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It's funny how some types of bikes just get under your skin. And I know I speak for both Scott and myself when I say that Honda Goldwings are definitely one of them. Along with the CX500s, Goldwings seem to be dripping with that inexplicable coolness that gives any custom build a killer cool factor even before the first spanner has even touched the WD-40 drenched rusty bolt. But what exactly is it? I'm not really sure - but Jah knows the flat four, solid silhouette and chunky build don't hurt. And the in-tank beer storage compartment? Japanese genius. I can see Honda-san sinking a few tininess with the designers after hours and giving them a well earnt slap on the back in between burn-outs and practical jokes involving no-pants-sushi-balancing races. Richard "Sunnbobb" Matrass is similarly down with this whole Goldwing thing. Despite a bad first date, it was still love at first sight. And the marriage? Well just look at these shots and take a read of what Richard has to say...

When it comes to selecting the best factory built Cafe Racer it looks like Royal Enfield's Continental GT Cafe Racer could take out first place. The Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer which is scheduled to be released in 2013 (fingers crossed), sports the first new chassis to be released by the Indian motorcycle manufacturer in 50 years. Along with the new chassis Royal Enfield have added a selection of performance upgrades and Cafe Racer styled parts you won't find on any other motorcycle in their current line up.



As you can imagine this is pretty exciting news but at the 2012 Auto Expo in India the Enfield Cafe Racer was overshadowed by the unvealing of their new Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 which may be due to the fact that this bike is more targeted to markets outside of India. While many are now speculating that this bike will be rolling out of the Enfield factory next year it's important to remember that it was labeled as a 'concept' so we'd wait for an official production announcement before we get too excited.





The Continental GT Cafe Racer is based around Enfield's single cylinder Bullet 500cc engine but no details have been released about any upgrades to it's performance. Due to the stripped down appearance of the Continental GT and the specially designed frame I'd expected that this bike will weigh in less than the Bullet so I would assume that performance improvements could be expected.

Starting with a motorcycle that was designed half a century ago as a base it's obvious why the GT looks so much like a classic. Enfield's designers have stayed true to classic Cafe Racer looks with an elongated, Manx style tank held in place with a leather buckle, a wasp tail single seat, clip on bars, bar end mirrors and low profile lighting (huge thumbs up from me for that one). The GT also features some high quality finishes including a polished triple tree, brushed alloy switch gear, alloy fenders, alloy dash and minimalist instrument cluster.

New Year Resolutions. Some people give up smoking crack, others tell themselves they are going to get fit and lose a hundred pounds. Then there are folk that just say they are going to do something different. Like us, we decided to start a New Years Resolution at Pipeburn this year. Can you guess what it was? I'll give you a clue. Our last post was a trike - which we have never posted before. And now I am posting a moped - which we have posted before but not on a regular basis. Yep, we decided to quit doing drugs and focus on the bikes we truly love. No seriously, we decided to try and surprise our readers with bikes that were a little bit more unexpected. Sure, we'll still be featuring the usual suspects like the CB750 cafe racers and XS650 bobbers, but we want to be more open to different builds. Like this J.C. Penny Pinto moped they call 'The Baby Maker'. Nothing gets the ladies hotter than a featherweight cafe'd moped. The owner of this beautiful specimen started building it as a young single man and finished the bike as a young father of twins. True story, almost. Here's the virile builder Nicholas Voigt with all the facts...

If you could pick any city on earth to settle down and customise bikes in, we think it's a safe bet that Singapore wouldn't be at the top of many lists. In a similar fashion to Hong Kong, Singapore has very little tolerance for vehicular modifications and a few of our Pipemates who live over there have told us that you can be defected for something as minor as having non-standard rubber on your rims. And heaven help you if you were to do something crazy like add a new exhaust or tank - that'd result in your bike being impounded. So as you are gazing over the sweet, sweet lines of this little Yammie TW keep in mind that it's creators, Matt and Merv from Vicious Cycles Singapore, risk severe punishment if they were ever caught riding it in public. Apparently, the last biker who dared do this was forced to watch the movies Wild Hogs and Torque on an endless loop for an entire month while he was simultaneously made to delete all his browser's cool bike bookmarks one by one. And that's not all. Afterward, when he still wouldn't swear against his beloved custom bikes they forced him to stay in a remote house at the end of a very long, windy road. They then gave him a Wrenchmonkee's original with all the bells and whistles and covered every inch of the road with lard as they waved goodbye. Bastards.

