“Sport Heritage” Never has the combination of those two words made as much sense as when applied to the Yamaha...
JoinedApril 30, 2018
Articles2,449
Geoff launched Return of the Cafe Racers in 2006 as a place to document his very first cafe racer build. He has also worked as the editor of the independent custom motorcycle magazine Tank Moto, contributed to other online publication like BikeExif and co-hosted several Australian automotive events. Geoff also regularly visits custom bike events around the world as a special guest or media partner.
The build started with a full tear down so the frame could be trimmed in the rear, cleaned and repainted...
Your first ride on a motorcycle is probably as memorable as your first kiss. Full of excitement and fear as...
“A Scottish businessman reached out to us after seeing our bikes. He asked us to customise his own brand new...
“We like all kinds of styles and therefore build a lot different bikes, but this is our first Café Racer.”...
Spanish motorcycle jacket manufacturer ’55Collection’ are offering customers the ability to order their current range of leather motorcycle jackets tailored...
After receiving a tip off from a friend the boys got their hands on a well priced, running 1975...
Recently I published our first custom motorcycle build by Mellow Motorcycles in Germany. While I was putting the story about...
I’m always excited to feature a build from a country we haven’t previously visited here on the Return of the...
The Vulcan S ABS Café is Kawasaki’s “learner approved” cruiser. Its styling is typical of all cruisers that follow in...
I recently stumbled across the Instagram profile of Cyu-G and his Yamaha SR400 cafe racer. Despite a language barrier we...
“My name is Teguh Setiawan. I’m a 23 years old and studying at a university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In 2012...
After spending two years working at the Italian custom workshop ‘Factory Moto di Ferro’, Maurizio decided to start Imbarcadero14 Venice....
Roaring machines to escape from the madness. This is the mantra of newly formed ‘Mellow Motorcycles’ in the south of Germany....
The weekend following the rider class, I bought my first bike. I was hooked. I picked up a 2009 Vulcan...
“We had a client from Perth in Australia contact us after he saw a picture of our Bronco Racer” recalls...
“Our concept was to build a retro-styled bike with modern elements and a comfortable riding position for everyday use. C-Racer...
“Azahar, who works as a senior Architect in Kuala Lumpur, is the creative and design man for Kerkus.” explains Azree...
The man who formulated the build was a Belgian by the name of Bernard. Bernard’s love for classic British motorcycles...
As it always goes, popularity affects price, so the days of picking up a bargain XS are gone and it...
A few years ago, James would hear his neighbor start up his old BMW, and after numerous conversations, he was...
It’s been some time since I featured a custom build from Italy’s South Garage. That doesn’t mean that Enzo and...
After acquiring the poor condition Bol D’Or in January of 2015 the brothers spent 2 months planning the build of...
“My bike, Paula Dean, was based on a ’76 Honda CB550k that cost us $500 in May of 2015. Work...
Launched in 2011 by Simone Spina and Danilo Del Raso, Officine 08 is made up of a team of 5...
Today the idea of building such a bike for the street sounds rather ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t...
Let’s face it. We’re not all experienced mechanics, welders, fabricators or industrial designers. We don’t know how to model in...
In the Netherlands custom specialists Wimoto were approached by Niels, the owner of a well kept 900SS who was looking...
“For years, I had watched all the motorcycle builder shows on TV and had always wanted to build my own...
At first glance you could mistakably name this bikes donor as a CX500, which is wrong, but not far off....
Obviously Honda’s little 400 four isn’t the biggest bike around. So the plan was to make it larger while retaining...
“As an artist, I love beautiful things. I also love making things. When I get passionate about something, it’s only...
Back in 2013 Ducati collaborated with Italian fashion label ‘Diesel’ to create a limited edition of their Monster 1100 evo....
The compact, muscular R1200R with it’s classic, flat twin engine and naked design was the perfect starting point, but it...
I recently became acquainted with Maximiliaan van Kuyk of Maverick motorcycles. Max and his brothers stumbled into the Cafe Racer...
It seems to have become customary for motorcycle manufacturers to leverage the hype surrounding the custom scene to release their...
Jeff’s story is one that might sound familiar. He found himself looking for a new source of income, and didn’t...
This year Donny has already seen an increased interest in custom motorcycles in Indonesia. Motorcycles have played a huge role...
This entire transformation was completed by one man with a few broken ribs. After acquiring a wrecked XBR12R, Miguel began...
Aside from being the most iconic of all Cafe Racers, what really makes the Triton special is how it came...
Since 1970 Dainese have been producing exceptional quality and top performing protective riding gear. Now, some 40 years later, they...
The quick turnaround on this build was made possible when Pat acquired the Virago as an unfinished project. “The previous...
Don’t get me wrong, the BMW thumper is a great utilitarian machine. The reliability of the simple 650cc Rotax engine...
My interest in motorcycles didn’t really blossom until around 15 years ago. My mother worries too much and me owning...
“My idea was to take a motorcycle built before the invasion of complex electronic gadgetry, but not so old it’d...
First thing I always look for in my helmets is safety ratings and the Nexx XG100 ticks the boxes being...
As far as timeframes go David says the Ad Hoc CB750 has been a hard one to wrap up. “Due...
Tower’s been messing about on bikes since he was a kid, but in 2008 a chance meeting with Ian Halcott...
The build started when a client came to Marcos looking for something “out of the norm” that could double as...
“Building motorcycles is probably the only thing I am good at.” professes Aseem. “The FS350, my first custom motorcycle, was...
