Gentlemen, may we have your votes please?
In 2021 the BikeBrewers team got invited by the Café Racer Club Bulgaria to act as judges for the 2nd edition of the Caféracerfest in Kyustendil – Bulgaria. We didn’t know what to expect, since this was the first time we were asked to perform this serious duty, and all we had seen so far were (lovely) pictures of the first edition. Now, we may not know much about the Eurovision Song contest, however, we do know a thing or two about caféracers, so we grabbed our motorcycle gear and headed East.

Throwback 2021
As you may recall, we were blown away by the quality of the event, which we clearly communicated in our September 24th report. A major factor in the success of the first two editions is the undaunted organizer of the event, Ivan Mushev. That name may ring a bell, and it should; we’ve featured some of Ivan’s masterpieces under the name of his outfit Bull Moto custom. But that’s not what we are here for now.

We must have done something right as we have been invited to judge again at the 2022 edition of the Caféracerfest which is coming up on June 11th, and we couldn’t be more excited! Looking back at last year’s event did raise the question if this year’s contenders have any idea of the high level of last year’s participants? If we go by what we saw last year, we have some pretty high expectations.

…and the winner is..!
This story is about Borislav Aleksov and his dream to build the ultimate café racer. Before the Bulgarian builder got his hands on this 1992 Yamaha XV1100, he had already built a Honda CX500 café racer. Borislav was fascinated by the air-cooled Yamaha v-twin, so when one of his friends was selling his, Borislav knew that it was now or never. We’re glad he took that chance.

It’s safe to say that we have yet to see a boring Yamaha XV caféracer here at BikeBrewers. This one seems to be the latest addition to that list, keeping the standard yet again, very high. It’s hard to imagine that Borislav had a budget of a mere 7500 euro; that kind of money you’d expect a shed-built bike to cost, definitely not a show-winning unit like this.

Torches out
Borislav started with chopping the rear sub-frame, and building a new one from scratch. At the front a set of Suzuki GSX-R1000 forks were adopted, held firmly in place by a set of Aprilia RSV4 triple clamps. The forks allow for radial brake callipers to be mounted, which is exactly what the master craftsman did, courtesy of Tokico. At the rear, a Yamaha FZ6 mono-shock keeps the bike on track. The new forks brought a new dilemma; the ground clearance was now compromised. The solution: raising the engine up in the frame. That’s not an easy task, so countless hours were spent trying to get it right.

The engine didn’t go back in the frame before being completely overhauled and got covered with a fresh coat of paint. The carbs were cleaned and rebuild, so that took care of the intake side of things. On the exhaust side, a new custom-made exhaust system was build from the ground up. We really liked the lines and angles of the exhaust system, and it’s one of the key features that attracted us to this bike on the day of the event. When we asked Borislav what his intentions were when he built this bike, he said that, at first he wanted to build a classic looking café racer, but that he changed his mind half-way through the project after being inspired by some builds he saw on Facebook.

Wheels
A friend of Borislav took care of lacing the hubs to a new set of aluminium rims, which were also in black. Yes, black is the theme with this build, and we like it! Do you know what’s also black? The modified Benelli fuel tank, the epitome of café racer fuel tanks. Everything was painted in-house by Borislav himself. A custom leather seat keeps the rider firmly in place, and a Daytona Velona 80 gives all the necessary rider info whilst maintaining a contemporary look.

It is clear to see why this particular café racer took the 1st prize during the 2021 Caferacerfest.
This is what Borislav had to say about his build:
“I like the paint scheme and the general profile of the motorcycle that is the exact opposite of a chopper. The riding experience is unexplainable after 3 years of working on this project to be able to finally ride it is a dream come true. Thanks also for the Felix helmet that I received as a prize. It really enhances the look of the ride” he smiles.

Previous life
Below are some shots of the bike before Borislave opened his toolbox and the build in progress.

The post Winner 2021 Café Racer Fest Bulgaria – Yamaha XV by Borislav Aleksov appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Another XV!
So when our friend Jeremy Duchamp of JeremMotorcycles shared his modified Yamaha XV1000 TR-1 with us last year, we were over the moon! The Frenchman can’t seem to get enough of the Yamaha XV, so he spent over 240 hours in his shed brewing on another Yamaha XV project, this time is a XV750. We have to say that we were blown away by how this café racer turned out!

