After a complete tear down the XJR’s subframe was trimmed to tighten the bike’s proportions. In place of the original...
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.
Some people find it a real struggle to sit still. Take Stu Lloyd for example. It hasn’t even been 4...
Vintage Steele of Brattleboro, Vermont, transformed this 1975 Yamaha XS650 into a café-racer. The bodywork, featuring the original four-gallon fuel...
Nothing beats a hand me down, especially when it’s in the form of a motorcycle. When Christian was given his...
When you are the organiser of what is arguably the biggest custom motorcycle event in the world it goes without...
Shaft driven motorcycles have been around since the early 1900’s, but Yamaha’s shaft driven debut didn’t come until the late...
These days you don’t get much of a bike for 300 quid. Every now and then though you hear about...
All hail Yamaha. As part of their Yard Built series they’ve been sponsoring some of the wildest, genre-pushing builds we’ve...
Firstly a design was rendered in conjunction with Oberdan Bezzi Design which took styling cues from the Yamaha FZ750, a...
While the idea of belting down a freeway at a ton and a half on a big bore Cafe Racer...
The Yamaha Yardbuilt series will soon be celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Originally the brainchild of Yamaha Project Manager, Shun...
The Wrenchmonkees have just released details of the bike that represents a half-century of custom motorcycle builds from the Denmark based...
Trevers father, John Scales, was a 2 stroke road racer during the 1970s. “I heard so many stories from my...
The Eau Rouge Yamaha XJR1300 features a plethora of custom fabricated components made in house by the Deus Italian workshop....
There are countless failures throughout automotive history. All of the big motorcycle manufacturers have at least one they’d prefer to...
With 200bhp on tap and an astounding 2.5 second 0-60mph time, the Vmax V4 engine is well suited to dragstrip...
As with the other Yamaha XJR1300 Yardbuilt bikes the Botafogo-N was constructed without performing any modifications to the bike’s frame....
To improve the v-twin’s power and torque Yamaha fit the SRV with a beefier cam profile, two carburetors rather than...
In the early 1980s, Yamaha introduced a new family of four-stroke motorcycles, with the XJ550 being one of them. These...
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...
Despite its huge success, the Yamaha XSR700 is, in my opinion, one of the least classic-looking modern-retro motorcycles on the...
The Yamaha TX650, introduced in the early 1970s, was a motorcycle designed to rival the dwindling popularity of British twins....
“My name is Teguh Setiawan. I’m a 23 years old and studying at a university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In 2012...
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. For seasoned motorcyclists, nostalgia can quickly become an obsession. A chance sighting of a beloved...
When I think about Bobbers my mind conjures up images of cruising along a winding coastal road, sitting comfortably atop...
The Yamaha SR400 was the poster child of the “new wave” custom scene back in ’08/’09. Thanks to workshops like...
I know I’m probably going to get a few frowns for this as it’s certainly not a Cafe Racer,...
I first met the Ask Motorcycle guys when I went to the Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod and custom show in...
Greg Hageman, aka Hageman Motorcycles, aka Doc Chops may not have been the first to build a Virago cafe racer,...
After my recent purchase of a Yamaha TW200 I have rediscovered my love of “little” bikes. While I’m not about...
The red ‘Monster’ which was built back in 2013 for the Yokohama Hot Rod and Custom Show and the blue...
Andi Akbar and his Jakarta based workshop Katros Garage aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. Katros Garage has continued...
“Yamaha and Abarth have created the XSR900 Abarth – a lightweight high-performance retro special whose authentic café racer design reflects...
The Modern Motorcycle Company is a custom workshop based in Melbourne, Victoria. Owned and run by Christian Condo the workshop...
The Arcanum build began when I picked up a ‘78 Yamaha SR500 from a guy in Newcastle, it was an...
“We want to challenge the trope of nostalgic and aesthetically led custom motorcycles by encouraging others to experiment with the...
The XJR1300 was delivered to the Denmark workshop of the Wrenchmonkees with the basic brief of “make it even better”....
Theo’s Frankenstein bike started out as a ‘96 Yamaha TRX but very few TRX components remain. The new engine hails...
Boner…That’s what this custom Yamaha XS650 is called. Not your usual custom build title but Death Spray Customs isn’t your...
Mark Bliss is a man of many talents, but it’s his work with motorcycles he’s most proud of. Both of...
Thanks to their continued support of custom workshops, Yamaha Motorcycles have played an integral role in the growth of the...
Neo-retro cafe racers have certainly become “a thing”. Merging retro styling with modern engineering is a very appealing proposition for...
There was always a motorcycle in our house when I was growing up, but my father’s real passion was collectible...
Recently found XS650 Chopper website which has a load of custom Yamaha XS650 projects. Great for inspiration or to just perve on...
I met Michael Capraro some years ago at a communal motorcycle workshop I was involved in. His enthusiasm for bikes...
Yamaha’s XS650 would have to be in the top 5 list of most customised motorcycle in the world. It’s bullet...
