Tag Archives: retro

KZ400 – some motorbike influances

I’ve been looking at a number of vintage bikes, and some cafe racer bikers. Going to save these for reference, and what about each one I really like. It will be interesting to come back to these articles once I finally finish the bike and see what I was thinking.

Bike 1 – Honda twin

Bike idea 01
Bike idea 01
    Elements I like about this Honda.

  • black painted forks
  • cool custom high routed exhaust. The wrapping adds a nice effect
  • chopped off tail
  • stripped off fenders, front and rear
  • it’s also a parallel twin

Bike 2 – Honda twin

bike idea 2
bike idea 2
    Elements I like about this Honda.

  • black paint with gold pinstripe
  • chrome megaphone exhaust in polished stainless looks cool
  • short bars
  • it still has the fenders but they are minimalist and painted.
  • nice steel braided oil cooler lines
  • painted branding (no cast emblems)

Bike 3 – Honda CR550F

cafe03

    Elements I like about this Honda.

  • red and yellow paint, with black side panels is a nice look.
  • black painted exhaust might be easier to achieve than fixing the pitted stock chrome system
  • again, the bobbed tail

Bike 4 – Honda (looks like an old Silverwing)

cafe04

    Elements I like about this Honda.

  • I was originally considering silver paint for the bike, not sure about the blue stripe.
  • like idea of the painted frame
  • one thing that I really liked is the flat metal cover below the seat, instead of the stock curved piece.

Bike 5 – Norton

cafe05

    Elements I like about this Norton.

  • gloss black paint, and stripe.
  • rubber boots on the forks
  • silver painted forks (I think)
  • color matched hub on the rear brake

Bike 6 – Norton

cafe06

    Elements I like about this Norton.

  • nice custom job
  • modern front inverted forks and brakes
  • cool high-mount megaphone exhaust
  • also looks like a mono-shock rear end, very trick.

Bike 7 – Honda (I think its an old XR400)

cafe07
cafe08

    Not really relevant to my current project but.. cool idea!

  • looks like a dirtbike single converted to a street cafe racer
  • cool chopped rear end

Bike 09 – Kawasaki, maybe?

cafe09

    what’s cool

  • paint, love the flat olive retro-vintage WWII paint scheme
  • site exit mega-can exhaust, in black
  • top mounted bars (no clipons) but sort of inverted looking!
  • front still has fender, not so sure about that..
  • rubber boots on forks

Bike 9

real deal KZ400 cafe
real deal KZ400 cafe
    what’s cool

  • flat black paint. I can do that right now.
  • know official name for those bars, ‘clubmans’ it would be the place to start!