It goes without saying that the XV didn’t start of its life like this. Jeremie bought the 1983 XV750 about 1 year ago and it was not in a good shape, according to the craftsman. Each and every bolt was removed and replaced where necessary. The subframe and swingarm had sever corrosion and were removed and decluttered, after which they got sandblasted and powder coated in a gloss black finish.

Serious components
The front end of the XV received a serious upgrade. The front fork has been adopted from a Ducati Monster and was mated to a  Ducati Diavel front wheel. To make it all work , a custom triple clamp was made by USV Racing. Integrated into the top yoke is a KOSO speedo. The radial brakes are courtesy of Brembo and offer tremendous stopping power. The brake lines are of aviation grade quality too. On the clip-ons we find CNC’ed micro switches. All the switches and electrics have been connected to an M-Unit by MotoGadget. Talking about electrics, the café racer received an LED headlight, mini front indicators, and a tail light that appears to be floating, pretty neat! All of this is powered by a Solise lightweight Lithium battery which has been placed underneath the tank.

Moving towards the back of the Yamaha, we can see some serious eye-candy. The rear wheel is an absolute stunner, with the closed rim giving it an old-school racer look. A custom rear-set ensures the rider maintains full control. The rear shock comes off an MV Agusta 800 and has a custom mounting system. The single seat has been built to spec by “Point Sellier 34”, in a beautiful black leather finish with a colour matching piping.

Engine Refreshment
The engine wasn’t up to snuff to begin with, so Jeremie decided to replace it completely by a unit with a lower mileage. With less than 10.000 km on the clock it definitely was a lot fresher. From there it was simple. Replace the original carburettors with a pair of Dellorto PHF32’s, open air-filters, and get the lot tuned by “Les Belled d’Oc” in Béziers, France. To let all the gases out in an efficient way, a custom exhaust was made in the JeremMotorcycles workshop.

Green by AUDI
To finish this custom project off, the engine received a fresh coat of paint, and the fuel tank got painted in a lush AUDI green paint. The fuel tank also received a protective KEVLAR layer underneath to protect against any unwanted influences. There are little easter eggs hidden all over this build; JM logo’s are engraved or painted in countless places, most notably on those Metzeler tires.

Putting all things together, we can’t imagine how Jeremie completed this build in only 240 hours. It is truly impressive, and we hope that someday we can see and hear this beautiful café racer rip the streets of France, in real-life.

Photo Credits: Jonathan Silene

Builder details:
Jerem Motorcycles
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No introduction needed

Meet Remco Witkamp from the Netherlands. A classic example of a biker who loves to wrench, weld and paint. Started at a young age building MX-style mopeds, Remco also raced dirt bikes and competitions for many years.

Scrambler
Back in 2017, he saw something that he really liked. In this case it was a Scrambler. This gave him an itch and made him think about potentially building his own scrambler. It’s funny how an idea can turn into actions. Remco found a 1991 Yamaha XT600 for sale which ticked all the boxes for a base bike. The XT wasn’t running, but that wasn’t going to be an issue since he had plans for the powerplant anyways.

The XT600 got pulled apart and stripped to its bare bones. The frame, swingarm and handlebar got sent out to get powder-coated. All other parts were painted by the man himself, such as the fuel tank, which was sourced from a 1978 Suzuki GT250. You may look at the XT and wonder how Remco came up with this design. Well, as it turns out, he used to paint MX helmets in the 1990s, using his own designs. It is this experience that helped him come up with what we see here today.

Hommage
To add some old school flavor, Remco paid tribute to the XT’s heritage and made sure that the sides are recognisable from the Yamaha XT’s of the past. A smart play with lines makes it look like the XT is moving at speed while at standstill. The devil is in the details, and this XT is full of them. The black and white paint, combined with the raw look of the modified OEM aluminium fenders and the thin red paint on various parts, it brings everything nicely together.

This Yamaha XT SCR600, as this project is called, SRC standing for “Scrambler Road Cross”, has more than just looks going for it. We’ve mentioned the fuel tank and fenders. At the front we see a ProTaper handlebar, held in place by a set of T-Tech risers. A mini speedo from Sigma (that’s right, like the bicycle speedometers!) provide the necessary info. A set of Domino grips with bar-end mirrors at the end help the rider stay in control.

Not just good looks
The suspension are courtesy of WP at the front and rear and are modified to increase the height and ground clearance. They also make sure that the Continental TKC80 rubber, which have been wrapped around 17” Takasago aluminium rims, stay connected to the road. We love the dual-sport knobby tires, they make this Scrambler look very serious. The Galfer oversize brakes ensure proper stopping power.

