Café racers have an almost mythical status among motorcyclists. A product of the 1960s Rocker culture, they were typically modified versions of the days’ British performance bikes – BSAs, Nortons, Triumphs, Velocettes and the likes. With tuned engines and lowered handlebars to give racy handling, café racers gained their name (and notoriety) from the unofficial races in which they took part. Most famously held at North London’s Ace Café (although a fixture at many other transport cafes around the country too) riders would put a record on the jukebox before heading out for a dangerous race on public roads - aiming to get back before the song finished.
When the modern day retro trend took off in the early 2000s, café racers became the poster bikes for these new generation of machines – but while they garnered lots of headlines, the buying public ultimately preferred the more comfortable roadster styled derivatives. Triumph’s more practical Bonneville, with its more upright riding position and less expensive price, outsold and outlasted the café racered Thruxton with which it shared so much. It was a trend that followed with every other manufacturer entering the retro game.
These days, factory café racers are something of a rarity – but Triumph is trying to revive the genre as it introduces several iterations of the classic design as part of its aggressive plan to introduce 29 new or updated models for 2026.
Based on the regular Speed Twin 1200 RS, the £15,995 Speed Twin 1200 Café Racer will be in showrooms next month. It takes the standard Speed Twin 1200 RS, which costs £1300 less than the Café Racer, and swaps the standard handlebars for low slung clip-ons, removes the passenger footpegs and adds a unique (and rather gloriously detailed) brown bullet seat with a removable cowling.
Coming in an upmarket green and silver livery, it comes resplendent with stunning gold coachlines and neatly machined finishes throughout. Looking at the photos, it’s a stunningly finished machine. Triumph’s aiming the modified Speed Twin at the lucrative collectors’ market, capping production at 800 units and supplying each bike with a certificate of authenticity
The Speed Twin 1200 Café Racer is the second café racer to be announced by Triumph in recent months, with the more affordable Thruxton 400 also new for 2026. Priced from £5995, the latest Thruxton is a modified version of the best-selling Speed 400 – boasting dropped ‘bars and a classy half fairing among the changes.
Outside of Triumph, there are very few other factory built café racers available. Norton’s Commando 961, which offered a café racer derivative, is no longer on sale but Royal Enfield’s £6749 Continental GT is one of the most authentic examples of the breed – sharing its air-cooled 650cc parallel-twin engine and running gear with the roadster styled Interceptor 650. Ducati’s Nightshift version of its popular Scrambler also channels café racer vibes, with its flat ‘bars and handlebar mounted mirrors and a racy looking saddle.
The lack of options when it comes to factory fresh café racers is a result of a number of factors. As mentioned before, the cramped riding positions are often at odds with the rather chilled riding experiences (often older) owners want to get from retro bikes, so while they look great they’re usually overlooked in favour of more comfortable versions of the same bikes when it comes to laying money on the table. We’re also seeing manufacturers invest more into their accessory ranges, meaning that customers can modify their motorbikes and change the look and feel with a few custom parts.
So while popular retros like BMW’s R nineT, the Kawasaki Z900RS and Moto Guzzi’s V7 offer stylistic nods they don’t really fit the description of ‘café racer’ as standard. The manufacturers make up for it by ensuring there are plenty of factory supplied options out there to allow owners to modify their bikes in a more café racer style, with parts like ‘bar end mirrors, nose cones and seat cowls particularly popular.
And that, in many ways, is the appeal of the café racer. When the scene was alive in the 1960s, rockers took their standard bikes and modified them to go racing in the streets. You could argue that the idea of today’s factory built café racers is the complete antithesis of the spirit of those Sixties special. What isn’t in doubt, though, is that bikes like Triumph’s new Thruxton 400 and Speed Twin Café Racer really look cool and provide an out-of-the box solution for riders looking to stand out, without having to spend hours tinkering with their bikes in the garage.
