This exquisite custom bike, crafted by Deus Customs, is a unique creation based on a 2004 Kawasaki W650 (EJ650). With...
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.
I was left disappointed after Kawasaki released the W800 back in 2011. The switch to EFI (damn emission laws!) and...
Bali’s AMS Garage is back with yet another incredible example of their metal shaping skills. In our last AMS feature,...
“No Time. No Territory. Just an atitude inspired in the past and dressed to impress.” – Maria Motorcycles ...
2022 is the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. To help mark the occasion we’re looking at the...
The seat is also of top quality. The inner shell is made from thick, hard plastic which looks very durable....
Motohangaris a custom motorcycle workshop based out of Vienna, Virginia. With services ranging from general maintenance through to specialised custom...
Honda CB750 “Cold bitch” More home built Cafe Racers sent in by our talented readers. Thanks for sharing your motorcycles...
2012 marked the 40th anniversary of Kawasaki’s legendary Z series of motorcycles. To celebrate the Zeds 4 decades of manufacture...
Here are a couple of shots of the W650 Cafe Racer. At 90% complete I’m really happy with how the...
Motorcyclists like to moan about everything.
And the quickest way to start some premium groaning is to sell us a naked...
“My background has nothing to do with either mechanics nor handcrafting vehicles,” confesses Jordi. “When I decided to make my...
Any guess at how much one of the beauties would set you back these days? “In 1978 S&S Performance bought...
My favourite ongoing series of custom motorcycle builds has just added 2 new “Retrograde Engineered” beasts to their line up....
When we reviewed the Kawasaki Z900RS Z900RS cafe back in 2018 we noticed something familiar about its styling. Kawasaki stated the...
Ever since seeing the “We R Winning” short documentary about Twinline Motorcycles I’ve been a huge fan of the Seattle...
I’ve been toying with the idea of posting this custom ’76 Kawasaki KH100 for some time and decided today to...
Throttle open, chin on the tank and your parallel twin rocketing you from point a to point z....
There are several reasons why you might want to install an aftermarket exhaust on your motorcycle. It could be that...
While most aspects of motorcycle design have come a long way since the 70s, there and several that haven’t. Take...
Winter has not been kind to my bike. I made the move to Melbourne in Jan and moved in to...
This Kawasaki KZ550 is the work of Jaka Martinuč who works in the financial sector, about as far removed from...
“I acquired this 1980 KZ440 in bits from a friend who had lost interest in the project.” recalls 26 year...
This post apocalyptic road warrior is Icon’s Kawasaki ZX-7 ‘Thunder Chunky’. It’s the latest addition to Icon’s series of custom...
The 1974 Kawasaki KZ400 Cafe Racer underwent an extensive 500-hour build, featuring a powerful 400cc parallel twin engine with a...
In 1979 the first Mad Max film was released in Australian cinemas. It depicted director George Miller’s vision of a...
I finally had a chance to shoot some photos of my bike today, it’s a 2000 Kawasaki W650 Cafe Racer...
In 2021 Markus Pintzinger celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his Thailand-based aftermarket parts store, Omega Racer. To commemorate the milestone anniversary...
After literally killing his Kawasaki KLR650 Fort Nine’s “tell it like it is” vlogger Ryan Kluftinger has resurrected the bike in...
Deus ex Machina came on the scene around about the same time I set up Return of the Cafe Racers...
When I first met Ram Ram Januar at his home in Bandung, Indonesia he told me that he started his...
Based on a 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 this bike is a rolling eulogy to 1970s composite creativity. During the ’60s and...
Named ‘Gunpowder’ the 1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100 is the work of Benny Lombardo and Antonello Zonna of Seven Motors. After the owner explained...
By my definition an ‘attempt’ is usually when you try to do something and it doesn’t quite work out. I...
What better inspiration could a man need when building his first custom bike than to be building it for his...
One of the jobs I didn’t forsee when I was fitting the clip on bars to the w650 was adjusting...
Well it’s been 7 months since I purchased my W650 and started the Cafe Racer conversion. It’s been a great...
I’ve been an invited guest at Kustomfest Indonesia for 5 years now. Thanks to the show I’ve made some great...
Today we have added a new feature to the site allowing you to submit your own Cafe Racer project. Return...
In 1980 Vetter designed and built a very limited run of 10 Mystery Ship motorcycles based on Kawasaki’s KZ1000 MKII....
In the scheme of things, 10 years isn’t all that long. But for a small business launched by a pair...
It may come as a surprise, but cafe racers aren’t the only style of custom motorcycle I admire. Back when...
Green is most certainly the colour of envy. Gia Mi Racing are back again with another modern take on Cafe...
A modern day Road Warrior In typical Deus style, their custom Kawasaki Z900RS is as outlandish and it is unique....
Such is the iconic status of the 1970s Kawasaki Z900 that these days they are more commonly restored than customised....
Rat Bikes like their 4 wheeled cousins, Rat Rods are what some people would consider to be a “piece of...
There’s something strangely compelling about raw, handmade bodywork. To me it’s one of the finest demonstrations of skill and creativity....
So you wanna buy a spanking new motorcycle to ride around town and make it without having to touch your...
