When we reviewed the Kawasaki Z900RS Z900RS cafe back in 2018 we noticed something familiar about its styling. Kawasaki stated the...
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.
They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. By now, with all the copycat builds it has inspired,...
Earlier this month the first series of the Essenza 1/8th mile sprint challenge was completed at the Glemseck festival in Leonberg,...
It’s been 2 years since Bimota released sketches of their Kawasaki powered retro sports bike concept. At this year’s EICMA...
Today the idea of building such a bike for the street sounds rather ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t...
I don’t know know why green is a popular colour for these little Cafe Racers but I have to say...
When the hype of the Lotus C0-1 concept reached its climax everyone was talking about it. Every motorcycle blog and...
A modern day Road Warrior In typical Deus style, their custom Kawasaki Z900RS is as outlandish and it is unique....
Ever since seeing the “We R Winning” short documentary about Twinline Motorcycles I’ve been a huge fan of the Seattle...
At the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show last weekend the Japanese manufacturer wowed the motorcycling world once again with the all-new, retro-styled...
36-year-old Stefan Lantschner grew up on a farm in Italy where he developed an incurable fixation with motorcycles. His father...
It seems strange now, but Kawasaki actually beat Triumph to the punch when it came to retro-styled motorcycles. First released...
In 2021 Markus Pintzinger celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his Thailand-based aftermarket parts store, Omega Racer. To commemorate the milestone anniversary...
As someone who has a history of heart disease in their family, I know all too well how devastating it...
“They don’t make them like they used to!” When you hear those words uttered it is generally with disdain. A...
“I acquired this 1980 KZ440 in bits from a friend who had lost interest in the project.” recalls 26 year...
What better inspiration could a man need when building his first custom bike than to be building it for his...
This exquisite custom bike, crafted by Deus Customs, is a unique creation based on a 2004 Kawasaki W650 (EJ650). With...
A while back we were approached by Just Bikes in Australia and invited to enter their Just Auto Legends campaign....
All you need to do is remove the right side cover by unscrewing the 2 screws on the side and...
By definition, the Kawasaki ZRX1100 is a Universal Japanese Motorcycle, otherwise referred to as standard. But in our opinion, there...
Some will call it sacrilege but I have a soft spot for resto-mods. The thinking behind a resto-mod is simple....
As 2014 comes to an end I thought I’d take a (close up) look at some of the incredible work...
This Kawasaki GPZ900R Ninja had been a faithful companion to its owner for years. During that time, the bike had...
While most aspects of motorcycle design have come a long way since the 70s, there and several that haven’t. Take...
The Kawasaki 500-cc Mach III (a.k.a. H1) earned a place in history as a legendary two-stroke triple. The H1 was...
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...
Replacing the rear tail light on the W650 is probably one of the simplest modifications I have done so Far...
From time to time, you see something that makes it hard to believe your eyes. They call it cognitive dissonance;...
It may come as a surprise, but cafe racers aren’t the only style of custom motorcycle I admire. Back when...
In 1980 Vetter designed and built a very limited run of 10 Mystery Ship motorcycles based on Kawasaki’s KZ1000 MKII....
According to Sven Decoux of Barn Built Motorcycles, the decision to customise a Kawasaki ZR7 was more ‘right place, right...
This post apocalyptic road warrior is Icon’s Kawasaki ZX-7 ‘Thunder Chunky’. It’s the latest addition to Icon’s series of custom...
I finally had a chance to shoot some photos of my bike today, it’s a 2000 Kawasaki W650 Cafe Racer...
By my definition an ‘attempt’ is usually when you try to do something and it doesn’t quite work out. I...
Looking over the photos it’s the smaller details that really make his bike special. The W650 features a spattering of...
“The Kwaka had stood still for at least 5 years and was running on only 3 cylinders. It puked fuel...
In 1986 girls swooned and guys headed to the nearest motorcycle dealership at the sight of Tom Cruise astride his Top...
Since 1963 Kawasaki Motorcycle Co. has introduced a plethora of technological innovations which have gone on to become industry standards....
In the scheme of things, 10 years isn’t all that long. But for a small business launched by a pair...
Back in March I was lucky enough to pay a visit to the workshop of Studio Motor in Jakarta, Indonesia....
There are several amazing custom motorcycle shows happening in the United States right now that have made it onto my...
Well it’s been 7 months since I purchased my W650 and started the Cafe Racer conversion. It’s been a great...
Bali’s AMS Garage is back with yet another incredible example of their metal shaping skills. In our last AMS feature,...
Here are a couple of shots of the W650 Cafe Racer. At 90% complete I’m really happy with how the...
Flexible back and knees are essential for successful Cafe Racer cornering techniques....
The Vulcan S ABS Café is Kawasaki’s “learner approved” cruiser. Its styling is typical of all cruisers that follow in...
After owning a Kawasaki W650 for 5 years I can quite confidently say they are one of the best performing...
“I first met this bike and its owner at one of our cancer fundraisers in Dallas. The bike sounded like...
Anyone that’s been following this site since its launch knows it all started with the purchase of a Kawasaki W650....
