Kaffeemaschine is one of the big success stories in the European custom world. Founder Axel Budde specializes in high-end Moto Guzzi cafe racers, with modern updates and immaculate build quality.
Axel sticks to what he knows, and doesn?t reinvent the wheel with every build. As his reputation has grown, so has the Kaffeemaschine business: he?s hired two staff to help him, moved to a bigger workshop, and one of his clients is now a business partner.

?KM23 is the first bike built by the new team, and not just by myself,? Axel tells us.
It?s based on a 1984 850 Le Mans Mark III, which means the air-cooled V-twin was upgraded with tighter machining tolerances, different cylinder heads, a new intake system, and squared-off cooling fins on the barrels.
The man who commissioned ?KM23? is one of Europe?s top automotive historians. ?He was the head of the Historic Archive of Porsche,? Axel reveals.
?Then he moved to VW, but still wanted to use the red-and-white color scheme of the Porsche 917 that won Le Mans in 1970. That was number 23 too.?

But when Axel started work, he soon hit a stumbling block. He realized it would be hard to design a ?pretty? motorcycle that resembles the Porsche 917. So he suggested dropping the 917 theme, and creating a Le Mans with a different but aggressive color scheme.
The hard parts and frame would be monochrome: grey, silver and black. ?The client was happy with the new proposal and gave me his OK.?

The Kaffeemaschine crew stripped the...