Black and gold seems to be a theme lately. Here, it’s been applied to the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 with exceptional judgment by Unikat Motorworks. But the Polish outfit has done a lot more than just wrap the Speed Twin in pretty paint—this one’s a brawler, through and through. In stock form, the Speed Twin 1200 is delightfully brutish—a torquey parallel-twin roadster with handling to match. But it looks so good off the showroom floor, that there’s little room for customization. The best approach is to lean into the qualities that make it so good in the first place, and then amplify the whole p ..read more

Jérémie Duchampt is a dab hand at building slick café racers—a fact that he’s proven time and time again. The proprietor of France’s Jerem Motorcycles has leveled up in a big way with his latest project though. This carbon-clad BMW R100 café racer not only looks razor sharp, but it also boasts a slew of modern components and an utterly unique rear suspension system. Jérémie knew from the outset that he’d have to pull out all the stops on this build. His client was the French boutique race car manufacturer Quarkus Automobiles, so whatever he came up with would have to be more haute couture tha ..read more

This week’s bikes are all about looking fast and going fast. Pier City Cycles gives the BMW R nineT Racer a massive dose of retro racing style, Tossa R upgrades the Honda CB900, and Greaser Garage turns the Kawasaki Z750 into a classic endurance racer. We bring it home with news of the sale of one of the most popular bikes ever to grace the pages of Bike EXIF—the PiperMoto J Series scooter. BMW R nineT Racer by Pier City Cycles Recovering a stolen motorcycle isn’t always a joyous affair. Just ask the owner of this 2018 BMW R nineT Racer, Zi. When his bike was recovered after an attempted the ..read more

A brilliant assortment of 38 classic motorcycles and a boatload of memorabilia is set to cross the block at Gooding & Company’s Geared Online sale, with most lots selling at no reserve. You’ll find everything from Honda Z50s and Cushmans, to top-tier Ducatis and BMWs in the online-only auction, which starts on Wednesday, May 8, and concludes on Friday, May 17. While picking favorites is never easy, the following five bikes are undoubtedly the headliners of the Geared Online sale. 1969 Honda CB750 Honda built a crap-ton of Honda CB750s, roughly 445,000 examples of the SOHC 750 and another ..read more

If it’s small and it comes from Honda, you can bet your bottom Dollar Steady Garage will be all over it. The Californian outfit is best known for their wild Honda Ruckus and Grom customs, and stocks a staggering number of scooter and mini-moto parts. So it’s hardly surprising that the first custom Honda Motocompacto we’ve seen comes from the Steady crew. Recently released by Honda, the Motocompacto is an all-electric reissue of the adorable, legendary, and ultimately short-lived, Honda Motocompo. Produced between 1981 and 1983 and only sold in Japan, the Motocompo was a 50 cc moped that could ..read more

They say that there’s no replacement for displacement. By that logic, the best way to improve a single-cylinder Puch moped is to turn it into a five-cylinder Puch moped. At least, that’s Uwe Oltmanns’ theory. Based in Northern Germany, Uwe is a moped enthusiast with an extensive resume. He’s a professional toolmaker who’s worked at Airbus, built hopped-up Opel street cars, and dabbled in drag racers. These days, he spends his time building vintage car engines from parts that he’s machined himself—mostly for pre-war BMW 328s. He also messes with vintage mopeds—or, as they’re known around thos ..read more

In the 16 years that Bike EXIF has been online, we’ve only ever produced merchandise twice. Both times, they were one-off products that were gifted to the custom builders, photographers, and OEMs that support us. Now we’re throwing the gates wide open. For the first time in Bike EXIF’s history, we’re producing Bike EXIF-branded merchandise for public consumption. We’re kicking things off with a limited range of high-quality T-shirts. Three of them sport the same Bike EXIF logo that’s adorned the top of our pages since day one, and two pay homage to some of our favorite heritage brands. The B ..read more

Some motorcycles beg to be ridden in anger. Others drip with nostalgia. If you draw a Venn diagram of those two paradigms, you’ll find the Yamaha XSR900 GP smack dab in the middle of the intersection. The Yamaha XSR900 GP just about melted our servers (and lit up our comments section) when it first broke cover in October of last year. Drawing inspiration from Yamaha’s illustrious racing heritage, it’s a homage to iconic bikes like the Yamaha TZR250 and YZR500 OW01, reimagined on the modern, three-cylinder XSR900 platform. And its retro sportbike underpinnings make it one of the most striking ..read more

One bike sticks out like a sore thumb this week; a rare Honda Monkey Gold Edition, currently for sale through Iconic Motorbike Auctions. It’s in the company of three café racers—a Yamaha XS650, a Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, and a Honda CB550. For sale: 1984 Honda Monkey Gold Edition Honda’s modern classic mini-bikes are enjoying their moment in the sun right now. But while there’s something appealing about a teeny tiny Honda with vintage style and modern reliability, there’s something even more appealing about a rare classic. You’re looking at a rare 1984 Honda Monkey Gold Edition. It’s a ..read more

Strip it back to the bare essentials, and make it lighter, faster and cooler. It’s a recipe for success that dates back nearly as far as the motorcycle itself, and it’s no surprise that bobber motorcycles are one of the longest-standing forms of custom bikes. Accepted theories date the inception of the bobber back as far as the late 1920s and early 30s, when riders started stripping off standard road equipment to shed weight and stand out from the crowd. Emulating competition bikes of the day (predominantly AMA dirt track), road riders commonly stripped front fenders, exhaust silencers and ot ..read more