CUSTOM CAFÉ BIKES get our blood pumping. But we get it: not all of us have the time and energy to devote to a full café racer build. Luckily, manufacturers are here to oblige with off-the-shelf café and vintage-inspired bikes that have the looks of old bikes, yet they have modern amenities like ABS and traction control.
These eight cool bikes are great for those who are learning to ride, or for those of us who don?t need 120 horsepower to have a good time. Importantly, they all have good retro looks that even the guys at the Ace Café would likely give a nod to.

The Yamaha XSR700, especially in black-and-gold, looks like a modern interpretation of a John Player Special Lotus. Yamaha took its fun 689cc two-cylinder MT-07 and then gave it a vintage suit. Sure, we would love more Kenny Roberts style graphics, but the XSR700 blends modern touches like a liquid-cooled parallel twin engine with a counterbalancer to smooth it out. It has an LED headlight, a long flat seat, and one giant round taillight that sets it apart from the MT-07. The XSR700 weighs just 410 pounds, or 185 kilos, making it a lightweight willing companion in the mountain twisties and in narrow parking lots.

A lot has been made of the Kawasaki Z900RS and its retro looks with modern handling. Well, the Z650RS is what happens when Kawasaki decides to scale back the hairiness of the 900. Kawasaki took the successful Z650 and de-modernized its styling to create the RS. That means you get Kawi?s smooth (if not...