46Works frontman Shiro Nakajima's latest project is a Fantic Caballero Scrambler 700, reimagined as a sleek café racer with sporty intentions.
Although the roster at the annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show is vast, there are a handful of Japanese custom builders that you can count on to deliver the goods, year after year. Shiro Nakajima is one of them.
Better known as 46Works, Nakajima-san's fabrication skills are as sharp as his eye. He's known for building bikes that not only look stellar, but are made to be ridden. It has a lot to do with the fact that he spends much of his time racing at the Tsukuba Circuit, a few hours from his home base in the foothills of the Yatsugatake Mountains.
It was at Tsukuba that the inspiration for this project struck. Shiro was test-riding a Fantic Caballero Scrambler 700 on the track and was struck by the Italian modern classic's capability. “I was captivated by its lightweight chassis, paired with a powerful, characterful 689 cc twin engine,” he tells us.
“I was also impressed by its potential to deliver sporty riding on the racetrack—despite being a scrambler. And the simple frame design made for a suitable base for a custom build.”
With buy-in from Fantic's Japanese distributor, Motorist, Shiro dragged a 2024-spec Fantic Caballero Scrambler 700 into his workshop and set to work turning into a sleek café racer. “I envisioned rebuilding this scrambler model as a road bike,” he adds. “Although it offers excellent handling even in stock form, its handling leans more towards that of an off-road bike—so I redesigned it for sporty road handling.”
The first step was to reconfigure the Caballero's stance. Shiro ditched the stock 19F/17R wheels, replacing them with 18” rollers that use Yamaha hubs, Excel rims, and Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart IV tires.
Next, he upgraded the front end with brand new upside-down forks from Öhlins. The bike's bottom yoke was treated to custom spacers to match the diameter of the Öhlins tubes, while a new top yoke was milled for a clean cockpit setup. The OEM speedo is now bolted to it, sitting much closer to the bike than before.
The stock LED headlight was remounted on custom brackets, again to pull it in tighter. Shiro swapped the Caballero's scrambler bars for a set of Battle Factory clip-ons, but retained the original switches so that none of the bike's functionality would be compromised. The brake master cylinder is a Brembo unit, the reservoir comes from Craftsman, and the mirrors are 46Works parts, manufactured by TANAX.
Lower down, Shiro replaced the Caballero's single 330 mm disc brake with a pair of 280 mm Sunstar floating discs and a second Brembo caliper. New caliper mounts had to be machined, with special modifications to ensure that the bike's ABS would still function. Shiro also fabricated a sporty aluminum front fender, held in place by hidden brackets.
The Caballero's gleaming new bodywork is all Shiro's handiwork—from the blocky, vintage-looking fuel tank to the waspish tail section, which tapers towards an integrated LED taillight. The seat pops off to offer access to the battery and ECU, while the tail bump hides a storage compartment. Tiny LED turn signals and a handmade license plate bracket keep things street-legal.
46Works liveries are always simple and tasteful, and this one is no exception. Shiro opted for a polished finish, with simple striping and lettering by Drops Design Works. Razzle Dazzle handled the red seat upholstery—a nod to Fantic's corporate color.
Finishing touches included custom rear-set pegs and a judicious upgrade of the Caballero's exhaust system. Shiro added a pair of sand-bent titanium headers up front and a titanium reverse-cone muffler at the back, with the stock catalytic converter still in play. “This configuration makes it easy to obtain Japanese vehicle inspection certification,” he explains.
46Works' Fantic Caballero café racer debuted at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show to rave reviews. And although it belongs to Motorist for the next 12 months, Shiro already has a buyer lined up when the bike is back in his hands.
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