Your complete guide to cafe racer motorcycles, from classic bikes to modern-day specials.
Here you’ll find everything from traditional Triumph and Honda cafe racers to the latest BMWs, Ducatis and Yamahas from new wave builders. Discover the cafe racer parts, seats and performance upgrades that’ll take your own cafe racer bike to the next level.
Nothing beats a quick early morning blast through the hills above my house. The air is fresh, the sun is usually shining and I don’t have to share the road with many other motorized vehicles. I do have to share it with bicycles though—and I’m always amazed by how many people choose pedals over a…
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We kick this weekend’s edition of Speed Read off with two very different BMW K100 customs. Then we bring you a Yamaha Virago, a 250 cc BMX-Cub hybrid, and the world’s first flying motorcycle.
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It’s amazing how versatile the classic BMW boxer is is. Do you want a long, low and mean drag bike? A rough and ready scrambler? A sleek, stylish café racer? An airhead will do all of that, and more. This 1982 BMW R80 falls firmly into that last category. It was built by 72 HKG…
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A sleek frame, a mechanical aesthetic, a distinct lack of plastic and a lot of polished metal. This Harley-Davidson Ironhead Sportster café racer must be from Craig Rodsmith. Based just north of Chicago, the Australian ex-pat’s mastery over the dark art of metal shaping is evident in everything he builds. A few years ago, Craig…
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Some aficionados believe that the only way to design an attractive motorcycle, is to maintain a perfectly horizontal foundation line. But the…
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There’s no denying that I’m a huge fan of Axel Budde and his custom motorcycle outfit, Kaffeemaschine. Axel flew onto my radar…
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Like any good factory café racer, the Ducati SportClassic doesn’t beg to be customized. It’s stunning in stock form—and, with a 992…
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A few years ago, a café racer was usually a classic bike, modified with sleeker bodywork, a tuned engine, and a stubby…
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Commissioned builds are the lifeblood of any successful custom motorcycle businesses, but so is a strong portfolio. So it’s not unusual for…
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Telescopic forks have become the de facto solution for motorcycle front suspension, but most major manufacturers have dabbled in alternative designs at…
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Bryan Fuller is one of those guys who can work magic on anything with wheels and tires. He’s a next-level fabricator who…
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We kick this week’s edition of Speed Read off with further proof that Yamaha SRs make great café racers. We also cover…
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