Sanctuary Kawasaki Zephyr 750 mODIFICATION

Sanctuary Kawasaki Zephyr 750

Some 15 years ago, Kawasaki’s Zephyr range kickstarted the trend for retro naked motorcycles in Europe. The styling was loosely based on the original Z1, and although the Zephyrs were criticized for lacking the fearsome character of the Z1, they sold well. This Zephyr, however, is much closer to the spirit of the original super bike. It’s a resto-mod from Sanctuary in Japan, and as usual, the work is immaculate. Sanctuary’s mods have also brought the Zephyr bang up-to-date in the handling stakes; the frame is reinforced and the suspension is now Öhlins all round, with 43 mm forks at the front and high-spec reservoir shocks at the back. The geometry is tweaked with a custom steering head and swingarm. Wheels are delectable OZ Racing Piega forged aluminum jobs, shod with Pirelli Diablo tires—120/70-17 at the front and 180/55-17 at the back. The completely new brake system is a mix of Brembo and Nissin components, acting on Sunstar rotors. Nitro Racing supplies assorted body parts and the exhaust system, and the blueprinted motor is now fed by a Mikuni TMR32 carb kit. If only you could pick up one of these for the same price as the 1990s original.

Steffano-Ducati Cafe9

Steffano-Ducati Cafe9

Many custom motorcycles have a short shelf life. They’re a snapshot of a moment in time, or of a particular style. And a couple of years later, they look dated. But some bikes endure, and this is one of them. I missed the Steffano-Ducati Cafe9 first time round, back in 2007, but it still looks just as good today. And I’m not the only one that feels that way—earlier this year, the Ducati was invited to appear at the prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK.


It’s the creation of Robert Steffano, who runs the Windsor, CA based motorcycle fabrication company Kosman Specialties. The base machine is a Ducati 999, transformed into a 21st century café racer. The stock motor is plenty powerful enough, offering around 140 bhp and 80 ft lb of torque, but the chassis has been modified to accommodate carbon fiber bodywork that helps reduce the weight by 20 lbs over a stock 999. Leo Vince SBK headers are matched to an extraordinary hand-formed aluminum exhaust system; at first glance, it appears to be part of the body at the rear. A BrakeTech Axis full-floating brake system is hooked up to Brembo monoblocs for maximum stopping power, and the wheels are PVM forged alloy. The rearsets are Cycle Cat solid billet aluminum items.

Steffano’s objective was to create a café racer with timeless styling and a museum-quality finish. With the rare benefit of hindsight, it’s safe to say that he succeeded.