A café racer is a perfect vehicle for quick rides over short distances. They are one of the biggest trends these days. Usually, they are created as other models with a few modifications to transform them into café racers. However, with fads changing over time, companies are now beginning to invest in café racers from the start.
Café racers are usually in the form of a retro-styled bike with low clip-on handlebars, a seat hump replacing the pillion seat, and a small screen close to the headlight in the front. You can lower the handlebars with the creation for an even more aggressive riding stance. However, that does reduce the comfort of the bike to an extent. While that is a concern - it doesn't matter much as these bikes are meant for short-distance use in the first place.
Here are the best factory café racers out there these days:
15 BMW R Nine T Racer
The nine T Racer is based on the famous BMW R nine T models. While it doesn't have enough premium parts to compete with the R nine T, it certainly has its appearance. If it just had similar wire-spoked wheels, and the premium suspension, it could be just as good.
14 Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe
The cafe model is very similar to the brilliant Z900RS, but modifications include a new seat with a hump, lower handlebars, a cafe screen attached to a lowered headlight, and lower mirrors as well. With LED lighting and a de-tuned engine to boast too - it is no surprise that this version proved to be very popular.
13 Suzuki SV650X
The Suzuki SV650X in itself is an excellent motorbike, so you can only imagine how much cooler a café version of it must be. It has a café racer style seat, low bars, and a café fairing close to the headlight too. If you can invest a little more - you can even opt for the dual LED fog lights.
12 Triumph Street Cup
The Triumph Street Cup is a version of the Retro Sweet Twin without fork gaiters, a small fly screen, a brushed exhaust, lower clip-on bars, and an appealing silver/yellow paint job. It also has ample low down torque to offer, and plenty of different accessories for you to choose from.
11 Triumph Thruxton 1200 R
The Thruxton 1200 R is just what you want if you are looking for a powerful bike. With a 1,200cc engine, it has a lot of available grunt. It also features low clip-on bars and a seat hump, all prepared for an exciting café racer experience.
10 Ducati Scrambler Café Racer
The Scrambler Café comes with bar-end mirrors, a light-weight body, a Termignoni muffler, and the icing on the cake - it is very aesthetically pleasing. The tank range is a bit limited, but it is capable enough to get the job done for you.
9 Yamaha XSR900 Abarth
The XSR900 Abarth is a limited edition model - with just 695 versions of it having been created. The Abart model of the XSR900 was transformed into a great café racer with a seat hump, low bars, Carbon fairing, and Akrapovic Titanium exhaust. The modern styling definitely brings a lot of coolness to the table too.
8 Kawasaki W800 Café
Kawasaki decided to bring back their famous W800 street model in 2019 with a cafe racer version - a decision we are extremely pleased about. It is A2 license friendly and Euro 4 compliant too, yet, it is still air-cooled for an amazing retro effect. It also comes with ABS and a modern LED headlight.
7 Yamaha XJR1300 Racer
The XRJ1300 Racer is a café racer version of the popular Suzuki SV650X with low bars, a pillion seat cowl, and a headlight fairing. Unfortunately, it was dropped in 2017, and the technology isn't very relevant these days either. Although, you can still see plenty of these around.
6 Yamaha XV950 Racer
The XV950 Racer is a cafe racer version of the XV950R. It features a pillion seat cowl, a cafe-style seat, and lower bars. Although we are pretty certain that the beautiful blue and black paint job should be enough reason for you to consider giving this bike a shot.
5 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer
This has been the sportiest Moto Guzzi to have ever been produced. It was a limited edition with just about 1000 of it having been released. It has been given the nickname "red frame" as a memory of the 1971 V7 Sports Series and has a humped solo saddle.
4 Royal Enfield Continental
The Enfield Continental brings a mixture of retro and power to the table. Its version of the racer café experience is seen as rather unique, especially as it has picked up various elements from the 60s. It features a round headlight, standard forks, and a laced wheel.
3 Ducati Sport1000
The Ducati Sport1000 is a famous tribute to Detlef Louis, the German founder of Louis.de, a huge motorcycle parts dealer. Louis himself had requested the production of this motorbike, stating that he wants something which is "a combination of tradition and future." Surprisingly, it is also known as the Louis 75.
2 BMW R Nine T
The BMW R nineT gives you a chance to reminisce about the period of legendary superbikes. This bike presents a combination of innovative technology and a BMW style-appearance instead of the usual retro aesthetic most café racers tend to go for. The built quality and finishing give it quite a boost compared to other bikes out there.
1 Norton Commando 961
This bike came into being to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Norton. It's chrome all-over is a tribute to the aesthetic of motorbikes in the 1970s. There is chrome everywhere - it can be seen in the Semi-Ape hanger bars too. The commando 961 is also the first Norton Commando to feature a high handlebar.