This isn’t Sebastien’s first rodeo. He has built a stunning Yamaha XS650 before, completely in Jap-style. It was featured in many magazines back in 2020, and for good reason too. There is definitely no lack of imagination when it comes to his old build, but also this more recent creation.

We are a sucker for nose art. Especially those from around World War 2. The first nose art started at the beginning of the 20st century, during World War 1. When fighter planes where being used in close combat. Pilots would paint their planes with menacing texts or imagine instilling fear into their opponents. Nowadays we don’t see nose art anymore in the military, but it is still regarded as art among enthusiasts around the world.

To see nose art being used on a custom motorcycle makes our hearts beat a little bit faster. But there is more to this machine than just the nose art, which has a symbol of the rising sun on the left, and shark mouth on the right, a nod to both east and west. Sebastien has managed to source a racing fairing of Norton Commando and has modified it to fit the Kawasaki seamlessly. The combination of nose art and matt green paint has been done incredible well by Cedric B Ink.

The rear of the KZ650 has been chopped and lowered, using custom shock absorbers. There is something special to these shock absorbers. They are modified for air-ride, which allows the rear of the bike to be raised or lowered at the flick of a switch. At its highest point, the clearance between the exhaust and the ground is a mere 10 centimeters! A neat feature we see in the custom car scene, but not often on a motorcycle.

The rear cowl comes from a Kawasaki Z1000ST and has been modified to fit the KZ650. The custom seat has been made by Dérouillée Sellerie and looks astonishing on this bike. The Delkevic exhaust has been modified to fit this KZ perfectly. Combined with the DNA air filters, this Kawasaki definitely breaths better now.

The front of the Kawasaki has also been lowered to accommodate for the lower stance Sebastien was going for. The fuel tank has been heavily modified, and now incorporates a fuel level indicator on the side, and a pop-up gas-cap. The electrics of the Kawasaki have been replaced with a simplified wiring harness that accommodates for the micro switches. We love the minimalistic look, especially with the large tacho front center. The Kellerman LED lights and indicators further contribute to this look. The levers are now Brembo’s, which are adjustable.

When you look at the pictures closely, you will see that the kick-starter pedal looks custom. That’s because it is, courtesy of T4 Motorcycles. What’s also custom, is the Ruroc 2.0 helmet which Sebastien has made to match the look of the bike. Small detail, but with great results!

Sebastien admits that with the ground clearance, the Kawasaki is more suitable for slow strolls than racing. Still, with the way this KZ650SR has turned out, we wouldn’t be surprised if it commanded anyone to move to right as it appears in your rear-view mirror. And all of this with a budget of no more than €6000,-.

Photo Credits: SKM

Builder details:
Seb Kustom Motorcycles
Instagram
Facebook

The post Shed Built: Kawasaki KZ650 Bomber appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Unusual suspect

Café racer meets brat
Behold, a not so boring 1981 Yamaha XS400 arises from the ashes in Poland! Built by Marfil Moto, which is owned by Maciek, we see an XS400 that looks anything but dull. This café-racer meets brat mash-up looks intriguing, more noticeable because of its perceived simplicity. Interestingly, the story behind this build resembles the build in more than one way. Maciek built this bike for his wife, because she felt it was time she got her own custom motorcycle. Instead of spending months on doing research and trying to find he “perfect” base motorcycle, Maciek decided to work on the bike he had in his shed: the XS400.

It’s not the size of the tools that matters
Inspired by some of the brilliant machines he has seen on the Bike Shed London, Maciek was fully aware that he didn’t have all the tools and equipment he needed to build this XS400. However, he did have faith, and he knew that all he needed to do, was to just get started. First, the Yamaha got disassembled and stripped from all unnecessary components. The engine and carbs underwent a thorough mechanical overhaul and were subjected to glass bead blasting to achieve a raw aluminium effect. The frame got shortened and powder-coated in black satinThe front forks received a service and remained unchanged. The bulky original cockpit got removed, only to be replaced by a small MMB speedometer to achieve a minimalistic look of a café racer. The handlebar is a one-off. We are most intrigued by the stainless-steel grips. We don’t see those that often, but we definitely dig them! A single Halcyon 830 bar-end mirror finishes off the front.