There are number other parts that make this XT stand out. The seat for instance, which is handmade and looks quite comfortable for a change, and rests on a completely rebuild subframe. While the front of the XT looks conservative with a classic round headlight, the rear has a bit more modern touch. LED rear-brake light with integrated indicators help to clean up the rear. You may also notice that a starter-motor is missing. That’s because this XT is a kickstart only. All the wiring has been completely replaced with new wires. The engine got a rebuild too, and got treated to a fresh layer of paint. What caught our eye was the exhaust system, which has a header that was partly made in-house, and a silencer from MPW Speedshop.

Considering that this bike was custom built by a single man in his own shed is simply mind-blowing. It is clear that Remco has “the touch”, and we truly hope that we will see more from this man’s shed.

Photo credits: Remco Witkamp

Builder details:
Remco Witkamp
Instagram
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Polish Perfection

Not an XT500
The motorcycle we are seeing in front of us is NOT a Yamaha XT500. We know, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck… The little surprise we have here is in fact a Yamaha SR500. Technically related to the XT500, but designed with a completely different purpose. This unit is from 1982 and would be perfect for what the owner had in mind. At least, that was until he changed his mind and pulled the plug on the project. The SR500 got cold-stacked and spent 2 years in a storage before another customer decided to take over the project and commissioned the build to continue.

Legendary
In the past 5 years we have only covered a couple of builds that are based on a Yamaha XT. It is one of Yamaha’s biggest success stories and a legend. Yamaha introduced the first XT, the XT500, in 1976 with a 500cc single cylinder air-cooled engine. It was known for its tractor-like torque and power delivery. The XT also had a reputation of being absolutely bulletproof. Production halted in 1989 when the XT600 took over.

Rebuild
So how do you change an SR500 into an XT500? The answer is far simpler than you’d think. Most of the XT500 looks where achieved by cleaning up the SR frame and by adding an original XT500 fuel tank. The custom seat played a major role in achieving the desired look. To make it all work, the necessary mounting points had to be fabricated as well as adjusting the subframe to make the seat pan fit.

An original XT500 triple clamp was sourced to allow for taller suspension at the front. Original XT500 wheel and forks with progressive springs added flavor to this build. The rear wheel is an original SR500 unit, but the rear shocks aren’t. A set of fully adjustable YSS shocks which are longer than the original shocks help increase the ground clearance. While the rear end was being reworked, a chain tensioner was added to the rear swingarm.

Vintage
The bodywork was completed with a vintage replica of an ufo enduro headlight, an original XT500 front fender, and a customised rear fender fitted with a TT500 replica tail light. In the rear they attached the famous Supertrapp 3″ series dirt bike exhaust and set it up to work with the carb. To create a real vintage look, the builders looked closely to some of the original Yamaha XT color schemes, and then decided to go with the famous 1980 XT500g monochromatic white/black/brushed metal look.

Performance work
To improve the XT’s reliability and performance, the engine was rebuilt, and the carburettor was equipped with a new set of jets. The airbox was replaced with a K&N pod filter. The wiring loom was modified to keep all the cables nearly invisible. There is no battery anymore, just a condenser. It goes without saying that the SR-turned-XT is light. Very light! It is also nimble, and has a strong pull. According to Christian, the exhaust sounds pleasing to the ear in the low and mid revs and is not too loud in high revs. It is quite easy to start, once you get the idea on how to do it correctly. Its torquey engine and comfortable riding position makes it a functional enduro bike for light trails and occasional rides. This project took about 1 year to complete.

Partners who took part in this project:
Welding – Adrian Figura from Scrambler74
Photography – Bartek Zaranek Photography
Paintjob – Lukasz Okrasko

Builder details:
86 Gear Motorcycles
Website
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Back in 2020, BikeBrewers were invited to join the first edition of the Café Racer Fest in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. Unfortunately COVID had paralyzed the world and travel restrictions caused us to miss out on that event.

We followed the happening on social media while the enthusiasm of participants, visitors and bike builders vibrated through our screens. We knew we missed out on something special! We made a promise there and then, that we would do everything to make it to the 2021 edition. As we are always true to our word, there was no reason not to make the trip this time.

