport Heritage” Never has the combination of those two words made as much sense as when applied to the Yamaha...
Dressed all in black the Skullmonkee is easily recognisable as a Wrenchmonkees build. Tight proportions, clean lines, killer finishes...
Due to the surging demand for nostalgia-infused motorcycles with a retro aesthetic, it was no surprise that Yamaha decided to...
Nothing makes me happier than featuring custom motorcycles that have been built in my hometown. Today’s café racer is the...
At the end of World War 2 many British motorcycle manufacturers were on the verge of closure or had already...
With a workshop name like “it roCKS!bikes” the Portugese builders Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos have set the bar high...
“Building motorcycles is probably the only thing I am good at.” professes Aseem. “The FS350, my first custom motorcycle, was...
Andi Akbar and his Jakarta based workshop Katros Garage aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. Katros Garage has continued...
There have been many custom workshops that have evolved their brand into an apparel range. In Taiwan, the clothing label...
Despite its 43-year production run ending in 2021, the SR400 remains a hot favourite amongst riders in Japan. The SR400’s...
My dog doesn’t care for the Yamaha XSR900. When I arrive home on any other motorcycle the small ball 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...
Daniel cut his teeth on cars and bikes at a young age. “I drove my first moped at the age...
Not content with simply building a tidy Yamaha SR based Cafe Racer, the crew at Rocker Classic Cycles decided to...
Yamaha’s Yardbuilt series is the brainchild of the companies visionary project manager, Shun Miyazawa. The series kicked off back in...
The custom Yamaha SR250’s are taking over! After last week’s C59R “Little Blue” custom Tracker build from Barcelona we’ve headed...
For a motorcycle that once laid claim to being the quickest street production bike, the Kawasaki 500 Triples certainly have...
The Eau Rouge Yamaha XJR1300 features a plethora of custom fabricated components made in house by the Deus Italian workshop....
The saying ‘to bite off more than you can chew’ is one that many budding bike builders can relate to....
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...
This 1982 Yamaha XV750 Virago has undergone extensive customization with a range of unique components. These custom additions include a...
Tim Kills BSA A65 Bobber On November 3rd & 4th I co-hosted a custom motorcycle exhibition in Melbourne named Oil...
Sadly it looks like Yamaha’s venerable SR400s time is coming to an end. Like so many other motorcycles falling victim...
The Blue Rhapsody takes its main inspiration from the 90’s race bikes Keinosuke saw on the streets of Japan in...
Shaft driven motorcycles have been around since the early 1900’s, but Yamaha’s shaft driven debut didn’t come until the late...
These days you don’t get much of a bike for 300 quid. Every now and then though you hear about...
Yamaha’s ‘Race Developed’ series of motorcycles from the early seventies left a lasting impression on the motorcycling world. The 1973...
No More Content