A collaboration with El Solitario seemed like the perfect pairing for Yamaha’s next Yard Built project, but as El Solitario’s...
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.
Back in 2006 one of the first motorcycles that really got me excited about the custom scene was a Yamaha...
There was a time when it seemed that every other custom build to roll out of a workshop was built...
Yamaha’s beloved SR400 may have ceased production back in 2021, but it remains a hot favorite amongst custom builders in...
Unless you’re living in one of those rule-free American states where they let tipsy 13-year-olds ride drag bikes on public...
For the Hyper Modified campaign Yamaha approached three well known custom builders and gave them a straight to the point...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
Is it just me or does this look like insanely good fun? There’s no denying that Yamaha’s legendary SR400 is...
The Eau Rouge Yamaha XJR1300 features a plethora of custom fabricated components made in house by the Deus Italian workshop....
I’ve always been intrigued by Yamaha’s MT-01 V-twin “muscle bike”. Back in 2008 I got really excited when they released...
When I think about Bobbers my mind conjures up images of cruising along a winding coastal road, sitting comfortably atop...
At the end of World War 2 many British motorcycle manufacturers were on the verge of closure or had already...
Tower’s been messing about on bikes since he was a kid, but in 2008 a chance meeting with Ian Halcott...
When you are the organiser of what is arguably the biggest custom motorcycle event in the world it goes without...
If you’ve been following Enginethusiast for a while, you’ve probably noticed that Anthony Scott has a soft spot for vintage...
As it always goes, popularity affects price, so the days of picking up a bargain XS are gone and it...
You could be forgiven for thinking that laying bricks and building custom motorcycles have nothing in common. But if you’re...
The Yamaha features the same Benelli 360 tank and custom seat combo that Greg used on the last Virago, but...
After more than 35 years of production, the Yamaha SR400 has had little in the way of design modifications. The...
“Yamaha and Abarth have created the XSR900 Abarth – a lightweight high-performance retro special whose authentic café racer design reflects...
After building his own bobber and plenty of customer bikes, James decided it was time to set himself a new...
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. For seasoned motorcyclists, nostalgia can quickly become an obsession. A chance sighting of a beloved...
Nothing makes me happier than featuring custom motorcycles that have been built in my hometown. Today’s café racer is the...
To transform the XV950 cruiser into a cafe racer styled machine Marcus began by dramatically modifying the bikes rear end....
With a workshop name like “it roCKS!bikes” the Portugese builders Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos have set the bar high...
In Osaka, Japan 28-year-old cafe racer enthusiast Yuya Ueda has been riding his SR400 for 8 years and it’s lead...
Recently found XS650 Chopper website which has a load of custom Yamaha XS650 projects. Great for inspiration or to just perve on...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
No sooner had the doors of the 2015 One Motorcycle Show closed for another year, than the brothers Busch and...
I know I’m probably going to get a few frowns for this as it’s certainly not a Cafe Racer,...
Japanese workshop AN-BU Customs has developed an instantly recognisable style of their own. Their recipe involves mixing tight proportions, with...
David Gonzalez from Ad Hoc is renowned for customizing Yamaha motorcycles. He gained international acclaim for his work on the...
There have been many custom workshops that have evolved their brand into an apparel range. In Taiwan, the clothing label...
The Yamaha Yardbuilt series will soon be celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Originally the brainchild of Yamaha Project Manager, Shun...
Despite its huge success, the Yamaha XSR700 is, in my opinion, one of the least classic-looking modern-retro motorcycles on the...
The quick turnaround on this build was made possible when Pat acquired the Virago as an unfinished project. “The previous...
The story of the TX750 is one that Yamaha would rather we all forgot. The bike, which was set to...
I met Michael Capraro some years ago at a communal motorcycle workshop I was involved in. His enthusiasm for bikes...
Established by Dare Jennings, Rod Hunwick and Carby Tuckwell, Deus ex Machina in Camperdown, Sydney, produces motorcycles for the post-modern world. What the hell...
“Purpose Built Moto came about after I started modifying street bikes of my own. I then became frustrated that no...
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...
Yamaha’s legendary XS650, it’s reputation precedes it. The XS is one of the most widely customised bikes in the world so to...
With 200bhp on tap and an astounding 2.5 second 0-60mph time, the Vmax V4 engine is well suited to dragstrip...
To start with can you tell us where the bikes name “Tramontana” comes from? Spartak: This is the bike’s name...
If you ask me there’s two types of custom build, the clean and the down right dirty. Richard and Lex...
This 1975 Yamaha RD350 underwent a café racer conversion in 2014. The changes encompassed an orange repaint over a black...
In the early 1980s, Yamaha introduced a new family of four-stroke motorcycles, with the XJ550 being one of them. These...
Opening up the emails I receive through the “Submit a motorcycle” link on the site is one of my favourite...
Despite its 43-year production run ending in 2021, the SR400 remains a hot favourite amongst riders in Japan. The SR400’s...
