In the scheme of things, 10 years isn’t all that long. But for a small business launched by a pair...
Kawasaki Cafe Racer
Kawasaki motorcycles have been in production since 1962. During the late sixties, the Japanese manufacturer established a foothold in the US market with their legendary H1 Mach III, a motorcycle that was both revered and feared for its straight-line speed and unpredictable handling. Today Kawasaki is one of the world’s most recognized motorcycle brands. From the iconic Z1000 of the seventies through to today’s supercharged, 330kmh+ H2 they continue to produce motorcycles that push the boundaries of performance. In recent years Kawasaki themselves have adopted the cafe racer style with their Z900RS series of motorcycles.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. The motorcycle that started it all, the 1972 Kawasaki...
2022 is the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. To help mark the occasion we’re looking at the...
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. The motorcycle that started it all, the 1972 Kawasaki...
The Z2 was an almost identical motorcycle to the Z1 aside from its engine. A modified bore and stroke, smaller carburettors...
What better inspiration could a man need when building his first custom bike than to be building it for his...
The Vulcan S ABS Café is Kawasaki’s “learner approved” cruiser. Its styling is typical of all cruisers that follow in...
They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. By now, with all the copycat builds it has inspired,...
Flexible back and knees are essential for successful Cafe Racer cornering techniques....
The success of the Studio Motor workshop has made Donny somewhat of a celebrity in the Indonesian custom scene. He’s...
“The Kwaka had stood still for at least 5 years and was running on only 3 cylinders. It puked fuel...
The 1974 Kawasaki KZ400 Cafe Racer underwent an extensive 500-hour build, featuring a powerful 400cc parallel twin engine with a...
This exquisite custom bike, crafted by Deus Customs, is a unique creation based on a 2004 Kawasaki W650 (EJ650). With...
In 2021 Markus Pintzinger celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his Thailand-based aftermarket parts store, Omega Racer. To commemorate the milestone anniversary...
Moto Lanna are a parts fabricator based in Chang Mai, Thailand. They recently got in touch regarding a link swap...
Named ‘Gunpowder’ the 1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100 is the work of Benny Lombardo and Antonello Zonna of Seven Motors. After the owner explained...
With 30 years of custom motorcycle building under his belt, Wolfgang Batz isn’t about to be influenced by other people’s...
So you wanna buy a spanking new motorcycle to ride around town and make it without having to touch your...
It seems strange now, but Kawasaki actually beat Triumph to the punch when it came to retro-styled motorcycles. First released...
Cafe Racer TV and Santiago Chopper’s will be auctioning off the KZ1000 Cafe Racer seen built during the TV series...
I finally had a chance to shoot some photos of my bike today, it’s a 2000 Kawasaki W650 Cafe Racer...
36-year-old Stefan Lantschner grew up on a farm in Italy where he developed an incurable fixation with motorcycles. His father...
The Japanese custom motorcycle scene is overflowing with all manner of unexpected and tantalizing two-wheeled wonders. Located in Ibaraki Prefecture,...
The last time we spoke to Derek and Sven from Belgium’s Barn Built Bikes they’d just finished building their stunning...
Another of my time wasting/research habits is trawling the internet for custom bike shops who build Cafe Racer style motorbikes...
Kawasaki’s ER6N first hit the streets in 2008 but the middleweight naked sports bike isn’t a motorcycle that often pops...
All hail the late 70’s; when men were men and motorcycles were deadly – really deadly. During the ’70s engine...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
A modern day Road Warrior In typical Deus style, their custom Kawasaki Z900RS is as outlandish and it is unique....
From time to time, you see something that makes it hard to believe your eyes. They call it cognitive dissonance;...
Let’s take a closer look at them… Kawasaki Z900RS Café Kawasaki had already unveiled their stunning new Z900RS at the Tokyo...
It’s been 2 years since Bimota released sketches of their Kawasaki powered retro sports bike concept. At this year’s EICMA...
When opportunity beckons what do you do? … let it pass you by or seize it? Whilst the decision for...
Motorcyclists like to moan about everything.
And the quickest way to start some premium groaning is to sell us a naked...
Courtesy of our friends FATclub in France comes this awesome Kwazaki Z900 Cafe Racer. “The FATclub is dedicated to special...
This Kawasaki KZ550 is the work of Jaka Martinuč who works in the financial sector, about as far removed from...
“I first met this bike and its owner at one of our cancer fundraisers in Dallas. The bike sounded like...
Today the idea of building such a bike for the street sounds rather ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t...
It’s hard to imagine that any good could come from breaking your neck. Things could have gone very differently when...
When I first met Ram Ram Januar at his home in Bandung, Indonesia he told me that he started his...
Although Nazar (aka Gazzz) has been repairing, riding and restoring motorcycles for 15 years he’s fairly new to the custom...
Although the 1978 Z1 successor didn’t live up to Kawasaki’s expectations in showrooms, the Z1-R is an iconic motorcycle and...
To Maurizio Carrero, founder of Imbarcadero 14 Venice in Italy, the Z1000 was more than an icon of motorcycle manufacturing.As...
“They don’t make them like they used to!” When you hear those words uttered it is generally with disdain. A...
My favourite ongoing series of custom motorcycle builds has just added 2 new “Retrograde Engineered” beasts to their line up....
The Kawasaki ZX-6, otherwise known as the ZZR600 in Europe, was the brand’s flagship middleweight sports bike of the nineties....
