There was a time when it seemed that every other custom build to roll out of a workshop was built...
Yamaha Cafe Racer
Yamaha’s first motorcycle appeared in 1955. The 125cc two-stroke YA-1 went straight to the racetrack and started winning titles. Yamaha has built on those race credentials over the years, winning at the IOM TT and the Paris Dakar. Yamaha continues to run a successful factory race team in Moto GP.
Yamaha’s contribution to the custom motorcycle world includes the highly successful and long loved SR400 and SR500 singles we see in so many café racer builds. Other Yamaha custom favourites include the seventies XS650 twins and more recently their XSR700 and XSR900 Sport Heritage range.
“Sport Heritage” Never has the combination of those two words made as much sense as when applied to the Yamaha...
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...
As it always goes, popularity affects price, so the days of picking up a bargain XS are gone and it...
The quick turnaround on this build was made possible when Pat acquired the Virago as an unfinished project. “The previous...
Tower’s been messing about on bikes since he was a kid, but in 2008 a chance meeting with Ian Halcott...
“Building motorcycles is probably the only thing I am good at.” professes Aseem. “The FS350, my first custom motorcycle, was...
With 200bhp on tap and an astounding 2.5 second 0-60mph time, the Vmax V4 engine is well suited to dragstrip...
Andrew Starkman and the team at Roast Moto in Phoenix Arizona pride themselves in spotting the potential in an old...
“I have been riding motorcycles on and off road for more than a decade and I wanted to combine my...
A collaboration with El Solitario seemed like the perfect pairing for Yamaha’s next Yard Built project, but as El Solitario’s...
This may sound ridiculous, but sometimes I wish I lived in a place where riding during winter wasn’t an option....
As with the other Yamaha XJR1300 Yardbuilt bikes the Botafogo-N was constructed without performing any modifications to the bike’s frame....
While Yamaha has previously focused on customising bikes from their Sports Heritage range during the Yardbuilt series, Faster Sons will...
I first met the Ask Motorcycle guys when I went to the Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod and custom show in...
Dressed all in black the Skullmonkee is easily recognisable as a Wrenchmonkees build. Tight proportions, clean lines, killer finishes...
No sooner had the doors of the 2015 One Motorcycle Show closed for another year, than the brothers Busch and...
I’ve been covering the Yamaha Yardbuilt series of custom bikes for some time now and have really enjoyed the projects...
Shaft driven motorcycles have been around since the early 1900’s, but Yamaha’s shaft driven debut didn’t come until the late...
As 2014 comes to an end I thought I’d take a (close up) look at some of the incredible work...
To transform the XV950 cruiser into a cafe racer styled machine Marcus began by dramatically modifying the bikes rear end....
The Arcanum build began when I picked up a ‘78 Yamaha SR500 from a guy in Newcastle, it was an...
The Blue Rhapsody takes its main inspiration from the 90’s race bikes Keinosuke saw on the streets of Japan in...
The red ‘Monster’ which was built back in 2013 for the Yokohama Hot Rod and Custom Show and the blue...
Firstly a design was rendered in conjunction with Oberdan Bezzi Design which took styling cues from the Yamaha FZ750, a...
With a workshop name like “it roCKS!bikes” the Portugese builders Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos have set the bar high...
While the idea of belting down a freeway at a ton and a half on a big bore Cafe Racer...
Is it just me or does this look like insanely good fun? There’s no denying that Yamaha’s legendary SR400 is...
Santi García has been contributing to the build portfolio at the Barcelona workshop of La Carono motorcycles for the past...
After more than 35 years of production, the Yamaha SR400 has had little in the way of design modifications. The...
The Eau Rouge Yamaha XJR1300 features a plethora of custom fabricated components made in house by the Deus Italian workshop....
“Years ago I rode a ’72 Yamaha XS650 from California to Sturgis. I was wearing a Walmart rain suit in...
British vs Japanese engineering. It’s a debate that I’ve often heard between motorcyclists. It’s easy to see why each party...
The mighty Yamaha XS650 has been a hot favourite in the custom scene for decades and a personal favourite of...
The custom Yamaha SR250’s are taking over! After last week’s C59R “Little Blue” custom Tracker build from Barcelona we’ve headed...
After my recent purchase of a Yamaha TW200 I have rediscovered my love of “little” bikes. While I’m not about...
Yamaha’s legendary XS650, it’s reputation precedes it. The XS is one of the most widely customised bikes in the world so to...
After one full day of owning the 1979 XS650 Special Giancarlo’s called it quits. Stranded on the side of the...
If you ask me there’s two types of custom build, the clean and the down right dirty. Richard and Lex...
Down here in Australia it seems like Mother Nature’s hell bent on killing us all off. Our surrounding oceans are...
Theo’s Frankenstein bike started out as a ‘96 Yamaha TRX but very few TRX components remain. The new engine hails...
“I guess, it’s a modern take on a Cafe Racer, but I was born around 20 years too late to...
For a motorcycle that once laid claim to being the quickest street production bike, the Kawasaki 500 Triples certainly have...
“Raw & Rough. I´ve always wanted a little Cafe Racer for the urban and offroad section. It’s a kind of a...
