We have posted quite a lot of motorcycle safety commercials recently, including one from Australia, one from Norway and now here's a pretty good one from Britain. The Department of Transport has launched this new ad created by London agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO as part of its THINK! campaign. This ad was inspired by research stating that drivers who personally know a motorcyclist are much more careful and aware while driving - so by using these huge Vegas style neon signs they make you feel like you know these riders. It made me think what my sign would say, maybe something like "extremely dangerous, beer loving swine". But seriously, would love to get your feedback on the commercial and also hear what your sign would say. Check out the making of video if you are curious about how they did it. [Found on Rippin Kitten]

Union Motorcycle Classics work out of a remodeled 100 year old dairy barn in Idaho which they describe as "no longer home to lowing bovines, we now attend to the gentle rumblings of a slightly more untamed beast". Formed by a group of guys who all had different skills but one passion... classic motorcycles. Luke is professionally trained motorcycle mechanic, Bret is the owner of Glass From The Past (GFTP) which manufacture killer looking cafe racer fairings, race seats, fenders and tanks. Mike, Jeff and Andy are all graphic designers who love nothing more than getting their hands greasy on a vintage classic.

The pictured Ducati 900ss is one of their proud creations and we will let them describe this Cinderella story: "Boy meets bike, Boy likes bike, Boy crashes bike. Keep reading. It gets better. From the ashes of its damaged frame, all parts were removed. A one of a kind fiberglass tail section was crafted to work with a sectioned stock frame that was rebuilt from the rear motor mounts back. The proportions of this bike puts one in mind of the Scuderia Spaggiari Ducati and Tony Rutter's TT2. Once again, a GFTP piece was created just for this rising phoenix from the ashes: a modified 900SS front fairing to accept the headlights and turn signals. The tank is a collaboration of a 900SS tank and a late 80's 750 Sport. Custom brackets and period race parts complete the package". In my humble opinion this bike has been transformed from a chunky and dated Italian sports bike into a stylish modern cafe racer. For more images of this bike and others, including a fine Yamaha RD60, visit the well designed Union website.

Discovered this beautiful CB550 on the frequently updated and entertaining Motorcycle Picture of the Day blog. Completely garage built by a guy called Eric, he goes into great detail about how he created this cafe racer. Eric says he "fitted a set of forks from a 2004 GSX-R 600, using a Harley narrow glide wheel which fit surprisingly well between the calipers; it was almost a plug-n-play operation. The rotors are 320mm units from a Hayabusa which required 10mm spacers underneath the calipers. The eBay front end also came complete with clipons & controls so I decided to go ahead and use them; the right control wouldn't fit with the bar-end mirror so I binned it in favor of a Motion Pro throttle assembly and start/kill switch from an R6. The rearsets are Tarozzi universals mounted to the passenger peg mounts. The rear wheel is a Harley 3.5x18 rim that I laced to the 550 hub with Buchanan stainless spokes. I popped the top end off the engine and freshened it up a bit with a set of 59mm pistons and camshaft from a SOHC CB650 for a little extra oomph". Eric has really stamped his individuality on this CB550, we particularly love those Norton commando peashooter exhausts which look like they produce a mighty bark. Check out more pics of this stunning bike and the full story on MPOTD.

Custom motorized bicycle companies seem to be popping up everywhere, but no one is building fresher looking bikes than the guys at Imperial Cycles. Created by Eric Soriano and Jerome they describe their company as "constantly pushing envelopes, opening new doors, and boldly going there. Inspired by the 1920’s board track racers our bike designs incorporate a fresh look using new bike technologies, and innovations". The bike pictured is their popular 'Bullet' and comes with a Vintage Schwinn frame, bare metal tank, aluminum mags, Brooks Saddle, Quill Stem, Oury grips, shortened bars and a dropped springer to give it a lower, more aggressive stance. The 'Bullet' sells for a very reasonable price of $1200 and it looks like they ship these bikes worldwide. If you are interested in seeing more from Imperial, check out their Blog which showcases the other models they are building.

Back in 1954 Bell founder Roy Richter formed his first helmet out of fiberglass and named it the "500". That humble helmet was to change the entire modern motorsport helmet industry. Bell's 2010 Custom 500 range pays homage to these original classics, although luckily now they are designed with loads more protective technology. The '500' range are some of the coolest lids we have seen since the Steve McQueen replica that Bell released last year, and unlike the Biltwell helmets these are DOT-compliant. Most of the designs are limited editions and can be purchased through The Bell Store which post worldwide. The 'Bloodshot Eye' design in particular looks like it was inspired by legendary skateboard and rock poster artist Jim Phillips. Check out his amazing range of work if you appreciate this style of illustration.

It wasn't long ago we featured another Mr Martini custom, but this Triumph Thruxton 900 was burning a hole in our inbox. Sent to us by the talented Mr Martini himself, we couldn't wait to post it. Although it isn't his latest creation, it's still one of our favourites. To create this incredible Thruxton-based bike or “Classic Urban Racer” as it has been nicknamed, Mr Martini took a fresh out of the factory pre-series bike and completely modified it. He started by adding Wilbers suspensions, a bigger rear rim and classic Metzeler tires. The forks rigidity plate has been replaced because the cut fender has been placed below to draw it up to the tire. The rear fender has been cut and the rear light has been set inside the seat, and in true cafe racer style loads of unnecessary components, standard speedometer included, have been thrown away. The beautiful long manifolds and megaphone pipes have been custom made and painted to give the bike a striking look. From an aesthetic point of view, this built “Flash Back” Triumph is a well balanced mix of modern and classic styling. Check out his other bikes at the Italian based Mr Martini site, particularly the tasty Triumph Flashback Racer.

Portland, Oregon has become a hotspot for the vintage racer scene, especially old Honda's like the CB160. We have previously mentioned Vicious Cycles but we recently stumbled across another shop called Poor Bastard Cycle Works. They are a small repair, service and fabrication shop in Portland that specialize in creating custom exhaust pipes to get the most out of vintage Japanese and European motorcycles. We particularly like their "Y" pipe which are fabricated by owner Will Jones and not only give the bikes greater performance, they are also very pleasing to the eye. Just by the name alone you can tell the guys at Poor Bastard Cycles have a great sense of humor, but you can also see they are seriously good at what they do. Check the Poor Bastards blog to see more from Will and his team.

A huge milestone occurred last week for Pipeburn and we almost missed it. We checked our stats and realised we have received over 500,000 hits since we started the site in June last year. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that visits Pipeburn and shares our passion for cafe racers, customs and classic motorcycles - you are all one in a (half) million.

Crossbreed Cycles are based in the U.K and created this amazing bike a few years ago using a 2.5 Litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine. This is what these guys specialize in - they use parts, frames and engines you think would be impossible to combine and then make it happen. This one of a kind motorcycle has a Kraftek frame, a four speed Harley Davidson transmission, all powered by the Italian Alfa Romeo V6. There are six individual exhaust pipes, a pair of Weber downdrafts, with fork, discs and calipers from a Kawasaki ZXR750. That may sound like an unusual combination but they are working on an even bigger project - this time creating a Maserati bike which we can't wait to see. Until then check out some more pics of this ambitious Alfa project.