Around 2 years ago MotoCorsa general manager Arun Sharma (the genius behind the ‘Manigale’ tongue in cheek ad campaign and...
What makes Saint’s riding gear so special? Saint has developed a process that allows them to weave Dyneema into...
Benjie’s Cafe Racers are back! After (successfully) trying their hand at building a few Scrambler and Tracker-styled builds they’ve returned...
Established in 2002 the K-Speed business is spread over 12 stores around Thailand with its head quarters in Bangkok. Eak...
With 200bhp on tap and an astounding 2.5 second 0-60mph time, the Vmax V4 engine is well suited to dragstrip...
“As a teenager I always wanted to build a custom motorcycle and spent my time (when I wasn’t riding) drawing...
Andrew Starkman and the team at Roast Moto in Phoenix Arizona pride themselves in spotting the potential in an old...
Unikat, which translates to ‘Unique Piece’, opened its doors a mere 18 months ago. It all began when Grzegorz completed...
“The Street Twin is our most contemporary, fun and accessible new Bonneville” – Triumph Motorcycles The Street Twin is the...
There are several amazing custom motorcycle shows happening in the United States right now that have made it onto my...
The ‘Super CB750 Cafe Racer’ is Dario’s demonstration of what can be done to solve the rider size conundrum. “I...
“I first met this bike and its owner at one of our cancer fundraisers in Dallas. The bike sounded like...
“Triumph has a glorious racing history” explained Matthias Becker of Hanse Qustom in Hamburg, Germany. “The ‘Shady Sam‘ is our...
Craig Rodsmith’s ’84 Interceptor project began when a fellow builder offloaded it to him. As Craig put it “He gave...
“My wife and mother-in-law used to call it the “Peter & Steven Show” whenever we would get together because we’d...
The Zonnevlek (meaning Sunspot in Dutch) was the brainchild of CW Zon duo Yuichi Yoshizawa and Yoshikazu Ueda. Since 2003...
Fast forward several decades and the Bol d’Or has become a relatively affordable alternative to the now, highly collectable and sought after...
Despite a challenging language barrier and being separated by a 10,000km expanse of land and sea, Maurizio Carraro of Imbarcadero...
In the years following the demise of the Sport Classics companies like Deus Ex Machina and a plethora of new...
This 350cc single may not be of the same caliber as the performance-focused machines we’ve come to expect from...
The BMW, which belongs to a friend of Weston, was originally introduced into the family by his ‘Uncle Lou’ and...
The story of Buell Motorcycles doesn’t have a happy ending. When Eric Buell started the company his vision for creating...
If you’re a fan of drift racing the name Nigel Petrie is sure to ring a bell. His ‘Engineered to...
More cruiser than sports bike in its styling the Diavel falls into a category of its own in the Ducati...
This is the second Cafe Racer conversion of a Scrambler that Mr Martini has created since the bikes release early...
Located in Graz, Austria ‘Vagabund Moto’ is the brainchild of designer Paul Brauchart and mechanical engineer Philipp Rabl. “Both of...
“In the fall of 2012 my good friend Brandon built a CB360. I saw the bike come together and I...
It’s been some time since we featured a custom Honda CX500 here on the site and what better way to...
“I’m a 23-year-old product developer living in Auckland, New Zealand. I decided a year ago that I wanted to...
When the invitation to modify Ducati’s Scrambler presented itself KRT Framework owner Marvin Diehl seized the opportunity. Fascinated by vintage...
“It’s been two and a half years since I left Brazil where I was born. I left home to pursue...
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 2 years since we first laid eyes on the Lotus C-01. With...
“I’m Jim Alonze from Scarborough, North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. I’ve been into bikes my whole life, from off...
Much like the ASK Motorcycles 2014 Yamaha SR125 ‘Material Woman’, Rad has continued his “very skinny, low and long” theme...
When I unpacked the Icon 1000 Basehawk jacket the first thing that impressed me about it was the jackets design....
Despite it’s torrid sales history the Trident was a magnificent motorcycle. Its engine performed incredibly, its frame provided track worthy...
“The Diva project was inspired by BMW motorcycles of twenties, taking their class and elegance and blending it with modern...
“The build started by changing the headlight to something that was more classically styled.” says Michael. “Then I removed the...
“I have been riding motorcycles on and off road for more than a decade and I wanted to combine my...
After careful design and build considerations, Tony decided that an alloy tank was the way to go. It would become...
“This was my first ever build, a ’76 Honda CB550 F1 Super Sport that I picked up from my mate...
When given the option to create his own version of the Suzuki GS450 the customer specified two must have modifications....
Hey Daryl, It’s been a while since we last spoke. What’s been happening at Bandit9? “There’s only one way to...
As Sofi explains it… “This Honda CB450 was brought to us earlier this year after an interesting encounter. A couple...
The world’s biggest Triumph motorcycle focused event ‘Tridays’ celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. Spanning 3 days the Austrian based...
“The One-Up Moto Garage name is relatively new to the game” says workshop founder Taylor Henschell. “I’ve been working under...
According to Mark Condon of BikeBiz “Our team really know their bikes, so depending on the customer we can give...
“The Concept Racer workshop is a project that was born officially at the beginning of 2014, before that we were...
The ‘21010 HELL’ bike by Rizoma (shown here) was unveiled at EICMA in Milan to showcase their Cafe Racer conversion...
Jeffry Sol’s BMW R nineT has been somewhat of a social media sensation since it was unveiled at the Big...
