Return of the Cafe Racers

Throttle Roll 2013 wrap up

2013-05-24T19:32:00.003+08:00

It's a wrap! The 2013 Throttle Roll was a resounding success. The crew at Sydney Cafe Racers did a stellar job organising a world class event which was packed full of incredible custom bikes. Now that is all over the guys have released this awesome video (after the jump) so everyone who couldn't make it along can keep on wishing they did...
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Motorcycle Girl 082

2013-05-24T19:21:00.002+08:00

Motorcycles and mascara don't mix.

Yamaha XS650 Redback Cafe Racer

2013-05-23T21:57:00.003+08:00

Down here in Australia it seems like Mother Nature's hell bent on killing us all off. Our surrounding oceans are filled with massive man eating sharks, our northern rivers infested with prehistoric crocodiles, our bushland home to a dozen species of deadly snakes (a dozen!!!) and in our very own backyards one of the world's deadliest, 8 legged freaks, the Redback spider. Being born and raised in Western Australia I have seen hundreds of Redbacks in my time. Their all black body and vibrant red stripe is an unmistakable warning that we all learn to stay the hell away from, so you can imagine my reaction when I opened up an email from Travis Child and was confronted by this. After a quick change of underwear I returned to my desk to learn about his custom XS650 which I have wittily coined, The Redback.

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Dirt Quake 2 Power Sliding

2013-05-23T21:04:00.001+08:00

Just like eating hard shelled tacos, belching a national anthem or finding a G-spot there's a lot of skill required to master power sliding. On Saturday the 8th of June Sideburn magazine is challenging you to prove you have what it takes to be a champion of the skids at Dirt Quake 2. This year the crazy folks from El Solitario will be joining in the action and have put together a quick vid to get you started (after the jump). So if you're anywhere near Norfolk Arena (UK) get your inappropriate road bike, Tracker or f**k yeah Chopper out on the dirt and have yourself some fun!
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One Motorcycle Show 2013 builder stories

2013-05-22T20:00:00.002+08:00

The builders, the bikes, the one motorcycle show. Check out the vid with loads of action from the show, builder stories and and great shots of the bikes after the jump...

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2013 AMD World Championship Cafe Racers

2013-05-22T17:29:00.002+08:00

The annual custom motorcycle craziness that is the AMD World Championship of bike building has been and gone again. This year along with the plethora of out of this world choppers we also saw a huge jump in Cafe Racer styled bikes competing for the crown. First, second and third places in the street performance category were taken out by Cafe Racers and several others held top ten positions in the freestyle class. Here's a few of winners and runner ups...

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El Centinela Honda Jet CB750K

2013-05-21T22:11:00.004+08:00

Inspired by the Honda Jet, "the world's most advanced light jet", this CB750K may not be quite so advanced but it's sure to raise just as many eyebrows. Built by Ramon Jimenez of El Centinela Motorcycles in Puerto Rico this is one of those builds that'll have you scratching your head and gawking in awe all at once.
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Interview with Shinya Kimura

2013-05-21T18:35:00.004+08:00

Shinya Kimura is back in front of the camera again. As one of the world's most recognised custom builders it's not all that surprising. This latest insight into the world of Shinya comes from Evan Robert Scott for 'On Paper Magazine' and delivers plenty of great footage of his desirable machines in action...
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Kawasaki Z1000 Streetfighter Cafe Racer

2013-05-20T21:57:00.000+08:00

Green is most certainly the colour of envy. Gia Mi Racing are back again with another modern take on Cafe Racer styling. Based on a 2003 Z1000 Streetfighter because "no one had done it before" it's a low cost build that put's Kawasaki's original and now badly dated design to shame...

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Tank Moto Premiere Issue launch

2013-05-20T19:58:00.002+08:00

This weekend the premiere issue of Tank Moto, an all new, independent custom motorcycle magazine hits Australian (and international) shelves. To mark the occasion the team at Fuel Press are having a launch party in Melbourne at 6pm, Saturday the 25th of May at Gasolina restaurant/workshop on South Wharf Promenade. All are welcome to head down and join the celebrations, motorcyclists have priority parking right outside the venue and several of the feature bikes from the first issue will be on display inside the workshop. Best of all the first 100 people to arrive will score themselves a free copy of the premiere issue! What other excuse could you possibly need to attend?

Aussie moto fans grab your copy here | US & Canada grab yours here

Motorcycle Girl 081

2013-05-17T08:04:00.000+08:00

Bubblevisor?

Heartbreak Cycleworks Honda CB550

2013-05-16T20:03:00.002+08:00

Neall Dollhopf, co-owner of Heartbreak Cycleworks in Ypsi, Michigan, is a sentimental kind of guy. His custom Honda CB550 holds a special place in his heart being the first "big" bike he's ever owned, which is why he named it after the first girl he ever...ahem. Neall confesses that the Honda, or I should say Anna was "done quickly" (I had the same issue!) so she's a little rough round the edges, but the bike gets ridden rain, hail or shine and always hard and fast (oh the innuendo!).

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Yamaha Frankenstein Cafe Racer

2013-05-15T15:21:00.001+08:00

When Frankenstein created his monster it was labeled an abomination. In reality though what he had made was a man better than most. He was stronger, bigger and much more resilient than the average Joe but thanks to the good doctors skills with a needle and thread, he was ugly as sin. Our latest build from Theo in the Netherlands takes the same principle of combining "expired" parts to create a better bike but unlike Frankie, Theo has a great eye for design.

