What's old is new again, and the newest trend on the block is Cafe Racers. Written by well-known motorcycle and automotive author Doug Mitchel, How to Build a Café Racer starts with a history lesson. While those first bikes were built in the UK for racing from cafe to cafe, the current rage for Cafe Racers has definitely spread to the US. Converting a stock motorcycle to a Cafe Racer requires more than a fairing and a few decals. The book starts with chapters on planning and choosing an appropriate bike, followed by chapters that detail the modifications that will likely be embraced by anyone converting a stocker to a rocker. From shocks and tires to engine modifications, Doug's book lays out each type of modification and how it's best carried through. The center of the book holds a gallery of finished bikes. These are not just Triumphs or Nortons, but nearly every brand imaginable from Japan, Italy, the UK, and Germany. The final chapters include two, start-to-finish cafe builds. This is the chance for the reader to see how professional shops take a stock Honda, Triumph, or Ducati and convert it into a fast, sexy, and functional Cafe Racer, ready to race from cafe to cafe on Saturday night, or around the race track on Sunday afternoon.

More than a memoir of a custom cafe racer build this book is a tribute to a teacher who inspired young people to be creative with their minds and capable with their hands. Growing up in Fargo, North Dakota in the 1970s and 80s, The Urban Monk had the opportunity to develop a love for machines, metal working and motorcycles. This book provides a glimpse into what life was like for the author and his young friends in Fargo during that time. It is also a poignant defense of industrial arts education in public schools. After an over three year effort building a custom cafe racer in his spare time and documenting the entire process in videos shared with the world on his YouTube channel Urban Monk TV, the author tells the story of how this project became more than a custom motorcycle build - it became a tribute to his middle school Metal Shop teacher who inspired him to go on to a life time of peaceful meditation in his garage with a wrench in his hand. Anyone interested in motorcycles, mechanics, do-it-yourself projects or a historical retrospective of life in 70s-80s Fargo will enjoy this pleasant read.

A fascinating expose of the culture of the cafe racer - a motorcycle culture which emerged from WWII in the UK and the USA. Today, it's in the midst of a huge restrspective.

The urge has found you daydreaming more than once. The urge to define, bend, shape, fabricate, invent, shove, break. To slide your leg over the seat you finally got back from the leather shop. To twist back the throttle grip you wrapped yourself. To lunge into the darkness of an open highway on a creation all your own. More than a motorcycle, this is about your identity. It's about building something as unique as you are. In The Build, Robert Hoekman Jr compiles insights from today's best builders to help you plot out your own beautiful beast. Loaded with photos, The Build features firsthand advice from the masters of moto design, including John Ryland (Classified Moto), Alan Stulberg (Revival Cycles), Jared Johnson (Holiday Customs), Jarrod DelPrado (DP Customs), and the legendary Max Hazan (Hazan Motorworks). You've seen what can be done. It's time to do it yourself. Get The Build.

I DRAW MOTOS is the essential Motorcycle Design guidebook for students, designers, builders, and motorsport enthusiasts.Designed in collaboration with Dave Mucci of Moto-Mucci in Portland, Oregon, I DRAW MOTOS Sketchbook is part premium sketchbook, part intuitive textbook, and part handy reference guide. IDRAW MOTOS includes critical info like motorcycle anatomy, engine configurations, suspension types and basic bike physics to help inform your designs. The instructional section includes step-by-step tutorials, perspective lessons, wheel lessons and layout fundamentals, paired with 100+ templates to sketch over.I DRAW MOTOS is a hard cover sketchbook, perfect bound and covered in a premium linen-textured cover with bright painted edges and elastic band. Bright white 100gsm paper carries ink well and won't bleed.

Ton Up! A Century of Café Racer Speed and Style focuses on the story of the ton-up boys and their café racers. But it's much more than just that. Illustrated with historic and modern photos and featuring a text by one of the world’s motorcycle historians, it's really the story of motorcycle speed and style evolved from the early 1900s right through today. Cafe racers are most associated with the young, rebellious rock-and-rollers of 1960s Britain. These riders created the quintessential café racers—fast motorcycles customized to resemble the racing bikes of the period. They were called “café racers” because their riders raced on public roads, from one café to the next. The goal was to do “the ton” (exceed 100 miles per hour) on these runs, which led to their designation as “ton-up boys.” Today, ton-up culture is more popular than ever and recognized worldwide with a following of young and long-time riders alike.With Ton Up!, enjoy a scenic ride through the history of this vibrant scene.

