Shortly after moving to New Braunfels, Texas we became friends with Karly Kothmann and her husband Tanner. Blake and I...
Honda Cafe Racer
Honda is currently the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan. In the 1960s they became a household name in the USA thanks to their “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” advertising campaign. By the 1980s, they produced upwards of 3 million bikes a year. The Honda CB750 has been credited with being the world’s first superbike and has become the poster child of the modern cafe racer scene.
“The idea we discussed was to make a simple, beastly motorcycle,” Fre recalls. “A clean and pure machine that was all...
This project began last September. I had just sold my ‘79 Honda CB750 named ‘smooth sailing’ to a famous NFL...
One builder who perfectly blends race track styling into his road-going motorcycles it’s Pepo Rosell of XTR Pepo. However, to...
“The ’73 CB350F came to the workshop as a reasonably well-done cafe racer with a quite tidy tail section and...
“We wanted a fully customized bike with modern cafe racer styling and bulletproof reliability,” says Iñaki. “Because of that, we...
The team at Honda Indonesia have been watching the scene closely and for 2017 have launched a new initiative to...
One of Edi’s latest achievements is this 1981 Honda CB900 cafe racer. It’s one of two new builds to roll...
A surefire way to look really goddamn cool is to be seen stretched out over a long, low fuel tank,...
“We have been so consumed with customer work that we haven’t been able to build a shop bike since we...
Thankfully the F2’s engine was its saving grace. Even though the bike used a detuned version of Honda’s air-cooled inline...
Starting life as a 1989 Honda CG125, the “De Palma 05” is the latest machine to roll out of their...
Ironically, this journey began with a puncture. A nail to the rear tire a few weeks into owning my Honda...
When I started pulling this list together I was expecting to get a fairly balanced bunch of bikes. By this,...
Ten years after Honda turned the motorcycling world on its head with the release of the CB750, they decided it...
Why is it that when you really want to focus on something life throws a constant stream of distractions at...
After picking the best of the two 1966 Honda CB160s we decided that this would be a build completed entirely...
I stuck with motorcycles mainly because they take up less space than cars, and are generally cheaper. I got into...
The project and the donor bike arrived at the Kerkus workshop via Singapore. After an artist from the Lion City...
After 2 years of running his business after hours, Wido managed to turn Wimoto into his full-time career and now, 2.5...
After the success of the K0, thanks to Dick Mann’s efforts at the Daytona 200 on the Honda CR750 racebike,...
Our first build was Zeke’s “Lucky” Honda CB200 cafe racer. He tells me he’s done the ton on it, but...
“I’m a carpenter by trade and have always worked with my hands. I started riding a motorbike in March 2014...
I’ve had a rather unhealthy obsession with Honda’s CR750 for as long as I can recall. I think it stems...
Rob Chappell of Canada’s ‘Origin8or’ workshop is no stranger to customising Honda’s CB900F. A few years back he built one...
Dual Sport motorcycles have very different proportions to your average cafe racer, so Isidore set about salvaging and retro-fitting the...
Thanks to a huge increase in the popularity of the custom motorcycle scene many hobby builders have turned a passion...
“My first encounter with motorcycles goes back to when I was a child, maybe 8 or 9 years old. My...
So how did KickMoto get started? Jeff: We all met through a mutual friend and hit it off because of...
When he’s not designing race-winning catamarans, French-Canadian professor in electronics, Sylvain Carignan likes to turn his hand to custom motorcycle...
“I studied industrial design in university where I developed my own design aesthetic” explains Spencer. “During my studies I also...
Daryl Villanueva, the main man behind Bandit9 got in touch to tell us about this exclusive limited edition machine. “It’s...
Since moving to the States from Japan Kiyo has played an important part in the Californian custom scene working on...
“It all started with my toy bikes as a child. I would cut off parts with my scissors and colour...
“Lex was very specific about his wishes.” says Bran. “As the owner of an advertisement company, he had a very...
Can you imagine the horror at Moto Guzzi’s HQ when Honda unveiled their first CX500 in 1978? A Japanese manufacturer...
Bad Winners workshop owner Walid was exposed to working on motorcycles from an early age. Tinkering on bikes with an...
A few years back I met Cliff Overton, a fellow cafe racer enthusiast, and backyard builder. When Cliff completed his...
“My bike is a 1976 Honda CB750K6. I have been working on it on and off for about a year...
After deciding to open their workshop back in 2015 this was the second custom build that the Wrench Kings undertook...