To team members Ron and Adnane it felt nearly as good as going on a road trip even though two flights, three cars but no bikes were involved in getting from Amsterdam to Kyustendil.

Arriving close to midnight, the organizer of the Café Racer Fest and spiritual father of the event, Ivan Mushev of Bull Moto Custom, had kindly arranged transportation from Sofia airport to the ski resort up in the mountains about half an hour up from town up a dark and twisty country road with al sort of wildlife crossing our headlights.

Early start
In order to make the most of the day breakfast was served early and we took off to the centre of town. The empty square would soon be the stage of an extraordinary event, attracting an sizable crowd of both participants and spectators. On the plaza of this nearly 40.000 inhabitant’s rich city, volunteers were busy setting the stage for things to come.

The Café Racer Fest harbours not only custom bikes but also offers a stage for vintage motorcycles and cars from all makes and years. There was quite a collection of incredibly beautiful Pre-Perestroika MZ’s, Jawa’s and Ural sidecars. Truly as if time stood still.

Talking about time, it is funny what the years do with your sense of beauty. Bikes that were considered hideous in the 60’s and 70’s Western Europeans are now considered attractive by the same crowd. Thanks to younger demographics, discovering the fun in riding, Eastern Bloc classic icons such as the 60’s MZ have now grown from being more hideous than the word itself to ultra-cool! We bet there will be quite some young urban riders who would not mind to be spotted on one of those former ‘monstrosities’, were it not that in most large European cities, those two-strokes will never be seen spewing their distinguishable blue exhaust plumes again.

Ride out
Prior to the start of the event, a number of bikers and bike builders met at the local gas station for a ride out to the venue. Little over 150 bikers, nearly of which were modified in one way or another, joined in this brotherly gathering. The atmosphere was incredible; there is something quite special about seeing cafe racers being used for they were built.

Choices, choices
There were three contemporary categories; Modern Classics, Scrambler & Brat, and Café Racers. BikeBrewers were given the task of selecting the Top 3 in the “Café Racer” category. We were given about twenty projects to choose from and had about an hour to finalize our task.

As we always do when judging bikes, we put together a matrix awarding points on a scale of 1-10 for elements such as the ‘Wow!’ factor, originality, quality of work & amp; paint, and craftsmanship and set out separately to do our first independent judging.

You’d expect this to be easy and give clear comparable results. No such thing! We had quite a hefty discussion and with the clock ticking away it required a final walk around to re-evaluate our choices. At the ‘strike of twelve’ we managed to come up with a Top 3 we could both fully subscribe to.

And the winner is…
A 1994 Yamaha XV1100 had scored high points on both our lists and was chosen ‘Best of show’ in this year’s Café Racer category. Its owner, Borislav Alexsov, has put quite a lot of hours in building this machine and is rightfully proud of the result. 2nd place went to Vencislav Angelov with his stunning 1984 Honda CBX 750, and 3rd place went to Kaloian Ivanchev Chekelev with his very cool BMW R75 which saw daylight in 1982.

All top 3 finalists were showered with gifts from local sponsors. To top it off BikeBrewers’ came bearing gifts from our partners Felix Auto Moto and SA1NT! adding a helmet and a sought after twill trucker cap to the basket of each of the category winners!

Come rain come shine
Bulgarians have been spoiled with loads of sunshine over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, rain was predicted during the hours of the event. The start of the award ceremony for the café racer category was launched with a clap of thunder followed by a slight drizzle. That made us feel like home instantly.

Luckily the audience was not scared away that easily, and there was quite a cheer from the several hundred people on the square. According to the organizers, the total attendance during this year’s edition the audience grew with 20% to around 2.500 visitors who meandered amongst all the beauty displayed on the town square this morning.

The next edition
Writing this post just before the party organized by the Cafe Racer Club Bulgaria, we are already spoiled by the kindness of the Bulgarians we met on the way, especially by the members of the café racer community.

As much as we love attending established events in Western European countries, we are always on the lookout for new, exciting and more grass roots experiences. This scene is way bigger and vibrant than you would ever dare to imagine. Everyone we met was proud of the results of their labour and insights are shared freely among this close-knit society.

We will be back for sure and hope the organizers can look forward to an even bigger crowd in 2022. Being the only international visitors this year, we share our experience with the knowledge that this is likely to be the last time we enjoyed this exclusivity.

Given the fact that there is a very lively local scene and magnificent twisty country roads and awesome virgin off road tracks to be travelled freely, it is likely many adventurous bikers from the West will be heading East next year.

