Gold Wing cafe racer. Four words that you don’t normally expect to read in the same sentence but that’s the thing with motorbikes, cafe racers even more so, it’s all about the individual, their tastes and desires.
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Tag Archives: Japanese
Honda CB750F “Freddie Spencer” Replica
In 1981, “Fast Freddie” Spencer competed in the AMA Superbike Championship series for Honda aboard a modified Honda CB750F Super Sport finishing in 2nd place in the Championship behind Eddie Lawson on his Kawasaki. This article describes one man’s dream of building a replica of this bike.
Barry Sheene Festival 2016
It’s forty years this year since Barry Sheene won the first of his two consecutive World Championships. To mark this anniversary, Barry’s actual Suzuki RG500 race bikes from 1976 and 1977 will be on display at this year’s Barry Sheene Festival at Oliver’s Mount from 23-24 July 2016.
Suzuki Vintage Insurance Scheme
If your Suzuki is over 20 years old like this gorgeous GSX-R 750F, then you might be able to save money through the Suzuki Vintage Insurance Scheme. The scheme complements Suzuki’s Vintage Parts Service and is part of their commitment to supporting owners of their older machinery.
Restoration of a Kawasaki Z750 Turbo
WHO CAN CATCH A KAWASAKI? screamed the cover of Kawasaki’s 1984 range brochure and racing across that cover was a Kawasaki Z750 Turbo looking pretty much just like the magnificent example above. Resplendent in its two-tone Ebony/Firecracker Red livery, with gloss black engine and black chrome exhausts, this 1984 ZX750-E1 model looks box-fresh and ready to go. Continue reading
60th Anniversary Yamaha YZF-R1
OilySmudges recently posted an article asking Yamaha to bring back the iconic “Speed Block” design. Imagine our surprise when today (18 September 2015) Yamaha announced that a limited edition 60th Anniversary version of the YZF-R1 will be produced for the 2016 model year featuring this iconic design. Continue reading
Honda Gold Wing cafe racer
When Lars Schau decided to build a cafe racer, he knew he wanted something different, to ride the road less ridden. But that wasn’t all; his cafe racer would be different on a tight budget. He achieved the first of these objectives through his unusual choice of donor machine and the second by tackling the fabrication of most of the custom components himself. Continue reading
Retro motorcycles
Over the past few years the market for retro motorcycles, those machines that conjure up memories of the past, has really expanded and now many of the mainstream manufacturers have at least one retro model in their range. With that in mind, I thought it might be entertaining to compare these machines with the ones they take their inspiration from. Continue reading
Yamaha Yard Built
Owning and running any motorcycle sets you apart from the ordinary, the run of the mill. And it’s this desire to be distinctive, different from the next person, that Yamaha is tapping into with the Yamaha Yard Built initiative. Continue reading
Seeley-Honda CB750 (1977)
During the ’60s and ’70s, the name Seeley was synonymous with quality, go-faster aftermarket frames, bodywork and exhausts. The man behind it, Colin Seeley, began as a motorcycle mechanic in the early ’50s and was soon to set up in business with his father offering workshop services and then becoming a dealer for new machines and by the late ’50s had secured main dealership contracts with the likes of AJS, BMW and Matchless to name but three. Continue reading