Regular MD readers will know that I have a ‘thing’ for small custom shops that build one-off, high-end custom bikes that are real-world rideable as well as being rolling works of art. Well, I recently discovered another such shop – Steffano Motors designs and builds streetfighters/nakeds and cafe racers based on modern sportbikes, utilizing high-end components and their own individual design flare.
Located in Northern California, a short distance from some of the best sections of California’s famed Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway), the Steffano team uses PCH as their own personal test track, developing bikes designed to offer incredible performance in real-world sport riding conditions. Instead of packing their custom bikes with huge amounts of horsepower, the Steffano team focuses on reducing weight, which benefits all areas of performance – acceleration, braking, and handling.
2007 Cafe9
The Cafe9 is a perfect example. Based on Ducati’s 999 superbike, the Cafe9 uses a water-cooled, DOHC Ducati V-Twin producing 150 crank horsepower and a hefty 80 ft-lbs of torque (claimed). The torque should help the bike excel in daily riding, and Steffano claims the Cafe9 weighs an incredible 375lbs. The rider sits on an exotic sting-ray hide seat, protected from the wind by the Aerospace-grade carbon fiber bodywork with an updated twist on the classic cafe racer style. Super-lightweight 20-spoke forged wheels put the power to the ground, and the rider’s inputs are transmitted through fully adjustable controls (footrests, levers, handlebars). The Ducati V-Twin’s mainly black components are highlighted by numerous red-anodized lightweight aluminum items, color-matched with the blood-red tank and bodywork. The final styling detail is particularly unique – the silencer box is integrated into the shape of the tail unit, and features a single oval outlet on each side.
If a cafe racer isn’t your style, check out Steffano’s ACME Rocket Bike line, which in the past has created several beautiful naked bikes based on modern sportbike components. The ACME R1 uses the motor and some chassis components from a 2003 Yamaha R1, blending them seamlessly into an aggressive yet retro-looking naked bike with a claimed weight of only 370 lbs! The ACME 969 cafe roadster is a similarly-styled machine, this time using the motor and running gear from a Ducati 996 (one of the later versions of the venerable 916 V-Twin superbike). They have even produced, at a customer’s request, the lightweight ACME Velocette – an endearingly British retro-styled naked powered by an updated and rebuilt 1955 Velocette 500cc OHV Single-cylinder powerplant. With it’s bobtail seat unit and tiny gas tank, the Velocette is probably my favorite ACME Rocket Bike so far.
For more information, or to contact Steffano about turning your late-model sportbike into something unique and beautiful, check out the company’s web site at steffanomotors.com.
