Cafe Racer | Wind Burned Eyes

Custom Moto Guzzi California Cafe Racer by Eastern Spirit Garage

Sylwester Mateusiak of Poland’s Eastern Spirit has taken his renowned craftsmanship to a new level with this Art Deco-inspired café racer, a radical departure from the “ugly gosling” 2002 Moto Guzzi California 1100 that served as the donor.

Drawing aesthetic inspiration from the futuristic, industrial landscapes of the 1927 cult film Metropolis, the build features striking, hand-shaped aluminum bodywork that has been left unpainted to showcase its raw, sculptural quality.

Custom Yamaha R5-B Cafe Racer by JETS Forever

The UK-based workshop JETS Forever has crafted “CROWN JEWEL,” a meticulously executed tribute to a “what if” moment in Yamaha racing history. This is one cool custom Yamaha R5-B cafe racer.

The build is inspired by the legendary Montjuich Class—a specialized endurance racing category from the early 1970s that demanded machines capable of both high-speed tarmac battles and explosive standing-start performance.

Custom Ducati S2R 800 Cafe Racer by Rajputana Customs

Rajputana Customs, led by Vijay Singh in Jaipur, India, has reimagined a 2007 Ducati S2R 800 into a vintage-inspired cafe racer named “Veloce.”

Built for a client in Goa with the simple brief to create an “aggressive café racer,” the project departs from traditional Ducati restoration paths to embrace a more imaginative, hand-crafted approach.

Custom TVS Ronin by Smoked Garage

Bali-based Smoked Garage has transformed a humble TVS Ronin into “Kensai,” the fourth installment in their Samurai-inspired series of custom builds.

Named after a master swordsman, the project reimagines the modern-retro commuter as a dark, aggressive machine with a dual personality that shifts between a sharp café racer and a muscular streetfighter.

Custom Kawasaki Z1-R by AC Sanctuary

AC Sanctuary’s RCM-696 Z1-R is a sensational, custom Kawasaki Z1-R that represents the pinnacle of the shop’s “Real Complete Machine” resto-mod program, embodying 30 years of obsessive Japanese perfectionism and serving as a rolling testament to their expertise.

The cafe racer motorcycle, while unmistakably a Z1-R, features an all-new, finely-adjustable upper cowl mount crafted from duralumin and a custom carbon-and-aluminum dash housing STACK analog gauges, executed with surgical precision to ensure aesthetic balance and full functionality.

Custom Yamaha XV750 Virago Cafe Racer by Plan B Motorcycles

This is the “Silver Arrow,” a strikingly customized 1982 Yamaha TR1, a machine born from a desire to elevate a misunderstood platform. The bike was built by Christian Moretti of Plan B Motorcycles in Laveno Mombello, Italy.

Known for its powerful V-twin engine, the Yamaha TR1 was often called the “poor man’s Vincent,” a comparison Christian took seriously. His goal was to build a machine worthy of the legendary name, reinterpreting the 1960s British café racer style through a lens of Italian creativity and mechanical obsession.

Custom Honda CBX1000 by Unik Motorcycles

Alright, let’s talk about a motorcycle that is less a machine and more a mechanical symphony unleashed. This is “Tatsumaki,” a 1982 custom Honda CBX1000, reborn by the wizards at Unik Motorcycles in Lisbon.

The legendary CBX is already one of the most iconic engines in history—a colossal inline-six—and for builders Tiago and Luis, the goal wasn’t just to customize it, but to truly set its thunderous heart free.

Custom Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe Racer by Andrei Kouznetsov

This is the “Saga Racer,” a 1980 Moto Guzzi V50 II, built by Andrei Kouznetsov of Revel Custom Motorcycles in the UK.

This was a personal project for Andrei, a man who knows his way around modern Guzzis but wanted to work his magic on a lightweight classic and make a cafe racer. He chose the V50 II for its nimble handling and its honest, 490cc twin engine.

Ducati Cafe Racer Custom by RF-Biketech

Alright, let’s talk about a motorcycle that decided to trade in its fun-loving nature for a scrapper’s edge. This is a custom Ducati Scrambler, a street brawler with a touch of café racer style, born from the precision-minded folks at the German workshop RF-Biketech.

They were commissioned by a Ducati dealership to take that playful factory bike and give it a serious, menacing attitude.

The Triumph Thruxton 400 Launches in India

The classic café racer has always been a symbol of speed and style, a motorcycle stripped down for performance and defined by its distinctive look. Now, that legacy is getting a modern, accessible twist with the launch of the Triumph Thruxton 400.

I’ve written about this bike previously, and I’ll be honest, I’m pretty excited about it. It’s good to see Triumph deliver on what had been rumored and discussed for so long.