Nip and tuck
The complete electrical system, together with the battery mount, have been modified and minimalized. The seat has been re-made and covered with black leather. The tank received an anti-corrosion treatment and got painted in a shiny grey color, leaving in the original Yamaha emblem intact. The exhaust received a thermal wrap treatment for that old-school racer look. Combined with the chrome shotgun-style mufflers, this XS400 is bound to sound like a bomber.

Fruition
The original black rims are fitted with classic shinko tyres. The main focus of this build was to stay true to the simplicity of form. Sometime we even say less-is-more. Maciek did an incredible job in completing this build, which is in fact a shed-built bike. We’ve said before and we’ll say it again: keep an eye on the Polish custom builders, for they are true masters of building incredible motorcycles. Not just the big names, but also the little guys like Maciek.

Photo credits: Pawel Magiera

Builder details:
Marfil Moto
Instagram
Facebook

The post Sleek Yamaha XS400 Café Brat by Marfil Moto appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Cool submission from Mario Deusen from Germany of a rare custom built MZ Skorpion. Words by Mario:

I screw on motorcycles as long as I can remember. First the moped Simson S51 then the MZ ES250 / 2 with sidecar from my father. It continued with an AWO 425 (Bikers News April edition 1992), followed by an Yamaha XS650, followed by a 1972 Triumph Tiger (2nd place Custombike Reader’s Choice 2006) and a 1984 BMW K100.

I was born and grown up in East Germany and MZ was always part of people’s life.
When I saw the MZ Scorpion of Jeff Lamb from Australia, it had happened to me and I thought, there was something. I remembered the MZ as an outstanding motorbike. Without further ado and with a heavy heart I sold the triumph to fill up the conversion fund. I did not ride with it for ages and having a renovation project was more important to me in the end.

What was done:

• Frame, rims, fork tubes, rear frame and swingarm are powder coated,
• The tank came from a Suzuki RGV125 Gamma (I burned some bigger holes when I tried to fix the new brackets, then had the tank welded by a pro. I decided to do a coating inside for safety, which was not planned).
• Fuel tap is from a Yamaha FZR.
• Oil tank is completely new made of aluminium sheet metal, bended and welded
• Side covers on the oil tank carry my “start number” from the last century.
• The rear fenders at the rear frame are designed with CAD-Onshape and CNC milled. I can recommend Onshape as an intuitive free CAD software that´s easy to use. In the beginning they were planned as stand-alone rear fenders but the TÜV refused and requested a separate steel rear frame. So the fenders act as covers now. Rear frame is newly built from the parts of the original rear frame.
• Seat is completely new with a cover of Alcantara. The gold and green stitching should pick up the stripes from the tank and continue.
• Electric is completely new with m-unit by Motogadget and a super small LiPo battery in a welded aluminum box under the tank.
• Footpeg mounts and switch armatures on the handlebar were designed in CAD with Onshape. I´m doing CAD every day at work so it´s not an issue. A local manufacturing company then CNC-milled them. The surface finisher around the corner did the anodizing.
• Footpegs are from Tarozzi.
• Tank and the front fender are painted in traffic white RAL9016.
• Front fender is made of two front origin MZ front fenders using only the front side of them. The strip was printed by an advertising company and glued onto. Then everything was covered with clear coat. The stripes are in the MZ colors gold, gray and green to continue the great history of MZ a little bit.
  The tank carries on the sides the later MZ logo without the small “u”. (artistic freedom)
• In the new airbox is covering a K & N filter due to the loudness restrictions in Germany.
• I made the cladding for the ellipsoid headlamp out of a universal aluminium fender and crimped the hole in the middle with hammer and wood.
• Speedometer is from Acewell with I supose one million functions. Cool!
• Muffler comes from GRP Italy. I hve had a lot of trouble getting the muffler quiet to fulfill the legal demands here in germany but getting an approval for the bike is more important at the moment.
  Throttle grip is from Domino from Italy.
• Turn signals at the front are “Kellermann” and rear ones are “Highsider” acting as a taillight / brake light / turn signal combination.
• Handlebar stems are from LSL
• …..a lot more!