Photos by:
Georgi Georgiev Photography
Kalina Kalcheva
BikeBrewers

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V-Twin

Cult-Classic
Due to its unpopularity at the time, the XV slowly started to grow a cult-like following. Being an underdog, second-hand XV’s have been up for grabs for beer money, and it soon became the custom builder’s base bike of choice; with its narrow frame, short wheel-base, easy to work on engine, and Japanese build quality. No surprise that we at BikeBrewers have featured modified XV’s over a dozen time!

Jerem Motorcycles
We have seen what France-based Jeremie Duchampt of Jerem Motorcycles is capable off in the past. This time, he did his magic on the venerable Yamaha XV 1000 TR-1. The bike he used was a neat looking 1982 model. All stock and original. Jeremie first took the entire motorcycle apart, replacing each and every bolt and bearing. The first modifications were done to swingarm and subframe. The swingarm got cleaned-up by removing any unnecessary tabs, and the rear-subframe was swapped out for an in-house made unit. After that, both parts received a sandblast and a fresh coat of black gloss paint.

Cannibal
At the front things have become a bit more serious. The front end of the Yama was swapped out for a fork and front wheel from a Kawasaki ZX6R Ninja. The same goes for the Tokico radial calliper brakes. Combined with a Brembo master brake cylinder and steel-braided hoses, they give the old TR-1 some incredible stopping power. Visibility is provided by LED lights at the front and rear, as well as LED indicators all around. A KOSO speedo gives all the necessary info whilst maintaining a minimalistic look. The rear wheel is a unit from a 2006 Suzuki SV 650, and is now being offered traction by a Sachs rear shock which was cannibalised from an MV Agusta.

The engine received a rebuild and was tuned on a dyno by Thorn Bike, not that it was necessary, but more for peace of mind. The carburettors were rebuilt as well, and are now mated to a Harley-Davidson air-filter. The piece-de-resistance has to be the exhaust system. Built by hand in the Jerem Motorcycles workshop, it looks like a piece of art. Other eye candy has to be the handmade seat. Made by Point Sellier 34, it fits the XV like a glove.

Digital meets Analog
Although the build was kept minimalistic, there are a ton of details on this bike. The original fuel tank was replaced with another Yamaha fuel tank, one from an XV750. It got slightly modified to accommodate a Motogadget fuel sensor. Special paint with Stardust glitter finish and 12 layers of clear coat was done by the folks at A2F. Underneath the fuel tank, a light weight Solise lithium battery is housed, together with the M-unit. The underside of the tank received KEVLAR protection.

Finally, a few more small details that leave a big impact. The bike has the JM Logo engraved on various part of the motorcycle, making it clear that Jeremie built this one. About 400 hours of labor has been put into this café racer, but the results, speak for themselves. We haven’t received any official specs, but it is safe to say that most of the original 70hp and 80Nm of torque are now available on tap. Combined with the heavy weight reduction… If we were in France, we would surely drop by to check this build out. In the meantime, we will have to make do with the pictures Jeremie sent us.

Builder details:
Jerem Motorcycles
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1. BMW R nineT Café Racer by K-Speed
In 2018 K-Speed broke the internet with their incredibly elegant yet mean looking BMW R nineT Café Racer. It is safe to say that since then the Thailand based outfit K-Speed has grown out to be one of the industry top-tier bike builders.

The BMW R nineT is one of those machines that can be put under the famous words “Veni, Vidi, Vici”. Right from the introduction back in 2014, it was clear that BMW aimed at a big piece of the retro bike scene as we know it today. Next to an impressive catalog of custom parts, big brands started created complete lines of parts, especially for the R nineT. And BMW bootstrapped different editions of the Beemer, like the Racer and Scrambler. Nevertheless, I think we’ll be stuck to this popular boxer the next couple of years (probably decades). But is that a problem? Of course not! It’s a very good bike and I love to see them getting customized.

2. BMW K100 Cafe Racer by Retrorides
Another oldie but goldie: a BMW K100 Café Racer by Retrorides. With this bike, the Brazilian brothers Gustavo and Rodrigo Lourenço showed what they are capable of and that they were able to redefine the standards for building cafe racer, still the #1 bike for cafe racer projects. With so many unique creations it’s hard to stand out, but the K100 simply hit a sweet spot. While Gustavo and Rodrigo have a long-time history in building hot rods, they sure know how to make something special out of a two-wheeled machine.

