We’re just back from the annual AIME Powerspots Expo in Las Vegas, a multifaceted event that reveals the coming trends in streetbikes and all the cool, innovative kit that comes with them. Straight from the off, it was reassuring to see how strongly represented the cafe racer movement remains going into 2025. Nearly every OEM displaying their new machines at this year’s AIME had at least one motorcycle designed in the ton-up tradition, while loads of riding gear, bolt-on accessories and the like were aimed at riders who dig the low bars, high-performance style. This showcase, held at the Vegas Convention Center, reveals just how global a marketplace motorcycling has become, as vendors and manufacturers from over 55 different nations were in the house, with some really impressive leather wares from Pakistan managing to catch our eye.
Complete, decorated Rocker style motorcycle jackets, complete with elaborately painted logos and studded belts and shoulders were on offer from Naska Sports, while several other Asian market gear sellers were serving up everything from the latest modern, fully-padded racing leathers to hip new textile gear that they’re eager to get into US dealerships.
The event’s custom motorcycle showcase is curated by former custom builder and Cafe Racer Tv alum Kevin Dunworth and served up a top-flight mix of bobbers, V-twin cruisers and, naturally custom cafe racers. The Buell Lightning-based special built by Italy’s Messina Motorcycles was a genuine show-stopper, with its revolutionary steel and alloy composite frame and breathtaking polished aluminum bodywork. Look for a full feature in CRM this summer.
Our friends at Royal Enfield staged an impressive display featuring a lineup of customized versions of their newest offerings, and an early in-the-metal glimpse of the new, Flying Flea electric motorcycle. The sleek, retro-styled bike bore elements of biking’s legendary past designs from it’s very Vincent-inspired hydraulic-assist girder front end to the massive battery pack serving as stressed member of the chassis.
We also got a look at the much-anticipated Royal Enfield Classic 350 and 650, a pair of handsome new retros that combine both their air-cooled 535cc single and the popular 50-horsepower engine from the Interceptor and Continental GT with the chrome-bedecked accents and full bodywork from the much-beloved Bullet 500 single.
Feast your peepers on the next unexpected blast of cafe racer cool – this time, it, like many wheels at AIME, hailed from China. That country’s Lifan Motorcycles has recently issued a snazzy lightweight single known as the KPM 200, and judging by its cutting-edge tech and eye-catching looks and detailing, should become a hot seller on these shores. The six-speed single boasts a top speed of 80 MPH and comes wrapped in sexy half-fairing, a tank with an integrated digital gauge plus inverted forks with a front disc brake. I’d bet on many, many Grom and Ruckus riders swapping their wheels for one of these.
There’s more in-depth coverage coming up in cafe Racer magazine’s April/May issue, so read on and keep looking towards the future with one wheel firmly in the past.