Source: Bike Bound
We’ve loved watching the rise in popularity of restomod builds in recent years. Generally, restomods are considered to be vintage bikes that remain relatively true to their original aesthetics and silhouette, but have been brought into the 21st century with upgraded suspension, brakes, wheels, tires, and engine management / performance.
A few years ago, we mainly saw this kind of customization applied to vintage superbikes, such as the builds of AC Sanctuary and dB Customs, but we’re happy to see more builders giving the same treatment to vintage dirt bikes, dual sports, and roadsters.
Here is our list of the Top 10 Restomods we featured in 2022, based on traffic and engagement, listed in alphabetical order by builder.
• AC Sanctuary: Kawasaki Z1-R
Monster Zed: Kawasaki Z1-R Restomod
• Atlanta Motorcycle Works: Kawasaki GPz1100
Retro Muscle: Kawasaki “GPz1136” Restomod
• Bald Anthony: Yamaha RZ350
BA Special: 1985 Yamaha RZ350 Restomod
• Bandisca: Yamaha XS650
From Romania With Love: Yamaha XS650 “Violet”
• Kevin Borough: Honda CB750
Original Superbike, Reborn: 1973 Honda CB750
• ForPlay Racing: Yamaha RD350
Never Underestimate an RD: Yamaha RD350 Restomod
• Loko Dream Factory: Honda XR600R
Super Loko: Honda XR600R Restomod
• Steel Bakery: Honda CB750
Baked in Steel: Honda CB750 Restomod
• Roy Welton: Kawasaki Z1000
Project Z: 1977 Kawasaki Z1000 Restomod
• Workshop43: Yamaha XT500
Junkyard XT: Yamaha XT500 Scrambler
BikeBound’s Latest Restomods…
Top 10 Restomods of 2022 – We’ve loved watching the rise in popularity of restomod builds in recent years. Generally, restomods are considered to be vintage bikes that remain relatively true to their original aesthetics and silhouette, but have been brought […] Ripsnorting Restomod: Suzuki RG500 Gamma – “The Dragon on an RG500 is the closest you can get heaven…” Introduced in 1985, the Suzuki RG500 Gamma was one of the most faithful two-stroke street-legal replica racers ever produced. It was derived directly […] Resto-Monster: Honda CB1100F Restomod – 1123cc Honda Restomod from AC Sanctuary… In 1983, the Honda CB1100F arrived as the company’s king sport bike, designed to battle head-on with the 1100-class superbikes from Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha — bikes that were […] Monster Zed: Kawasaki Z1-R Restomod – AC Sanctuary’s “Radical Construction Manufacture” Z1-R… In the world of high-powered Japanese restomods, one name has long stood apart: AC Sanctuary. Founder Hiroyuki Nakamura opened his shop in the 1990s. Since then, they’ve built a […] Viva Vinduro! Yamaha DT400 Restomod – Purpose Built Moto builds a two-stroke ripper… The Yamaha DT400 is one of our favorite two-stroke enduros of the 1970s — a wolf in wolf’s clothing and a howling fury to ride. The factory bike […] Retro Muscle: Kawasaki “GPz1136” Restomod – A Blood Red Big Block from Atlanta Motorcycle Works… In 1981, Kawasaki introduced the GPz1100, which would be the ultimate evolution of the mighty air-cooled Zed fours born from the legend itself, the Z1. Before […] Gelände / Straße: BMW R80GS Restomod – Meccanica Serrao d’Aquino resto-mods a 90s adventure bike… The BMW R80GS is widely known as the grandfather of the modern adventure bike. At the time of its introduction, BMW Motorrad was at risk of going […] Ultimate Two-Stroke: 421cc NSR-D Project! – 110-hp, 240-lb NSR-RD Hybrid… The Honda NSR250R remains one of the most legendary bikes of the 1990s, a street-legal two-stroke weapon built in the image of Honda’s 250cc Grand Prix racers. Along with the Suzuki […] Original Superbike, Reborn: 1973 Honda CB750 – A Navy helicopter pilot restores his father’s CB… In 1969, Honda stunned the motoring world with the introduction of the CB750 Four, the “Original Superbike.” It’s tough to overstate how revolutionary Honda’s 750/4 was at […] Modified RC03: Honda CB650 Café Racer – A Black Beauty from De Palma Cycles… Introduced in 1979, the Honda CB650 Four (RC03) would be the last of Honda’s air-cooled SOHC fours — an illustrious lineage that began with the 1969 CB750 and […] Yellow Hornet: Yamaha RZ350 Hybrid / Restomod – For Sale: 1983 Hybrid RZ350… The Yamaha RZ350 was one of the last, most advanced two-stroke street bikes of all time, incorporating decades of two-stroke research and development. Known as the RD350 YPVS in the […] Two-Stroke Giant-Killer: Yamaha RD443LC Hybrid – Mark Goulding builds one wicked “Elsie”… In 1980, the Yamaha RD250LC arrived, a liquid-cooled 247cc / 35-bhp two-stroke street machine destined to become one of motorcycling’s great hooligan machines. In the UK, the “Elsie” satisfied […] Nius Moto: Honda CB550K Roadster – The Honda CB550 remains one of the sweetest midsize machines ever produced, a 50-bhp inline four that handled well, ran sewing-machine smooth, and had the gorgeous looks of the heavier CB750. “Like it’s larger sibling, […] BA Special: 1985 Yamaha RZ350 Restomod – Bald Anthony builds one bad RZ… The Yamaha RZ350 was the ultimate, most modern two-stroke street bike sold in the United States. The liquid-cooled two-stroke, rubber-mounted parallel twin was rated at 52 bhp, and equipped […] Project Z: 1977 Kawasaki Z1000 Restomod – In 1972, Kawasaki unleashed the 903cc Z1 on the world, a four-cylinder freight train destined to outclass every other production street bike on the planet: “With one stunning model [Kawasaki] scooped up all the prizes […