3. YAMAHA TRX850 Café Racer by Seb Hipperson
It was no secret that the Yamaha TRX850 was meant as a direct competitor of the Ducati 900SS. Just like the Duc, the TRX850 had a 2 cylinder engine in a tube frame, a sporty riding position and a bikini fairing. The most exciting about the TRX was its engine. It was based on the Yamaha TDM850 and had 5 valves per cylinder (3 in and 2 out) but the TRX was the first production motorcycle with a 270°  crank (or 90° if you prefer) with the so called “crossplane” technology. With this the parallel twin produced sound and feeling of a V-twin. A technology Yamaha also used for the Yamaha XSR700 which results in a great power band. The 80hp and 85Nm are available at very low RPM’s.

Unlike the 900SS, the TRX was not a big sales hit, but amongst motorcycle lovers the bike is called one of the “best kept secrets” and a “forgotten gem”. Bespoke furniture maker Seb Hipperson from Londen had that same love for the TRX and decided to build his own TRX850 Cafe Racer. Watch and enjoy! The bike was showed to the public at the Bike Shed London back in 2015.

4. Honda CB250 Café Racer by Black Bean Motorcycles
The Honda CB is and always will be a great base bike for a café racer. Especially the 4 cylinder bikes with the CB750 and CB550 being dominant. Pretty obvious, since these were real sales canons in the 70s, 80s and even 90s. But Honda also produced CB’s with a parallel twin cylinder like the CB500(t), CB400 and CB360. The small Honda CB250G, which you see below, was mainly produced for the European market and is only produced between 1974 and 1976. This little machine puts out 30hp and had a six-speed gearbox, which was pretty odd those days. Honda claimed it to be “one of the finest sport-touring motorcycles available”. 

The Honda CB250 Cafe Racer you see here is built by Blackbean Motorcycles, a German workshop in the heart of Munich.

5. Moto Guzzi California Café Racer by Radical Guzzi
Born on the drawing table of Sylvain Berneron, better known as the Holographic Hammer and executed by Radical Guzzi from Germany: a real muscle bike café racer based on the extremely bulky Moto Guzzi California 1400 8v.The plan was to create a high torque café racer, so the idea was to use the massive 1400cc engine of the California. But to lose the bulky character, they had to strip down the weight of this machine, which originally is 322kg (dry). They’ve managed to reduce that fat to 195kg! A lot of high end parts and custom parts where uses like: seat and frame, wheel hubs, triple clamps for the 58mm Marzocchi front suspension, Brembo brakes, Öhlins rear shocks, custom exhaust etc. The standard power outpot and torque of 96hp and 120Nm were tuned to 105hp and 138Nm, thanks to Keihin FCR 41 carbs and custom exhaust system.

The post Top 10 BikeBrewers Café Racers Hall of Fame: Part 1 appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

BOOMING business

People’s favorite
Dawid loves simple motorcycles, and frankly, so do we. No fancy computer to complicate things, no rider aids to forgive you for your mistakes. There is something elemental about such motorcycles, you either love or hate it. Now, Yamaha XJR1300’s are becoming increasingly popular with bike builders lately. And why not? They are easy to work on, powerful, reliable, and parts are available in abundance since it is one of Yamaha’s longest running models. This particular model a 20th Anniversary edition.

Too hot to handle!
Although this Yamaha looks like it just left the floor of the dealership, it is far from stock. At the front the first things that we notice are the front wheel and upside-down forks. They came from a Suzuki GSX-R 750. The rear shocks are a Yamaha original factory Öhlins, sourced from the SP-version of the XJR. A set of sticky Pirelli Phantom Sportcomp tires wrap the rims tightly, adding a bit of nostalgia and performance to the Yamaha. Another feature that is an improvement over the original bike is the brakes. They are from a GSX-R as well and they will slow the XJR down like a sledgehammer!

Modern Cafe Racer
A company called Highsider delivered the LED lights at the front and rear. The subframe received a trim and a loop to accommodate for the custom-made seat. Talking about the seat, it looks very comfortable in that soft brown Alcantara. The seat nestles nicely in a hand-made cowl, adding some flair to this modern café racer. A minimalistic speedometer replaced the old twin dials to add to the overall sleekness of the bike.

