Steve's xs750 Cafe Racer
By Anthony van Someren - 05 Aug 13
After 1.2 million miles of riding, Steve from Colchester should know a thing or two about biking. He clocked all that distance as a motorcycle courier over 16 years but Steve's love of bikes has remained undiminished. Six years ago he completed his first restoration project, a Suzuki GS550 Katana - which ended up being exported to New Zealand, (a mere 11,387 miles away - so we assume Steve ride it there himself).
Steve's first three bikes were all restorations, but from there he moved into the world of cafe racers, building six in all.
This XS was bought just three months ago as a standard SF custom model and Steve's goal was to turn her into a cafe racer that looked as much like a Triton as possible, and at first glance it certainly shouts traditional classic, at least until you spot the solid wheels and Yamaha engine stamp.
From there the bike was completely rebuilt. The frame and wheels powder coated while the engine serviced and repainted. All alloy parts were polished to a mirror finish and all the bolts were replaced with stainless steel fastenings. Mudguards are also stainless and the headlamp and tail light are from Lucas.
Triumph triple downpipes feed into peashooter silencers. The tank is handmade, the seat is a slimline Manx unit and the rear sets are custom made.
All told, the build took over 300 hours of hard work, most of which was taken up with polishing - and it shows.
A huge thanks to Steve for sharing (and going the extra mile with new pics after we kept asking for better ones). We look forward to seeing your next builds.