This is CRD #69 (builds are numbered as they are ordered, rather than completed), based on a 1990 Honda XL600V Transalp. The Transalp is an iconic machine in Europe, but it’s still a very unusual choice for a donor bike.

At the core of the build is a Honda CB750 fuel tank—something the client requested during the first meeting, in his restaurant over the border in Nice, France. After extensive modifications to both the tank and the frame, CRD managed to pair the two up.

Ditching the Honda’s bulky bodywork exposed its 600cc V-twin power plant. But it also left the radiator hanging in the breeze. So CRD fabricated a new headlight shroud that could house not only two LEDs, but the radiator as well. (bixeexif)

With a love for the bikes and everything that was motorcycling in the 1970’s and Relic describing themselves as “experienced bike-builders who favour and restore Japanese bikes from the 70’s & 80’s,” a classic cafe racer based on a 1980 Yamaha XS650 made perfect sense.

Given the minimalist look and the period he was going for there was really only one headlight to fit and that’s a black Bates unit on a custom mount. Finally all the information Tommy needs out on the road comes from a vintage mini speedometer that is mounted into the custom CNC’d top triple tree. Modern motorcycles come equipped with so many switches, rider modes and fancy colour displays that it’s a wonder their owners find the time to keep their eyes on the road. But for Relic Motorcycles the feedback they prefer is that which comes through the grips, the throttle, levers and most importantly the seat of the pants. For Tommy it’s about staying true to his classic roots, keeping it simple and creating a bike “that I would love to ride even when I turn 60.” (pipeburn)

Austrian customizers Vagabund Moto present their impressive new BMW R100R. Overall fusing the concepts of a cafe racer and a scrambler, the outcome is a beautiful motorcycle that is both great to look at and great to ride. Looking like a vintage bike, Vagabund managed to create a healthy mix of old and new, also infusing the bike with some great futuristic display details, modern lights and more.

Built from a BMW R100 and dubbed “The Five,” this bike is a sleek trimmed-down Cafe Racer that pays tribute to the past. The airhead was slimmed down and the original bodywork thrown by the wayside except for the fuel tank. 

Federal Moto then added a new fender, airbag hole cover, and now rides on an under seat dual-shock setup. The leather seat on top features an embedded LED light that functions both as a turn signal and taillight and the motor was entirely rebuilt and treated with a set of Mikuni VM34 carburetors. Out the back, twin Cone Engineering stainless steel mufflers complete the entire setup. Aesthetics notwithstanding, Federal Moto did America proud with this first build and we for one can’t wait to see what’s next on the docket for this outfit.

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Gediminas and Gytis combine to form Peters Dog Cycles and their latest build is a tricked out Yamaha XV750, perfect for showing the old Hogs what time it is.

The standard tank remains but has been body worked to perfection, as it came with a host of free rust and dings, so the deep red gloss paint now lays down brilliantly

The lighting also makes a statement with the indicators hidden front and back, the taillight mounted under the new seat and the twin projector headlights in a mix of clear and yellow adding another visual element to an already impressive machine. To ensure their new project would pass the often strict European road rules a custom bracket was fabricated and mini LED idiot lights installed next to the ignition switch.

They may have giant shoes to fill, but this new “Other Dream Team” is intent on taking it to the world and inspiring hope in a nation where one-off exotic machines were once an item only seen on the internet, but never heard. Thump thump, there’s Hogs for lunch!

The Yamaha XS500 may not have anywhere near the street credentials of its big brother, the XS650, but if you ride a parallel twin less than 30 years old you owe a debt of gratitude to the younger sibling. It’s a potential Tommy Rand, Co-Founder of Relic Motorcycles from Aarhus, Denmark, saw when he found this particular 1977 Yamaha XS500 for sale in Copenhagen. He must have a great creative imagination, because the bike he came to see had been subjected to a terrible rebuild, strange yellow paint, no seat and it half resembled a hot dog stand. It’d also been on the market for over a year. Clearly, no other prospective buyers saw the possibility of a perfectly built Nordic Cafe Racer that Tommy and the boys envisioned and then brought to life.