I cannot get all the small stuff on the screen, but I think it’s enough. The bike weigh is roadworthy (full tank!) 165kg. This is very noticeable in comparison to the dry weight of 173kg in original condition. The thing is a real curve finder. With other wheels are again 6kg in it, but now it is enough first. I have to take more time for my wife and children again. They endured it long enough that I spent almost a year in the garage for hours.

The post MZ Scorpion by Mario Deuse appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Dime City Cycles (DCC) is maybe one of the most familiar names when it comes to aftermarket cafe racer parts. Over the past years, they’ve built a solid brand with an extensive catalog of parts for the custom motorcycle industry. They simply cover everything, let alone their amazing customer support to help us shed builders come along. For marketing purposes to show their customers what they’re capable of with parts from their own shop, they build a custom bike themselves. One of my personal favorites is this Yamaha XS650 Scrambler I’ve featured last year. But it was a while ago since we’ve heard from them so I was glad to find this bike in my inbox by co-founder Herm Narciso from DCC. So where did this bike come from? Well, DCC already sponsors the AHRMA (“Fun on old wheels!”) champion Scott Turner. But Herm decided that it was time to not only spend time in the paddock; he thought it was time to go hard on that tarmac at the other side of the fence. So when Scot Turner asked Herm why he wanted to go racing Herm simply said: “Why wouldn’t we? It’s a natural evolution, you have to live who you are”. So what happens if you put an amalgamated ’72 and ’74 Honda CB350 comes into a place where the shelves pile out with custom parts? Yes: party time!

So not only a challenge on the track, DCC also had a reputation to hold up. So next to making the bike race-worthy, the bike also should be able to do well on shows. The works on the little Honda racer is pretty extensive. Chuck “Super Tune” Quenzler did his trick on the engine part with a complete rebuild of the engine. New bearings, seals, and a clutch gave the engine some new energy. It got new Wiseco pistons and new Kibblewhite valves. The stock carburetors were ditched and replaced by a DCC Mikuni VM30 kit.

Scott Turner took care of the wheels and he built a fresh set of laced wheels with Heinenau race compound tires. The rear wheel is driven by a 520 chain conversion kit from Rebel Gears and the brakes got fresh pads. The front suspension got a set of progressive Race Tech springs on the front and the rear shocks were replaced by new Hagons. Footpegs are DCC original and the hand controls come from Magura. The saddle was shaped by Lance’s Tops and the paintwork is done by Moe Colors.

The complete list of parts used will set you back roughly $3,700 so if you have the ambition to compete with Herm, you can find the complete parts list of the DCC catalog right here.

The post Honda CB350 Racer by DCC appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Cool Yamaha XV535 Virago Flat Tracker built by Dino Maltoni from Mendoza, Argentina. Nicolás Fernández about the project:

This bike was an awesome challenge for us since it was in an extremely poor condition. As with most of our projects, we started by disassembling the entire bike. Our plan was to create a flat tracker, with the typical yellow/black color scheme of the legendary XS650 raced by Kenny Roberts. The frame was modified in order to get a better, flatter stance. The custom fiberglass gas tank only is built for an aesthetic function, while it’s fake: the real gas tank is located under the custom fiberglass seat, covered by polished aluminum fenders. This gives the bike a better weight distribution, which definitely helps on the dirt track. But it’s not only built for the track, it’s completely road legal. The custom 2 in 1 exhaust with custom muffler may look aggressive, it gives the bike a distinctive sound.

A lot of time was put in little details and parts, take a look at it yourself:

The post Yamaha XV535 Virago Flat Tracker appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Time flies when you’re having fun…: back in October 2015, Yamaha introduced the DT-07 Flat Tracker concept. A project by Yamaha and JPD Cycles and inspired by the recognizable black and yellow Yamaha XS650 in the old days of flat track racing with “King” Kenny Roberts as a dominant factor. The concept was a direct assignment by Yamaha to show the potential of their already legendary 689cc parallel twin engine. Yamaha said that the engine was perfect for flat track racing, light, torquey and powerful. Just what you need on the oval track. But directly after starting with the project, Jeff Palhegyi the owner of JPD Cycles, saw big potential in this project and simply created two frames instead of one.

