This Approachable New Café Racer Drips Retro Style and Handmade Soul

Diamonds in the rough may be hard to find, but a captivating Ruby just emerged from the English countryside.

Close-up of a red motorcycle fuel tank with a silver circular fuel cap labeled "LIFT.

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By Steve Mazzucchi

Published June 8, 2026

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Updated June 8, 2026

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While the motorcycle industry, like many others, is dominated by major manufacturers, that’s not to say much smaller, passion-driven operations do not exist.

Case in point: a tiny, family-run outfit working out of a 19th-century farm building in the South Yorkshire countryside, about 30 miles east of Manchester, England.

The Ruby is a beauty from tip to tail, and so delightfully analog you can actually work on it yourself.

Mac Motorcycles

Conceived more than a decade ago, Mac Motorcycles recently rolled out a couple of scrappy motos that lead with their retro-inspired looks.

The one I can’t take my eyes off is the Ruby, thanks to a handmade café racer aesthetic that’s tough to beat.

Shared specs

I’m not kidding when I say tiny: the Mac team page lists just six people, including leader Ian Oliver and his son, graduate engineer Will Oliver.

At this size, Mac has wisely stuck to a single platform for its two bikes, the Ruby and the flat tracker-adjacent Rex.

Close-up of a silver motorcycle engine cover with a "Mac Powered by SWM Italy 1971" label and a foot lever with a black rubber tip. — Though the bike has many ties to England, Mac is open about the Italy-based supplier of its 600cc engine.

So while they have unique personalities based on differing handlebars, seats, ergonomics and aesthetics, they have many compelling qualities in common, including an approachable seat height of 29.9 inches and a nimble dry weight of just 330 pounds.

Additional highlights include a 600cc single-cylinder engine from Italy’s SWM, derived from the Husqvarna TE610 motor.

With Mac’s own mapping and ECU mated with a Mikuni throttle body, the liquid-cooled four-stroke makes 56 horsepower and can reach a top speed of, Mac says, “around 100 mph.”

Round black motorcycle speedometer with white markings, red needle, and digital display below the center. — Not unlike my beloved 2014 Triumph Bonnie, the Ruby’s analog/digital hybrid speedometer keeps data to a minimum, including a neutral light and a low-fuel light.

Beyond the engine and a few other Italy-sourced parts, the bike is proudly UK in design. The frame and swing-arm, for example, are unique to Mac, with input from Hertford-based Harris Performance.

Though produced by Italy’s Acerbis, the fuel tanks are sculpted by Mac’s own Clive Goodwin, with a capacity of 16 liters (roughly 4.2 gallons), complete with a truly retro feature, the low fuel light.

The bikes’ bodywork is handled in Redditch, while Mac has partnered with Hereford-based The Smallest Cog on the colors and paintwork.

Close-up of a gold Brembo brake caliper mounted on a motorcycle wheel with a black suspension fork labeled "FAST ACE. — The choice of front brakes includes Brembo, which is also Italian and among the most respected brake brands.

The Fastace adjustable 47mm inverted front forks offer 130mm travel, while the rear shock is an adjustable Nitron R1, with a 40mm piston, from Oxfordshire.

Mac offers a variety of wheel, tire and brake choices, most of which come from outside the UK, though you can choose a British-made HEL caliper on the front brake.

Red racer

Early test rides confirm that, for better or worse, the bikes look better than they handle.

In fairness, Mac says it is still working out some kinks, and honestly, how could they not when they look as good as the Ruby does?

Close-up of a black suede motorcycle seat with white stitching and a small Union Jack flag tag. — Specific to the Ruby, the sporty single seat aligns nicely with the bike’s café racer vibes.

One standout detail is the sporty riding position, driven by traditional clip-on bars.

Another is the seat and tail section, which has a sharper and more aggressive café racer style than the Rex.

Mac says the cockpit fairing is “optional” (and can be color-matched to the body or contrasted), but I dare say if you are zipping between coffee shops, it’s not optional at all.

Close-up of a motorcycle's rear wheel with a black tire, silver spokes, disc brake, and chrome exhaust pipe. — According to Mac, the jauntily jutting twin exhaust pipes are “designed to deliver throaty roar on acceleration and a cheeky pop and crackle on the overrun.” I can almost hear those lovely sounds now.

I would say the same for the “Flame Red” paint job and add that no alternative option is needed on the polished stainless steel twin reverse cone silencers, which I can only hope sound as good as they look.

Availability and pricing

Mac Motorcycles is currently accepting orders for the Ruby, which has a starting price of £15,500.

Of course, transporting the bike from Mac’s South Yorkshire facility to anywhere outside the UK is another matter entirely.

Red and black motorcycle frame with a red fuel tank labeled "Mac" on a red lift table with tools scattered around.

Mac Motorcycles Ruby

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About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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