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. The motorcycle that started it all, the 1972 Kawasaki...
Kawasaki’s ER6N first hit the streets in 2008 but the middleweight naked sports bike isn’t a motorcycle that often pops...
Today’s quick update has been a long time in the making. As we’ve seen here before the Kawasaki KZ650 has...
Moto Lanna are a parts fabricator based in Chang Mai, Thailand. They recently got in touch regarding a link swap...
What have I done! One job I have had to perform a few times during my W650 Cafe Racer project...
I dropped in at Deus Ex Machina in Sydney and picked up a new speedo for the W650. As the...
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...
When opportunity beckons what do you do? … let it pass you by or seize it? Whilst the decision for...
Although the 1978 Z1 successor didn’t live up to Kawasaki’s expectations in showrooms, the Z1-R is an iconic motorcycle and...
According to Sven Decoux of Barn Built Motorcycles, the decision to customise a Kawasaki ZR7 was more ‘right place, right...
While Rickman Motorcycles started out producing frames and body kits for British made motorcycles in the seventies they turned their...
With 30 years of custom motorcycle building under his belt, Wolfgang Batz isn’t about to be influenced by other people’s...
Now assuming you’ve takenin to account all the points I mentioned in part one of my handlebar swap posts you’re...
They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. By now, with all the copycat builds it has inspired,...
Not to be beaten by my lack of tools I came up with a solution to remove the Ventura rear...
I’m always excited to feature a build from a country we haven’t previously visited here on the Return of the...
The “MK46” is the work of Samik Chatterjee, owner operator of MotoKraft Customs in New Delhi. After graduating from Art...
Just when we thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse one of our favourite motorcycle events on the planet got cancelled....
My first visit to Jakarta in 2014 was arranged for the sole purpose of visiting custom motorcycle workshops. We’d been...
In the early eighties, a clever member of the Kawasaki marketing team thought it’d be a good idea to produce...
Replacing the rear tail light on the W650 is probably one of the simplest modifications I have done so Far...
Some will call it sacrilege but I have a soft spot for resto-mods. The thinking behind a resto-mod is simple....
Today the idea of building such a bike for the street sounds rather ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t...
I came across this eBay auction the other day and was amazed by how similar the T120R Bonneville looks to...
The Mistress was commissioned by Mistress Gentlemens Motorcycle Club a motorcycle club based in Lisbon. The club allows members to...
My parents once gifted me an old Toyota. Mum was worried about me riding and thought that giving me a...
So I purchased a set of Posh Faith polished alloy indicators from Deus ex Machina in Sydney for $99 a pair (sounds...
A while back we were approached by Just Bikes in Australia and invited to enter their Just Auto Legends campaign....
There’s virtually no limit to the extent that you can modify a motorcycle. This, of course, includes its performance and...
From time to time, you see something that makes it hard to believe your eyes. They call it cognitive dissonance;...
Before I get into this feature let me first say hello to my Indonesian readers. I know you guys make...
As someone who has a history of heart disease in their family, I know all too well how devastating it...
I could now list off the modifications and parts used in the construction of the Fiddler but seeing as Deus...
The Vulcan S ABS Café is Kawasaki’s “learner approved” cruiser. Its styling is typical of all cruisers that follow in...
The Kawasaki ZX-6, otherwise known as the ZZR600 in Europe, was the brand’s flagship middleweight sports bike of the nineties....
Although Nazar (aka Gazzz) has been repairing, riding and restoring motorcycles for 15 years he’s fairly new to the custom...
Through a special collaboration with custom builder, ‘Mr Martini’ Kawasaki motorcycles Italy have released a limited edition Vulcan S. Only...
The motorcycle above it’s a custom Kawasaki Ninja 250r from Donny in Jakarta, Indonesia. The time it takes to build...
Detlev Louis is a German motorcycle riding gear manufacturer with more than 8 decades of experience under its belt. Unsurprisingly...
If Benelli’s TNT 1130 and Kawasaki’s 650 Ninja had a romantic interlude this could well be the result. Based on...
It’s been 4 years since the Kawasaki Z900RS went on sale. In the lead-up to its release, Kawasaki adopted a...
After owning a Kawasaki W650 for 5 years I can quite confidently say they are one of the best performing...
All you need to do is remove the right side cover by unscrewing the 2 screws on the side and...
Courtesy of our friends FATclub in France comes this awesome Kwazaki Z900 Cafe Racer. “The FATclub is dedicated to special...
Le Gicleur Noire Black, black and more black. The Le Gicleur Noire which translates to “Always bet on black” is...
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Kawasaki’s Z series of motorcycles. The motorcycle that started it all, the 1972 Kawasaki...
After being less than impressed by the official promotional video for the 2011 Kawasaki W800 I took it upon myself to...
There are several amazing custom motorcycle shows happening in the United States right now that have made it onto my...
Earlier this month the first series of the Essenza 1/8th mile sprint challenge was completed at the Glemseck festival in Leonberg,...
The boys in Denmark have been very busy since they last graced the pages of this site. Their new workshop...
Valtoron in Valdetorres de Jarama, Spain, is the workshop of two brothers, Pablo and Carlos Delgado. Since 1995 the brothers...