“I’m a dirt-track fan, and so pretty much right away I took the oppor­tunity to build an extra frame and start collecting parts. I had an opportunity to buy an FZ-07 engine from the beginning, so I was just collecting everything to build another. Six months later I pretty much had them all put together. That’s this bike.”

It was a pretty long struggle to get this bike on a street legal (and running) machine, but with the close support of Yamaha, Jeff and his team managed to deliver this awesome machine.

The post Yamaha DT-07 Street Tracker by JPD Cycles appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

While some may have a 12 month motorcycle season, here in Holland we’re glad if we can ride 6 or 7 months a year. Of course, there are some hardcore purists who ride all year, but unless you have a Husqvarna with ski’s, I wouldn’t recommend it. But the spring kicked in a bit early and a lot of riders have removed the dust of their bikes with the first happy miles. But let’s take a look back a what March 2017 offered us.

Moto Guzzi Griso Tracker

One of the finalists in Moto Guzzi’s custom motorcycle battle “Lord of the Bikes”, based on a Moto Guzzi Griso. A real flat tracker that actually is build for racing and not only build for show and shine. And if you take a look at the rather bulky, but powerful Griso, you know that this was not an easy task. The bike lost over 50kg of weight to a respectable 170kg. With 110 horses on the rear wheel and no front brake…[read more]

BMW R65 Scrambler by Ironwood

Incredible cool and radical looking BMW R65 Scrambler built by our close friends of Ironwood Custom Motorcycles. With this build they show what they are capable of and it went completely viral on Facebook and Instagram. With this machine, they even got a honorable mention on BikeEXIF. [read more]

Honda CR500 Tracker

“Not for kids or pussies”,  that’s what a seller of his Honda CR500 once stated in his Craigslist ad. It’s clear that the 53hp of the single cylinder 2-stroke powerhouse is not made for everybody. Adam Hedges of C’s Garage and the Earnest company has built race cars the past 10 years but always had a strong love for 2-stroke motorcycles, with Honda’s CR500 as the ultimate bike. So he decided to build his own flat tracker based on this monster. [read more]

Moto Guzzi 950 by Stile Itialino

As a Guzzi rider I may have a slight preference for custom bikes based on the Italian brand. And if you know a little about the brand, you may know that the 850cc T3 is a beloved machine, especially in its original state. But that was no reason for the guys from Stile Itialiano to customize it. Inspired by the legendary Honda CR750 racer, their “CR950” hits a sweet spot. [read more]

Yamaha XS650 Tracker by H-Garage

Cool Yamaha XS650 Tracker built by H-Garage. A project that went from “I only need to freshen the bike up”, to “a complete custom motorcycle project”. According to Scott Halbleib, owner of H-Garage, there is no such thing as a budget build and he convinced the owner of the XS to go for a full build-out of this machine. Finished with the recognizable Gulf color scheme that actually worked out pretty well for this bike. [read more]

And this awesome Suzuki SV65o Scrambler…

The post Bikes of the Month – March appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

First of all: this is not a recent build, but dates back to 2014. But there was noting to find about on the web, but I think this cool Yamaha XS650 Café Racer deserves a little bit attention. It’s based on a 1980 XS650 and the modifications are minor; it could be a yard built, so for those who want to build something like this: keep on reading!

Twinline Motorcycles popped up my radar after their cool Yamaha RD350 they’ve built this year and I liked the classic, typical café racer styled builds.

Our shop is a place where craft meets horsepower and wild schemes become reality. We’re inspired by classic engineering, state of the art technology, and good old-fashioned wrenching. From the revival of the 1960’s Café culture to the unimagined sport bike of the future, Twinline embodies an adventurous culture of motors. and is home to an arsenal of world-class motorcycle artistry.

The original engine was not modified, but got an electronic Pamco ignition and some Mikuni VM34 carburetors where fitted. To give the bike some more air, they used two Mike’s XS pod filters. The exhaust was built by Gordon Scott.

The fuel tank is from a XS750 and the custom rear seat with integrated taillight got some nice leather Mossimo. The overall paint job and striping was done by Red Cup Customs. Parts like the frame and swing arm where all powder-coated with a high gloss finish.