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The Natural Honda CB750

2013-05-13T20:43:00.002+08:00

"The Natural" built by Portland based workshop The Tarantulas. It's a bike that's had plenty of mentions around here but never a feature, so I thought it was about time I gave it the attention it deserves...
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Dozer Garage Ural 650 Fashion

2013-05-11T21:33:00.002+08:00

Here's the first Ural I've ever featured on Return of the Cafe Racers and I'm sure you will agree it's worthy of a mention. Ural motorcycles have been around since 1939 so I'm a little ashamed to admit it's the first, but the truth is that custom Ural's don't come along all that often. Ural motorcycles were developed for the military during World War II with the first model being based on BMW's R71. These days Ural's range is dominated by sidecar equipped models but this Ural's been stripped of the extra weight to get the most out of it's boxer engine.

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Tricana Mondego Moto Guzzi V65

2013-05-09T05:43:00.003+08:00

Last time we featured the Portugese workshop Tricana motorcycles they had just completed their first Moto Guzzi Cafe Racer build. Today I'm visiting Jonathan's workshop again to reveal his latest Moto Guzzi based Cafe Racer build the “Mondego”, named after the river that runs through his hometown of Coimbra. Based on the garishly ugly (opinions may vary) Moto Guzzi V65 Lario, Jonathan has done an impressive job and converting the Guzzi into a rolling work of art.
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Honda Storm Trooper 550

2013-05-07T21:56:00.003+08:00

Close the blast doors!... Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors! - Despite the fact that they were rooting for the wrong team everyone loves the bumbling antics of the Dark Sides Storm Troopers. However, even though they may have been incapable of accurately firing their blasters or executing an order without ballsing it up, they still managed to look super cool. As a salute to their ultra cool uniforms (not their inept skills as soliders) Dustin Kott has customised this '70s Honda CB550 Supersport which he has aptly named "The Storm Trooper 550".
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Throttle Roll 2013 custom motorcycle show

2013-05-06T20:42:00.002+08:00

Sydney is a pretty amazing town. They've got the world famous Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Russell Crowe and now the SCR Throttle Roll! Brought to you by 'Sydney Cafe Racers', the same guys who orchestrated the world's first 'Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride', Throttle Roll is a custom bike show focusing on Café Racers, Classics and Bobbers and the culture that surrounds them.
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Atom Bomb Triumph RVA Overland

2013-05-05T14:12:00.002+08:00

From eBay: "~~You are bidding on~~ (You should have bid on) a ground up custom 1974 Triumph Bonneville dual sport. This bike, named the RVA Overland was constructed as a personal build by Clay Rathburn of Atom Bomb Motorcycles. The goal was to create a useable Triumph powered dual sport that looked like it could have been built in 1974 and performed like a bike of that era with modern suspension upgrades. This bike took roughly 800 hours to complete, and that's probably a bit conservative. The intention was to keep this bike forever but as it usually happens, it's going to have to go to make way for the next build." ...

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Yamaha XJR 1300 Cafe Racer

2013-05-03T20:41:00.002+08:00

The XJR 1300, baptised the "Retro Rocket" by Yamaha, is potent mix of style and power. The Wrenchmonkees showed us just how good the latest iteration of the XJR bloodline could look with their Yard Built "Monkeefist" but what about older examples? The 1300cc version of the XJR has been on the scene since 1999, fine tuned and improved with each new model so there's a decades worth of them out there. This custom XJR is a 2007 bike built by Andrius who knew exactly what he wanted from Yamaha's 98hp, naked, in-line four.
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Moto Guzzi 850T4 by JMKL

2013-05-01T23:01:00.002+08:00

For a graphic designer with a soft spot for custom motorcycles doing work experience with the Wrenchmonkees must have been a dream come true. Last year Joan Miguel Orga made the trip from his home in Barcelona to Copenhagen where he spent some time working along side the WM team. He entered the workshop with a head full of ideas and a beaten up Moto Guzzi and came away with this outstanding WM/JMKL 'Art in Movement' custom.
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Taming the Kawasaki 500 Triple

2013-04-29T21:47:00.002+08:00

For a motorcycle that once laid claim to being the quickest street production bike, the Kawasaki 500 Triples certainly have their fair share of haters. Back in 1968 Kawasaki proved the straight line performance of their 500 triple with a blistering 12.9 second 1/4 mile run gaining them instant popularity. Unfortunately problems with their handling and brakes had tragic consequences and left them with the highly undesirable nickname of "Widowmaker". One Kawasaki fan by the name of John Aylor set out to prove the triples could be made to handle just as well as they performed and he did it with this bike. Here's the story from the man himself...
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Honda Super Cub Roadrunner concept

2013-04-29T00:12:00.002+08:00

I'm intrigued by the different places that custom builders find their inspiration. In Taiwan at the Shih Chien University Industrial Design Department a student named Suhann found his in a vehicle that spends all it's time either up in the air or parked on water. It's an unusual influence for a land fairing machine so we asked Suhann for the story of his 'Roadrunner' motorcycle.

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Motorcycle Girls 080

2013-04-26T21:17:00.002+08:00

Appropriate headwear should be worn at all times.

via Womens Moto Exhibit

MonkeeHook Hinckley Triumph Bonneville

2013-04-24T22:41:00.002+08:00

Since 2011 Bologna, Italy has been home to Hook Motors, a "lifestyle store" aimed at those who appreciate passion, elegance and vintage motorcycles. Hook offers its customers access to a refined shopping atmosphere where they can find "stylish daywear garments, luxury accessories, fine art, specialized books, and above all, hip motorbikes". What exactly is a "hip" motorbike you ask? Well by definition 'hip' means cooler than cool and looking through their showroom you'll find plenty of bikes that fit the bill. There's an immaculate '47 Knucklehead, a one of a kind YABSA (Yamaha XS650 motor in a BSA frame), a custom Honda NX650 modified by the Hook team and this lovely Triumph T100 Bonneville custom built for Hook by the Wrenchmonkees.
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