What you’ll also notice about this Yamaha XS850 Special is it’s a tad rough around the edges (which makes it even more appealing...
This Cafe Racer thumper hails from the Japanese workshop Gull Craft. It’s an extensively modified Yamaha SR400 Cafe Racer complete...
The XJR1300 was delivered to the Denmark workshop of the Wrenchmonkees with the basic brief of “make it even better”....
For the Hyper Modified campaign Yamaha approached three well known custom builders and gave them a straight to the point...
There’s beauty in simplicity. Apple have proved that with their design approach and in the custom motorcycle world that...
These days you don’t get much of a bike for 300 quid. Every now and then though you hear about...
Tim Kills BSA A65 Bobber On November 3rd & 4th I co-hosted a custom motorcycle exhibition in Melbourne named Oil...
Not content with simply building a tidy Yamaha SR based Cafe Racer, the crew at Rocker Classic Cycles decided to...
The Wrenchmonkees have just released details of the bike that represents a half-century of custom motorcycle builds from the Denmark based...
Yet another outstanding issue of Fuel Magazine is just about to hit the shelves. Grab a copy to see my...
There’s two ways you can build a custom motorcycle. One way is to have a design idea that’s laid out...
This post apocalyptic road warrior is Icon’s Kawasaki ZX-7 ‘Thunder Chunky’. It’s the latest addition to Icon’s series of custom...
It’s not often that I feature Bobbers on the site and even less often that I feature custom motorcycles from...
I’ve always been intrigued by Yamaha’s MT-01 V-twin “muscle bike”. Back in 2008 I got really excited when they released...
If you’re going to customise a motorcycle it’s always best to start out with a bike that’s got a good...
This is the Mongrel. A custom Yamaha XT600 haling from the darker side of Sydney’s Cafe Racer scene. The Mongrel...
I spent the weekend in Sydney celebrating a mates Birthday (which I am still recovering from!) and while I was...
The Yamaha features the same Benelli 360 tank and custom seat combo that Greg used on the last Virago, but...
Opening up the emails I receive through the “Submit a motorcycle” link on the site is one of my favourite...
Yamaha’s XS650 would have to be in the top 5 list of most customised motorcycle in the world. It’s bullet...
Brrr… Lars and Jorg of Motorradtke GbR in Germany traditionally build and maintain Superbikes for the race track. However after...
You’ll have to forgive me for veering off the Cafe Racer path slightly but when I see a custom motorcycle like this...
Looking at this custom Yamaha SR500 built in Japan turns me in to the equivalent of that crazy fish in Finding...
Boner…That’s what this custom Yamaha XS650 is called. Not your usual custom build title but Death Spray Customs isn’t your...
Spotted this great Yamaha R5 “Giant Killer” custom on Garage Project motorcycles. After a bit of digging all I managed to...
Nothing beats a hand me down, especially when it’s in the form of a motorcycle. When Christian was given his...
Here’s a great segment from the cutting room floor of Cafe Racer TV. In this online episode they reveal the...
If you happen to be near The Dues Ex Machina store in Camperdown Sydney this week a quick visit is definitely in...
Just got home after spending the day out with the guys from Fuel Tank TV and Christian from Modern Motorcycles....
When I think about Bobbers my mind conjures up images of cruising along a winding coastal road, sitting comfortably atop...
Since launching Return of the Cafe Racers back in 2006 I have only come across two builders who have managed...
Most custom motorcycles rolling out of workshops tend to be polished to perfection or feature paint jobs more expensive than...
Feast your eyes on Jay LaRossa’s 1978 Yamaha SR500 “Solus” in this short video by Ricki Bedenbaugh. This video reminds me of...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
I know I’m probably going to get a few frowns for this as it’s certainly not a Cafe Racer,...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
Yamaha XS650 Classic Cafe built by the Wheely shop. A beautiful balance of old styling and modern technology. ...
The Winning Loser. Saved from a scrapyard and transformed in to a piece of custom motorcycle art, this Yamaha SR 250...
Deus Bali appeared on the scene only a few short months ago and it seems they are already wheeling some...
The Varkain (“Finnish for By Stealth”) Yamaha SR400 is one of my favourite creations to come out of Raider Motorsports...
The Modern Motorcycle Company is a custom workshop based in Melbourne, Victoria. Owned and run by Christian Condo the workshop...
Berry Bads Motorcycles are yet another Japanese custom tuner/builder who’s work has caught my attention. With a gallery full of Bobbers,...
Recently found XS650 Chopper website which has a load of custom Yamaha XS650 projects. Great for inspiration or to just perve on...
On a recent trip to Sydney I stuck my head in at Deus (as always) and grabbed a copy of...
The Yamaha XS-V1 Sakura (Prototype ie coming soon!) oozes Cafe Racer style and should pck plenty of punch based on...
Established by Dare Jennings, Rod Hunwick and Carby Tuckwell, Deus ex Machina in Camperdown, Sydney, produces motorcycles for the post-modern world. What the hell...
At the end of World War 2 many British motorcycle manufacturers were on the verge of closure or had already...
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