Since the guys from Twinline like modern technology, a Motogadget was a real must have. The custom triple tree, made by Kris Richardson holds a Motogadget motoscope speedometer to keep the front as clean as possible. The bike got an RFID ignition and a lightweight Shorai battery powers the bike.

The wheels got an upgrade on the stock hubs with new Akront rims and Avon AM26 tires.

Other parts used:

• Omar’s rear wheel spacers and 520 sprocket conversion
• Stock XS650, rebuilt, polished fork lowers cartridge emulators
• Cable actuated Mike’s XS master cylinder on the front, stock XS650 caliper
• On the rear: Mike’s XS reproduction master cylinder, stock XS650 caliper
• Adjustable steering damper
• Speigler stainless braided brake lines
• Mike’s XS headlight bucket
• Rear sets by Kris Richardson
• Torrozzi clip-ons
• MSR clutch and bake lever
• Kung fu grips
• Halcyon bar end mirrors

The post Yamaha XS650 Café Racer by Twinline Motorcycles appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

First of all: the title of this post is not in line with the actual cylinder capacity: since this Yamaha XS650 Scrambler by Dime City Cycles is based on a stock XS650, it’s fitted with a big bore kit what makes this a XS744 Scrambler.

The base bike was a 1980 XS650 in a very poor state. Cylinders where rusted and busted, it had no carbs an no exhaust. So they had to rebuild the entire engine.

“Essentially, we rebuilt this motorcycle from the ground up. Every nut and bolt was replaced with new hardware. The motor was rebuilt using 80 mm Pistons taking it to a whopping 744cc. We installed oversized titanium valves and seats, a performance cam and blueprinted the crank. Then fitted the motor with 34 mm Mikuni carburetor.”

The front wheel was made from several parts: for the rear wheel they used a custom 17 inch aluminum rim on a drum hub of a Honda CB450. On the front wheel a 19 inch Sun rim was fitted on a Triumph Bonneville hub.

For some modern braking power, the wheel got a 320mm disc with a moder brake caliper. The wheels where finished with Avon Diztanzia tires (100/80 front and 130/80 rear).

Öhlins shocks where fitted on the rear, while the front suspension got an upgrade with Race Tech springs.

The exhaust system is from Cone Performance.

And off course, all the parts used are from the extensive catalogue. You can check out all used parts for this XS650 Scrambler  here:

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/custom-motorcycle-builds/dcc-builds/xs744-scrambler.html

The post Yamaha XS650 Scrambler by Dime City Cycles appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Please note: this is a list of vintage motorcycles, because we like the old timers best:

1. All Honda CB-series from the 70’s – 80’s (four, SOHC): CB750, CB550, CB500, CB400, CB350
2. Honda CX-series from the late 70’s to mid 80’s (including GL500)
3. Yamaha XV-series from the 80’s: XV535, XV750, XV920
4. BMW R-series from the late 60’s to 80’s; R60,R75. R80, R100
5. Suzuki Savage (check out Rycamotors)
6. Triump Bonneville
7. Royal Enfield
8. Moto Guzzi (Le mans, V-series)
9. Triumph Thruxton
10. Norton Commando
11. Kawasaki W800
12. Yamaha XS650
13. Suzuki GS-series
14. Kawasaki K-series
15. Yamaha SR400/SR500
16. Honda CB T-series (2 cylinders)
17. Got money? Take a look at classic Ducati’s, BSA’s, Vincents ($$$).

As you can see, the Honda CB-series dominate this list. Why? Because there are tons of them, they are reliable, quitte powerfull, have great proportions, are affordable and there is so many information to find that every problem you can think of, is already solved. And last but not least: there are A LOT of aftermarket products to buy.

Is that all??

No, because in fact everything with two wheels and an engine in between will do, because with some imagination you can turn any bike into a café racer! But if you’re missing a bike on this list which need to be named? Let us know! ;)

Also check this more in-dept post about picking a base bike for your café racer project.

Got your base bike? Then make sure you have a Café Racer Building Plan!

The post 17 Best Café Racer Bikes appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.