All Black
At the heart of this motorcycle is the air/oil-cooled engine. It received some TLC in the form of maintenance and a check-up. No engine modifications were done since it still has plenty of grunt. These 1300cc engines are bullet-proof. Pushing out a very healthy 106hp and 98Nm of torque, there is not much left to desire. Some fresh black paint, and an upgrade of all the nuts, bolts and screws to galvanised units, is all that the engine needed. The exhaust headers have been wrapped with thermal wrap and were finished off in black as well. Overall, the Yamaha looks very serious. An interesting fact is that Dawid built this motorcycle on his own. Not a single job was outsourced, and for that we tip our hats.

Everything in-house
It is clear that Dawid puts a lot of heart in his motorcycles, you can see that the quality really matters. The combination of upgraded suspension and tires really improve the handling of the Yamaha, especially when it gets a bit bumpy. The upgraded brakes inspire confidence, and the riding position is perfect; a bit sporty, but not too straining. The sound the Yamaha makes is the stuff that makes baby angels weep, and according to Dawid, the Yamaha always attracts a crowd. This Yamaha has been received by a new owner in Paris, so make sure to keep your eyes open if you live there. We would love to see more from build from Dawid!

Builder details:
Mission Custo Moto
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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

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Marfil Moto
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UNIK Edition Motorcycles
UNIK Edition Custom Motorcycles in Lisbon, Portugal is known for a wide range of interesting builds. As a matter of fact, they do more than just building custom bikes. With a full-blown workshop and an official dealership, they truly are a jack of all trades. One of their latest projects is based on the Yamaha XT 600E from 1998. The Yamaha was chosen by the owner, who is a good friend of the craftsmen. She loves the XT, and owns in fact two of them. It is not hard to see why.

A step back in time
In the past 5 years we have only covered builds that were based on a Yamaha XT. Far too little if you ask us. It is one of Yamaha’s biggest success stories and an absolute Paris-Dakar legend. Yamaha introduced the first XT, the XT500, in 1976 with a 500cc single cylinder air-cooled engine. It was known for its tractor-like torque and power delivery. The XT also had a reputation of being absolutely bulletproof. In 1982 and 1983, a lesser known XT550 was produced. In 1983 the XT600 emerged on the market, and had the tough task to continue the legacy its predecessor created. And oh boy did it deliver…

Cult-status
Sold from 1983 till 2003 (30 years!) in a myriad of forms, the XT600 was rightfully a success number for Yamaha. Sure, somewhere in the late 1990s the competition was starting to catch-up, think of KTM, BMW, and Suzuki, but Yamaha kept on pushing through. You could get one with a large safari-style fuel tank, kick start, electric start, or both. It was immensely popular with “overlanders”, motorcycle world-travellers, because of its simplicity and reliability. Towards the end of its career though, it had lost some of its oomph due to stricter emission legislation, and the quality of fit and finish started to deteriorate as well. It is the last of the true air-cooled big displacement single cylinders from Yamaha.

Blast from the past
The guys at UNIK decided to do a tribute to the Yamaha YZ’s and Bultaco Enduro machines from the 1970s. On the surface, it looks like they did an amazing job. The Yamaha vintage moto-cross look has a beautiful white paint scheme with red details. A long and sleek fuel tank, and custom-made side racing number plates, finished off with a round old-school enduro headlight complete with number plate as well. Road-legal and ready for use.

Lowered stance
Trail and enduro bikes can be a bit intimidating in terms of seat height. It doesn’t help that the owner isn’t really tall herself. So, changes had to be made to accommodate for a user-friendly seat-height. The rear suspension got shortened with a different set of dog-bones, and the front 21” wheel got replaced to a 19” unit. This lowered the stance of the XT significantly. The rear subframe got chopped off and mended with a rear loop, allowing for the rear mudguard to go underneath it, just like the old Yamaha CT-1 175. Preston Petty fenders and headlight cover were used for the period correct feel. Old style MX grips combined with chrome controls, and chrome handlebars were also use for that same reason.

Scrambleresque
To complete the build, a simple but good-looking black leather seat was added. We have seen the Arrow exhaust before, often on Scramblers. We have to say that it fits this XT really well. Another detail is the number “133” on the side number plates. This refers to the owner’s child racing number. It is no surprise that this XT is an easy bike to ride. According to UNIK, it is very nimble and agile in the city with low end and mid range grunt, pulling really good from the bottom all the way to highway speed and beyond if needed.

Builder details:
UNIK Edition Motorcycles
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