Looking at this custom Yamaha SR500 built in Japan turns me in to the equivalent of that crazy fish in Finding...
All hail Yamaha. As part of their Yard Built series they’ve been sponsoring some of the wildest, genre-pushing builds we’ve...
I’ve worked on my fair share of custom builds to know that things can get a little stressful. When I...
While Yamaha has previously focused on customising bikes from their Sports Heritage range during the Yardbuilt series, Faster Sons will...
With a name like “Vintage Addiction”, it’s odd to see the YZF sitting in their build portfolio, but when the...
British vs Japanese engineering. It’s a debate that I’ve often heard between motorcyclists. It’s easy to see why each party...
Sadly it looks like Yamaha’s venerable SR400s time is coming to an end. Like so many other motorcycles falling victim...
Review Summary: The 2022 Yamaha XSR900 Retro Triple is a much meaner and more powerful bike than its sibling, the...
For a motorcycle that once laid claim to being the quickest street production bike, the Kawasaki 500 Triples certainly have...
It wasn’t until I featured our first Yamaha TRX850 cafe racer back in 2013 that I learned of their existence....
Yamaha produced the mighty TZ 250 from 1973 all the way through to 2004. When the model was first released...
The Yamaha SR400 was the poster child of the “new wave” custom scene back in ’08/’09. Thanks to workshops like...
“We want to challenge the trope of nostalgic and aesthetically led custom motorcycles by encouraging others to experiment with the...
It’s not often that I feature Bobbers on the site and even less often that I feature custom motorcycles from...
There’s two ways you can build a custom motorcycle. One way is to have a design idea that’s laid out...
“Stop dreaming, just start building!” These are the words you’ll find on Andy Megerle’s Instagram profile. I’ve featured a couple...
Mike, who is a designer by trade, takes pleasure in finding lemons online. Not because he likes to own basket...
Santi García has been contributing to the build portfolio at the Barcelona workshop of La Carono motorcycles for the past...
I recently stumbled across the Instagram profile of Cyu-G and his Yamaha SR400 cafe racer. Despite a language barrier we...
Spotted this great Yamaha R5 “Giant Killer” custom on Garage Project motorcycles. After a bit of digging all I managed to...
This post apocalyptic road warrior is Icon’s Kawasaki ZX-7 ‘Thunder Chunky’. It’s the latest addition to Icon’s series of custom...
This is the Mongrel. A custom Yamaha XT600 haling from the darker side of Sydney’s Cafe Racer scene. The Mongrel...
To improve the v-twin’s power and torque Yamaha fit the SRV with a beefier cam profile, two carburetors rather than...
Yamaha’s XS650 would have to be in the top 5 list of most customised motorcycle in the world. It’s bullet...
“Years ago I rode a ’72 Yamaha XS650 from California to Sturgis. I was wearing a Walmart rain suit in...
“Building motorcycles is probably the only thing I am good at.” professes Aseem. “The FS350, my first custom motorcycle, was...
Adrián Campos and the crew at Spain’s Bolt Motor Co. are back again with yet another impressive build. This time...
This Cafe Racer thumper hails from the Japanese workshop Gull Craft. It’s an extensively modified Yamaha SR400 Cafe Racer complete...
As 2014 comes to an end I thought I’d take a (close up) look at some of the incredible work...
One of the biggest decisions you’ll make when building your own Cafe Racer, or any style of custom motorcycle for...
Andrew Starkman and the team at Roast Moto in Phoenix Arizona pride themselves in spotting the potential in an old...
This bike was built by George Woodman, a carpenter slash furniture designer slash interior architect from Biarritz, France. Yes, his...
“Raw & Rough. I´ve always wanted a little Cafe Racer for the urban and offroad section. It’s a kind of a...
The Yamaha XS-V1 Sakura (Prototype ie coming soon!) oozes Cafe Racer style and should pck plenty of punch based on...
Well, that wraps up yet another year of amazing cafe racer builds from custom workshops and backyard builders around the...
Firstly a design was rendered in conjunction with Oberdan Bezzi Design which took styling cues from the Yamaha FZ750, a...
Shaft driven motorcycles have been around since the early 1900’s, but Yamaha’s shaft driven debut didn’t come until the late...
We love cafe racers trimmed to perfection. Bikes built for a narrow purpose. A ride with lights removed, brackets cut...
The bike Spartak’s customer found was a rare find in his hometown of Minsk, a late eighties Yamaha XJ600. The...
I’ve been covering the Yamaha Yardbuilt series of custom bikes for some time now and have really enjoyed the projects...
The custom Yamaha SR250’s are taking over! After last week’s C59R “Little Blue” custom Tracker build from Barcelona we’ve headed...
Jamie’s younger years were spent in the UK. He was bitten by the motorcycle bug at an early age after...
The Varkain (“Finnish for By Stealth”) Yamaha SR400 is one of my favourite creations to come out of Raider Motorsports...
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