In the old days all a person needed to build a killer custom motorcycle was a bike, a set of tools, a little know-how, and a creative vision. But with the rise of the high-dollar, haute moteur Gucci choppers, the true custom bike has gotten out of most riders’ reach, right? Dead wrong. In this book Jose de Miguel, a custom builder from way back, sets out to prove that those good old days never ended. In the clearest and simplest terms, he shows readers how they can turn odds and ends found around the shop into one-off motorcycle parts--and make a cheap, run-of-the mill custom build into a drop-dead show stopper. Following de Miguel’s lead, along with his straightforward illustrations, any resourceful owner with rudimentary mechanical skills, a basic tool kit, and--most importantly--a modicum of imagination can build the bobber of his dreams for less than the price of a new bike.

Plenty of books have been published about British bikes and their glorious motorcycling racing heritage, but until now none has solely focused on the rich variety of British café racers. a genre created in 1950s Britain by the 'ton-up boys'. Style, speed and passion combine for an eclectic journey into the world of the British cafe racer. Uli Cloesen's latest book - the first dedicated to the British cafe racer scene - is a celebration of all things fast from Britain, a definitive overview of the cafed British motorcycle, from single-cylinder to four-cylinder variants, and going well beyond the parallel Triton twin. Featuring a truly stunning variety of British motorcycle engine based cafe racers, from the UK and beyond, and complemented by owners' stories and technical descriptions, this book presents the eye candy of the British cafe racer world ... come and see the cafed side of Britain!

Everything you need to know to restore or customize your classic Japanese motorcycle. Whether you want to correctly restore a classic Japanese motorcycle or create a modified, custom build, you need the right information about how to perform the mechanical and cosmetic tasks required to get an old, frequently neglected, and often long-unridden machine back in working order. How to Rebuild and Restore Classic Japanese Motorcycles is your thorough, hands-on manual, covering all the mechanical subsystems that make up a motorcycle. From finding a bike to planning your project to dealing with each mechanical system, How to Rebuild and Restore Classic Japanese Motorcycles includes everything you need to know to get your classic back on the road. Japanese motorcycles have been the best-selling bikes in the world since the mid-1960s, driven by the "big four": Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Of course certain bikes have always had a following - Honda CB750, 305 Hawk, CB400-4, Benly; Suzuki GT750, Katana, GS1000S; Yamaha XS650, RD400 Daytona, TZ; Kawaski H1, H2, Z1R - and these have now become the blue-chip Japanese bikes leading collectors to seek out more common (and now more affordable) alternatives. This is the perfect book for anyone interested in classic Japanese motorcycles, as well as prepping a bike to build a cafe racer, street tracker, or other custom build.

How to Build a Motorcycle leads you through all the key stages - from initially finding the right project for your skill level, to sourcing a base bike and safely taking on some full-on bike-building tasks. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions, proper advice and specially commissioned step-by-step illustrations throughout it is an ideal aid to getting your hands oily. Written by Gary Inman, the co-founder of independent motorcycle magazine Sideburn, and illustrated by Adi Gilbert who is best known for his bicycle and motorcycle drawings whose clients include Harley-Davidson, Guy Martin, Wired magazine, Sideburn magazine and Nike, this is a must-have for all motorcycle lovers. Read this book, even dip in and out where relevant. If it makes sense, schedule some time, clear your mind, pull on some old clothes, grab your toolbox and get going. The chapters in How to Build a Motorcycle will tell you how to complete a huge variety of tasks that will allow even the greenest of novices to get their hands dirty and start modifying with purpose. If you belong to this camp, start with some of the low-input, high-reward jobs, such as fitting bars, swapping the rear shocks or wiring in a new tail light. Even though these require relatively little work, they'll transform the look of your bike, and completing them will fill you with confidence to undertake the more difficult jobs, such as fitting more modern front forks or even making your own frame. The book comes with a glossy 32-page section on finished bikes and is a reference and the perfect gift for all fans, from those who merely like to tinker, to riders taking on a full build.