For anyone who enjoys tinkering with motorcycles, there will come a day when you’ll need to invest in some real...
Much like their Honda CB550 “SL” cafe racer the CB350 has undergone a comprehensive rebuild. “Marek rebuilt the engine completely”...
“As a child my father used to race enduro and motocross professionally but had to retire early because he had...
Today’s feature is about a different breed of Z. It’s a totally revised and, for lack of a better term,...
These days the chance of anyone having the privilege of owning or riding an RC166 are slim to none, but...
It’s no secret that Honda’s CX series from the late 70’s has gone through a resurgence in the last five...
When an expert in form works with a master of function the results can be breathtaking. After being blown away...
“The customer brought me a donor bike that most would’ve considered a ‘lost cause’. The engine was far beyond running,...
Your first ride on a motorcycle is probably as memorable as your first kiss. Full of excitement and fear as...
After receiving a tip off from a friend the boys got their hands on a well priced, running 1975...
The weekend following the rider class, I bought my first bike. I was hooked. I picked up a 2009 Vulcan...
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...
“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...
Jeff’s story is one that might sound familiar. He found himself looking for a new source of income, and didn’t...
As far as timeframes go David says the Ad Hoc CB750 has been a hard one to wrap up. “Due...
“As a teenager I always wanted to build a custom motorcycle and spent my time (when I wasn’t riding) drawing...
Unikat, which translates to ‘Unique Piece’, opened its doors a mere 18 months ago. It all began when Grzegorz completed...
The ‘Super CB750 Cafe Racer’ is Dario’s demonstration of what can be done to solve the rider size conundrum. “I...
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...
Fast forward several decades and the Bol d’Or has become a relatively affordable alternative to the now, highly collectable and sought after...
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 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...
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...
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 One-Up Moto Garage name is relatively new to the game” says workshop founder Taylor Henschell. “I’ve been working under...
Arxaperiment designer Ndikol started his first build in 2011 with some guidance from a local mechanic and metalworker. Using his...
Like most Swedes Oscar started his 2 wheeled life on a moped at age 15. After spending a few years...
At only 7 months old Cafe Racer SSpirit is one of the new kids on the block in Spain’s custom...
I’ve been following the Stories of Bike video series since it began and had the pleasure of meeting its creator Cam Elkins...
Established in 2006 the 7Seven Custom workshop in Slovenia is all too familiar with the late model CB750’s. Back...
Just when I thought I’d see as many custom Honda CX500’s as I could stomach, along comes a build so...
In 2012 Scott Halbleid left his career as a graphic designer to focus his efforts on building custom motorcycles. As...
I love a good collaboration. When one brand recognises the benefits of joining forces with another amazing things can happen....
Honda’s journey into the world of 90-degree v-twins may have only be a short one, but their CX500 still gains...
“I bought this motorcycle from a friend at the end of November 2013. After riding it around for 2 months...
It’s true. Sometimes the simple things in life are often the best. Take for example this super clean CB750 build...
One of the biggest highlights for me when we were pulling together issue 6 of Tank Moto Magazine also happened...
Siberia. 13 million square kilometres of the most sparsely populated land on Earth and as it turns out, home to one of...
If you’ve been following Return of the Cafe Racers for a while you’ll have figured out I’m a fan of...
I will be the first to admit I’m hopelessly nostalgic. So when I come across a story of a father...
Custom motorcycle builds usually start out as an idea, but more often than not ideas change. While these changes usually...
To launch the new workshop Gregorio got his hands on a stock ’92 Honda CB750. A reliable, well designed and...
Honda’s Moto Guzzi-Esque CX500 has been enjoying a huge resurgence in the custom scene. It seems that ever since the...
As 2014 comes to an end I thought I’d take a (close up) look at some of the incredible work...
What once was old is new again. Rather than looking for new materials to shape the bodywork of...
Honda’s CX500. The Japanese manufacturers only venture into the world of horizontally opposed twins. In many ways, the CX was...
We’ve all seen the listings on eBay. “Perfect project bike”, “Needs some attention”, “It’s all there, just requires reassembling!”. The...
Let’s face it. We don’t all possess the ability to rebuild an engine, to hand form steel or to even...
If you’ve been following Return of the Cafe Racers on Instagram or Facebook you’ll have seen that I recently attended Kustomfest in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The show...
“My name is Nils J. Ksienzyk and I’m a 28 year old bike builder from Germany. From the age of...
In Singapore, you can be sentenced to jail for selling chewing gum… imagine what they do to people whose exhaust...