To light the way a smaller than stock round headlight is one of the few modern features, with rear lighting coming from an LED tail light mounted under the heavily bobbed rear fender. Low mounted clip-on bars add to the tough low lines and are fitted with Chocolate Brown Biltwell grips that butt up to the refreshed factory switch blocks. A single chrome cupped speedo is all the instrumentation the build requires and the overall minimalism of the accessories let the stunning body work take centre stage. Tommy and his three best friends only established Relic Motorcycles just over a year ago, but with their design skills and ability to execute flawless work there is no doubt the orders will start pouring in and they just might have sparked a renewed interest in the little XS sibling!

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In a nutshell, a café racer is a motorcycle that has been modified to race from a café to some other predetermined place. The most famous café (pronounced caff) was the Ace Café in London. Legend has it that motorcycle riders would race from the café, after selecting a certain record on the duke box, and return before the record finished. This feat often necessitated achieving 'the ton' or 100 mph.

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In England during the 60s, affordable motorcycles that could achieve the ton, were few and far between. For the average worker and motorcycle owner, the only option of getting the desired performance was to tune the bike with various racing options. Readily available tuning parts made the task easier. Riders would add more parts as their budgets allowed. As riders added more and more parts, a standard look began to materialize - the café racer look.

Ed Norton Commando Cafe Racer

This is not intended as a complete history, rather a look at the highpoints in the café scene which is timely because in recent years, it seems that the term “Café Racer” can be applied to any old motorcycle that has been spray-painted black and fitted with pipe wrap. However, motorcycle enthusiasts who raced each other from café to café were the true Café Racers in the UK during the 1960s. The most famous of which is the Ace Café, in London, which is still in existence today.

The typical specification of an early café racer would be:

• Swept-back pipes
• Clip-on's or 'Ace' bars
• Reverse cone Mega's (short for megaphone mufflers - very much a misnomer). Later bikes used Dunstall's , which were silencers produced by tuning legend Paul Dunstall
• TT100 Dunlop tires
• Larger carburetors
• Rear sets

Predominantly most of the early Café Racers were British bikes - Triumph, BSA, AJS, Norton etc and none of them were particularly quick. But, the objective of most of the riders at the time was to try and achieve the ton – or 100 mph. If you could demonstrate your bike was capable of going at that speed or faster you could call yourself a member of The Ton Up Club.

For many riders, having the café racer look was enough. But when the market for tuning parts really began to take off in the mid '60s, the list of available and desirable parts grew. Besides engine tuning parts, a number of companies began to produce replacement seats and tanks.

Honda CB750

These replacements resembled the current trends in motorcycle racing: seats with humps, and fiberglass tanks with indentations to clear clip-ons and the rider's knees. More expensive aluminum versions were also available.

To get anywhere near the magic 100 mph, riders at the time needed to heavily modify their bikes. Fortunately in the 1960s the British motorcycle industry was still alive and kicking and there was a big British presence in motorcycle racing. Consequently, there were a lot of aftermarket parts for the Café Racers to choose from to upgrade their bikes.

To add more of a racing look, café racer owners began to fit a small handlebar mounted fairing (as seen on the Manx Norton racers). Full fairings were shunned as these would cover up the beautiful polished aluminum engine cases and swept-back chrome pipes.

BMW Café Racers

Other features that were adopted to make a bike a Café Racer included an elongated fuel tank (similar to Grand Prix racers of the 1960s) often with concave depressions to allow the rider’s knees to grip the tank, low-slung clip on bars and a single seat with a faired-in rear end.

Although many riders fitted different rear shocks to improve the handling of their machines, the defining moment of café racer development came when a Triumph Bonneville engine was fitted to a Norton featherbed chassis. Affectionately called the Tri-ton, this hybrid set new standards. By combining the best of the British engines and the best chassis, an urban legend was created.

As the Japanese manufacturers started to gain a foot hold in Europe and the rest of the world in the early 1970s, there were some great Japanese Café Racers created too, but the true pioneers of the café racer movement were the British bike owners of the 1960s.