Ryca CS-1 Feature Casey Stevenson has elevated the Savage from the lowest rung on Suzuki's cruiser ladder to the pinnacle of café-racer cool. After finishing his biological-engineering gig at NASA (where he created a cancer-medication experiment that orbited on the space shuttle), he moved to Los Angeles with two things on his mind: music and motorcycles. And so he created the CS-1 café racer to transport him to musical gigs and the recording studio.
The S40, previously called the Savage, has been around for over 20 years but you can still buy them new. His idea was to transform the Suzuki with his own custom made parts and accessories, creating a kit in the process enabling anyone with basic tools to build their own urban thumper. The CS-1 features a 650cc single with 5 speeds, good looks and up to 60 mpg.
Ryca Motors now sells kits based around the S40, at $3,200 you can pick up everything you need to convert a basic S40 into a beautiful café thumper. Ryca does sell complete bikes based on either new or slightly second hand Suzukis but if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty you should be able to pick up a decent second hand S40 for between $1,000 and $2,000 USD, bringing the total price of the finished bike to just $4,200 to $5,200.
The CS-1 may not have the computer-chip optimized cajones to back up its racer bravado, but it sure does look and feel the part when standing still. Don’t be deceived, though. This is no mere chop job. The Ryca is just a “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” design exercise in less being more. Witness exhibit A, the super-discreet integrated LED tail light. Immaculately integrated into the compound curves of the aero-hump, the finger sized lamp announces braking, turn signals, and even acts as a running light at night.