The Yamaha XV920 ‘Double Shot’ is a prime example of Yamaha’s timeless cruising motorcycle, skillfully transformed and rebuilt in the...
There’s two ways you can build a custom motorcycle. One way is to have a design idea that’s laid out...
The mighty Yamaha XS650 has been a hot favourite in the custom scene for decades and a personal favourite of...
In Osaka, Japan 28-year-old cafe racer enthusiast Yuya Ueda has been riding his SR400 for 8 years and it’s lead...
The Yamaha Yardbuilt series has been running for an impressive 7 years now. Since then Yamaha has commissioned over 50...
Daniel cut his teeth on cars and bikes at a young age. “I drove my first moped at the age...
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...
To start with can you tell us where the bikes name “Tramontana” comes from? Spartak: This is the bike’s name...
Adrián Campos and the crew at Spain’s Bolt Motor Co. are back again with yet another impressive build. This time...
Moto Nisto of Ypsilanti, Michigan, expertly transformed this 1980 Yamaha XS650 into a stunning Cafe Racer. The modifications done on...
Yamaha produced the mighty TZ 250 from 1973 all the way through to 2004. When the model was first released...
When great minds come together, great things happen. Often in the world of custom motorcycle building workshops keep to themselves....
If you’re going to customise a motorcycle it’s always best to start out with a bike that’s got a good...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
There’s beauty in simplicity. Apple have proved that with their design approach and in the custom motorcycle world that...
In motorsport, race teams are always looking for new ways to improve lap times. Back in the fifties when motorcycles...
Andrew Starkman and the team at Roast Moto in Phoenix Arizona pride themselves in spotting the potential in an old...
Deus Bali appeared on the scene only a few short months ago and it seems they are already wheeling some...
For a motorcycle that once laid claim to being the quickest street production bike, the Kawasaki 500 Triples certainly have...
After more than 35 years of production, the Yamaha SR400 has had little in the way of design modifications. The...
To transform the XV950 cruiser into a cafe racer styled machine Marcus began by dramatically modifying the bikes rear end....
Jesse attributes his interest in building bikes to a 1971 Honda CB175 he restored with his father at the age...
Yamaha’s legendary XS650, it’s reputation precedes it. The XS is one of the most widely customised bikes in the world so to...
Brrr… Lars and Jorg of Motorradtke GbR in Germany traditionally build and maintain Superbikes for the race track. However after...
Bernhard Naumann, aka Blechmann, grew up in Burgenland, a federal state of Austria in central Europe. Growing up in a...
With a name like “Vintage Addiction”, it’s odd to see the YZF sitting in their build portfolio, but when the...
With a workshop name like “it roCKS!bikes” the Portugese builders Osvaldo Coutinho and Alexandre Santos have set the bar high...
Yamaha’s ‘Race Developed’ series of motorcycles from the early seventies left a lasting impression on the motorcycling world. The 1973...
British vs Japanese engineering. It’s a debate that I’ve often heard between motorcyclists. It’s easy to see why each party...
The Yamaha XS-V1 Sakura (Prototype ie coming soon!) oozes Cafe Racer style and should pck plenty of punch based on...
The bike Spartak’s customer found was a rare find in his hometown of Minsk, a late eighties Yamaha XJ600. The...
Back in 2016, Yamaha bit itself off a decent-sized chunk of the modern retro market with the release of the...
Yet another outstanding issue of Fuel Magazine is just about to hit the shelves. Grab a copy to see my...
This Yamaha XS650 stands out as a captivating and tastefully modified representation of the popular classic Japanese motorcycle. Crafted into...
During the mid-70s, the Yamaha RD400 was the ultimate middleweight sport bike. Known for its explosive power and lightweight frame...
Few motorcycles have the cult status of Yamaha’s SR400. During the past decade, the SR has come into the spotlight...
I’ve worked on my fair share of custom builds to know that things can get a little stressful. When I...
It’s getting easier and easier to build a cafe racer. It used to be that you’d either have to pay...
The old saying ‘practice makes perfect’ rings true in the custom motorcycle community. Over the years I’ve seen many builders...
I recently stumbled across the Instagram profile of Cyu-G and his Yamaha SR400 cafe racer. Despite a language barrier we...
Spotted this great Yamaha R5 “Giant Killer” custom on Garage Project motorcycles. After a bit of digging all I managed to...
The Blue Rhapsody takes its main inspiration from the 90’s race bikes Keinosuke saw on the streets of Japan in...
I spent the weekend in Sydney celebrating a mates Birthday (which I am still recovering from!) and while I was...
Opening up the emails I receive through the “Submit a motorcycle” link on the site is one of my favourite...
Just got home after spending the day out with the guys from Fuel Tank TV and Christian from Modern Motorcycles....
Unless you’re living in one of those rule-free American states where they let tipsy 13-year-olds ride drag bikes on public...
This 1982 Yamaha XV750 Virago has undergone extensive customization with a range of unique components. These custom additions include a...
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