I’ve just finished fitting a polished top bridge/triple clamp to the W650 Cafe Racer. After fitting the clip on bars...
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. The motorcycle that started it all, the 1972 Kawasaki...
I have to confess I tend to get a bit excited when a motorcycle manufacturer announces they are releasing a...
There are several reasons why you might want to install an aftermarket exhaust on your motorcycle. It could be that...
With 30 years of custom motorcycle building under his belt, Wolfgang Batz isn’t about to be influenced by other people’s...
There’s virtually no limit to the extent that you can modify a motorcycle. This, of course, includes its performance and...
Green is most certainly the colour of envy. Gia Mi Racing are back again with another modern take on Cafe...
As gaudy as the eighties were they certainly produced some cool motorcycles. Sharp angular styling, bold colour schemes and groundbreaking...
In the early eighties, a clever member of the Kawasaki marketing team thought it’d be a good idea to produce...
“My background has nothing to do with either mechanics nor handcrafting vehicles,” confesses Jordi. “When I decided to make my...
2022 is the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. To help mark the occasion we’re looking at the...
Suzuki Katana. Honda Dominator. Kawasaki Ninja. These are all bike names that inspire visions of power and awesomeness. In some...
Today’s quick update has been a long time in the making. As we’ve seen here before the Kawasaki KZ650 has...
It’s hard to imagine that any good could come from breaking your neck. Things could have gone very differently when...
Just like the Boom Town Rats “I don’t like Mondays”. I do however like motorcycles…a lot! Here’s this weeks Monday...
“Simple but sweet” is one way to sum up La Corona’s portfolio of custom motorcycles. To think that recreating this...
Courtesy of our friends FATclub in France comes this awesome Kwazaki Z900 Cafe Racer. “The FATclub is dedicated to special...
Today we have added a new feature to the site allowing you to submit your own Cafe Racer project. Return...
My favourite ongoing series of custom motorcycle builds has just added 2 new “Retrograde Engineered” beasts to their line up....
Not to be beaten by my lack of tools I came up with a solution to remove the Ventura rear...
I’ve been an invited guest at Kustomfest Indonesia for 5 years now. Thanks to the show I’ve made some great...
Throttle open, chin on the tank and your parallel twin rocketing you from point a to point z....
My parents once gifted me an old Toyota. Mum was worried about me riding and thought that giving me a...
The Japanese custom motorcycle scene is overflowing with all manner of unexpected and tantalizing two-wheeled wonders. Located in Ibaraki Prefecture,...
The Kawasaki ZX-6, otherwise known as the ZZR600 in Europe, was the brand’s flagship middleweight sports bike of the nineties....
When I first met Ram Ram Januar at his home in Bandung, Indonesia he told me that he started his...
Someone had sacrilegiously painted the bike’s frame in a past life, hiding the trademark Rickman nickel plating, so it had...
Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to test ride almost every new modern classic, retro sports and...
In 1979 the first Mad Max film was released in Australian cinemas. It depicted director George Miller’s vision of a...
To Maurizio Carrero, founder of Imbarcadero 14 Venice in Italy, the Z1000 was more than an icon of motorcycle manufacturing.As...
It’s been 4 years since the Kawasaki Z900RS went on sale. In the lead-up to its release, Kawasaki adopted a...
The seat is also of top quality. The inner shell is made from thick, hard plastic which looks very durable....
Motorcyclists like to moan about everything.
And the quickest way to start some premium groaning is to sell us a naked...
There’s nothing like a bit of competitive spirit to egg a build on and when it’s between 2 brothers you...
Towards the end of 2017 when the Tokyo Motor and EICMA shows took place I got more than a little...
Launched in 2001 as the successor to the ZRX1100, the Kawasaki ZRX1200R was inspired by the KZ1000R ridden by legendary...
One of the jobs I didn’t forsee when I was fitting the clip on bars to the w650 was adjusting...
Valtoron in Valdetorres de Jarama, Spain, is the workshop of two brothers, Pablo and Carlos Delgado. Since 1995 the brothers...
This Kawasaki KZ550 is the work of Jaka Martinuč who works in the financial sector, about as far removed from...
The 1974 Kawasaki KZ400 Cafe Racer underwent an extensive 500-hour build, featuring a powerful 400cc parallel twin engine with a...
When opportunity beckons what do you do? … let it pass you by or seize it? Whilst the decision for...
The boys in Denmark have been very busy since they last graced the pages of this site. Their new workshop...
Le Gicleur Noire Black, black and more black. The Le Gicleur Noire which translates to “Always bet on black” is...
Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse one of our favourite motorcycle events on the planet got cancelled....
The motorcycle above it’s a custom Kawasaki Ninja 250r from Donny in Jakarta, Indonesia. The time it takes to build...
Winter has not been kind to my bike. I made the move to Melbourne in Jan and moved in to...
All hail the late 70’s; when men were men and motorcycles were deadly – really deadly. During the ’70s engine...
Rickman Honda CR750 Brothers Derek and Don Rickman established Rickman motorcycles in 1960 from which they manufactured motorcycles up until...
I’ve been toying with the idea of posting this custom ’76 Kawasaki KH100 for some time and decided today to...