In the early eighties I had a series of t-shirts that featured vinyl, metal flake prints. They varied in subject matter from Spider man through to Moto cross themed designs and I wore them till they pretty much disintegrated. Since then I have kept my obsession with sparkly things a secret but today I'm coming out and saying it...I love metal flake paint.




And apparently so do the guys at Old School Engineering. Their 73 Honda CB750 K2 is an all black beast with a splash of 70's "old school" cool.


Very little lustre remains on the once chrome covered CB. After a full tear down all of the bikes engine casings and covers received a concealing coat of gloss black. The chrome of the four header pipes has also been hidden with graphite heat wrap before they converge in to the one single muffler. Lower profile lights have been used to reduce bulk and the indicators and tail light all have smoked lenses. The front fender has been done away with and the rear chopped giving the always stylish Firestone rubber the exposure it deserves.



Other items on the Honda that received the black treatment include the velocity stacks and carbs, the wheel rims, forks, fuel tank and clip on bars. To counter act the sheer amount of black there is on this custom motorbike that lovely metal flake paint was applied along with a set of striking blue Beston grips. While the modifications to this Honda aren't as extreme as some of the other Cafe Racers we feature, a good eye for design has ensured that this ride oozes old school cool.

Adam Sandler movies. They're a dime a dozen. He's an uncultured yet loveable ice hockey player/divorcee/single dad/college drop-out who tries his best to raise a kid/make it into the big leagues/get a job/be responsible/fall in love/manage his successful father's dildo factory (what - you didn't see that one?) blah blah blah. That's what I thought too, and then I saw Punch Drunk Love and I was blown away. What really made it for me was the fact that I went into it with preconceptions of what I was about to see and subsequently had my brain deep-fried by a very clever director who knew just how to screw with the formula to take something good and make it truly great. How the bejesus does that have anything to do with the killer Honda CB you see here? Well, this director's name is Derek Pauletto and he's managed to cafe a Honda CB (which some would consider a very tired, "Sandler-ish" formula) and put just enough clever little twists into it to really make it into one of this year's must-see customs.

Moto artist Jeff Gundlach has designed many magazine covers for publications like Cycle Magazine and Cycle News over the years, but he recently finished designing and building his biggest project yet - the first Raven Motorcycle. To say it's been a long time in the making is an understatement. "About 15 years ago I thought of the possibility of designing a bike using the Moto Guzzi engine and the Norton transmission" says Jeff. "Sketches were made and it went to the back burner". Fast forward to 2 years ago and Jeff decided he had the skills and tools to proceed with the design he scribbled all those years ago.  "I wanted to build something unique, powerful, light, functional, and a classic look. Choppers, bobbers and sportbikes are very cool but, I did not want to build from an existing engine/trans/frame package." This is how Jeff describes how the Raven came to life.

The Sydney Cafe Racers group popped up on the Aussie scene mid way through 2011. They've not only established a great website, facebook following and Blog but they have a pretty exciting 2012 planned from the look of this video. Check out the Sydney Cafe Racers website and if you're in Sydney be sure to get along to one of the rides.

It might not be the superbike he is used to, but wouldn't you love to see the World Champion Casey Stoner ride this Team Repsol inspired 1975 Honda CB500 around Phillip Island for some timed laps? Sure, he might not get close to his usual times but he would sure strike a more dashing figure. This immaculate CB was built by 24 year old Josue Alvarez (or Josh to friends) from the central valley in California. It was recently crowned Do The Ton Bike of the Month, up against a couple of great little motorcycles and a bucket of parts. Yes, you read that correctly. "It's been more than a years work," says Josh. "I always keep finding something I can upgrade. The bike is my interpretation of the team Honda Repsol Superbike – a vintage interpretation."