A while back we were approached by Just Bikes in Australia and invited to enter their Just Auto Legends campaign....
My first visit to Jakarta in 2014 was arranged for the sole purpose of visiting custom motorcycle workshops. We’d been...
If Benelli’s TNT 1130 and Kawasaki’s 650 Ninja had a romantic interlude this could well be the result. Based on...
There’s something strangely compelling about raw, handmade bodywork. To me it’s one of the finest demonstrations of skill and creativity....
I’m an advocate of recycling. I separate my paper and plastic rubbish and I buy recycled products, so when I...
I’ve been toying with the idea of posting this custom ’76 Kawasaki KH100 for some time and decided today to...
In 1980 Vetter designed and built a very limited run of 10 Mystery Ship motorcycles based on Kawasaki’s KZ1000 MKII....
By my definition an ‘attempt’ is usually when you try to do something and it doesn’t quite work out. I...
Rat Bikes like their 4 wheeled cousins, Rat Rods are what some people would consider to be a “piece of...
“Simple but sweet” is one way to sum up La Corona’s portfolio of custom motorcycles. To think that recreating this...
Winter has not been kind to my bike. I made the move to Melbourne in Jan and moved in to...
I could now list off the modifications and parts used in the construction of the Fiddler but seeing as Deus...
I’m a sucker for a W, so when the boys from Ton Up Garage in Portugal sent through their latest...
After owning a Kawasaki W650 for 5 years I can quite confidently say they are one of the best performing...
Anyone that’s been following this site since its launch knows it all started with the purchase of a Kawasaki W650....
Le Gicleur Noire Black, black and more black. The Le Gicleur Noire which translates to “Always bet on black” is...
After being less than impressed by the official promotional video for the 2011 Kawasaki W800 I took it upon myself to...
2012 marked the 40th anniversary of Kawasaki’s legendary Z series of motorcycles. To celebrate the Zeds 4 decades of manufacture...
Green is most certainly the colour of envy. Gia Mi Racing are back again with another modern take on Cafe...
While most aspects of motorcycle design have come a long way since the 70s, there and several that haven’t. Take...
Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to test ride almost every new modern classic, retro sports and...
I have to confess I tend to get a bit excited when a motorcycle manufacturer announces they are releasing a...
Towards the end of 2017 when the Tokyo Motor and EICMA shows took place I got more than a little...
This post apocalyptic road warrior is Icon’s Kawasaki ZX-7 ‘Thunder Chunky’. It’s the latest addition to Icon’s series of custom...
Although the Kawasaki Z650 might be considered by many to be the low powered cousin of the Z1, it actually...
While Rickman Motorcycles started out producing frames and body kits for British made motorcycles in the seventies they turned their...
When we reviewed the Kawasaki Z900RS Z900RS cafe back in 2018 we noticed something familiar about its styling. Kawasaki stated the...
Suzuki Katana. Honda Dominator. Kawasaki Ninja. These are all bike names that inspire visions of power and awesomeness. In some...
There are several amazing custom motorcycle shows happening in the United States right now that have made it onto my...
I don’t know know why green is a popular colour for these little Cafe Racers but I have to say...
Detlev Louis is a German motorcycle riding gear manufacturer with more than 8 decades of experience under its belt. Unsurprisingly...
When the hype of the Lotus C0-1 concept reached its climax everyone was talking about it. Every motorcycle blog and...
In 1979 the first Mad Max film was released in Australian cinemas. It depicted director George Miller’s vision of a...
It’s been 4 years since the Kawasaki Z900RS went on sale. In the lead-up to its release, Kawasaki adopted a...
“No Time. No Territory. Just an atitude inspired in the past and dressed to impress.” – Maria Motorcycles ...
I’m always excited to feature a build from a country we haven’t previously visited here on the Return of the...
Based on a 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 this bike is a rolling eulogy to 1970s composite creativity. During the ’60s and...
Just like the Boom Town Rats “I don’t like Mondays”. I do however like motorcycles…a lot! Here’s this weeks Monday...
I’m back on the W650 again! Got loads of time in the saddle this weekend, but it’s never enough!...
As someone who has a history of heart disease in their family, I know all too well how devastating it...
In 1986 girls swooned and guys headed to the nearest motorcycle dealership at the sight of Tom Cruise astride his Top...
If you’ve read my ride review of the 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS or its cafe racer counterpart, you’d know I‘m rather...
It may come as a surprise, but cafe racers aren’t the only style of custom motorcycle I admire. Back when...
Such is the iconic status of the 1970s Kawasaki Z900 that these days they are more commonly restored than customised....
In the early eighties, a clever member of the Kawasaki marketing team thought it’d be a good idea to produce...
By definition, the Kawasaki ZRX1100 is a Universal Japanese Motorcycle, otherwise referred to as standard. But in our opinion, there...
According to Sven Decoux of Barn Built Motorcycles, the decision to customise a Kawasaki ZR7 was more ‘right place, right...
Before I get into this feature let me first say hello to my Indonesian readers. I know you guys make...
“My background has nothing to do with either mechanics nor handcrafting vehicles,” confesses Jordi. “When I decided to make my...
Looking over the photos it’s the smaller details that really make his bike special. The W650 features a spattering of...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
The motorcycle above it’s a custom Kawasaki Ninja 250r from Donny in Jakarta, Indonesia. The time it takes to build...
My parents once gifted me an old Toyota. Mum was worried about me riding and thought that giving me a...
Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse one of our favourite motorcycle events on the planet got cancelled....
