It?s a long time since we?ve featured what you might call a ?traditional? café racer. The term is used very loosely these days?we?re as guilty as anyone?and it?s easy to forget how far we?ve moved on from the classic style.
So this Kandy-Kolored tangerine-flake streamliner is a good reminder of ground zero. It comes from Kemp Archibald of Toronto?s Ripple Rocker Racers, and it?s been gracing the window of the local Town Moto store since March.

The guys at Ripple Rocker Racers make custom parts for café racer builds, but also use their know-how and machinery to build bikes for their customers. Occasionally, they?ll build a bike for themselves.
?I started this one ten years ago,? says co-founder Kemp. ?I gathered parts to create an homage to Kaz Yoshima and his CB400F?which roamed the streets and racetracks of southern California back in the mid 70s.?
?The idea of the little guy beating Goliath has always appealed to me. A Honda CB400F that could slay a Kawasaki Z1, like Yoshima’s did?that was my build plan. But customer builds meant it was constantly relegated to the back of the garage till this past winter, when things finally came together.?
The build began with a 1973 CB350F frame, which was reinforced to handle the additional load and forces generated by a bigger engine and more powerful brakes. ?We manufactured our own billet triple trees?with our partner Mechetronics Specialty Services?so we could adapt the 35mm forks from a 1980 CB750F,? says Kemp.

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