Motorcycle designers of the early ’80s probably ponder how we got here, a time when street bikes with exposed frames, unshrouded headlight assemblies and flat handlebars have become commonplace. The phenomenon started at least 30 years ago, and one possible explanation cites the re-styling of wrecked sports bikes in Europe as the cause. Some call…
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The problem with exceptionally tidy café racers is that they often belie the amount of work that’s gone into them. Just look at this Kawasaki Z650 café racer from the UK’s Foundry Motorcycle. On the surface, it shows the sort of considered craftsmanship that we’ve come to expect from Foundry’s Tom Simpson—but it took a…
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CUSTOM CAFÉ BIKES get our blood pumping. But we get it: not all of us have the time and energy to devote to a full café racer build. Luckily, manufacturers are here to oblige with off-the-shelf café and vintage-inspired bikes that have the looks of old bikes, yet they have modern amenities like ABS and…
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For some people, building custom bikes is a sideline—an after-hours escape from the daily grind. For others it’s purely a business, with success measured by income and Instagram likes. And then there’s the third type: the guys who are so passionate about the scene, they’d mortgage their house to keep going. Malmö-based Fredrik Pål Persson…
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Building custom motorcycles often involves a radical career change, and we’ve seen some pretty strange jumps over the years. Tom Simpson’s background…
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When it comes to iconic 1970s middleweights, the Honda CB750 steals all the limelight. But Kawasaki’s KZ650 was also hugely popular—and easily…
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Kawasaki KZ650s don’t come across our desks too often. So we were intrigued to see this one from Monsieur Willie Knoll at…
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Over the last six months, one of the fastest risers on the custom scene has been the French workshop Blitz. The buzz…
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