Anyone into Cafe racers?

[humpbackmaniac]

I have a project on the go at the mo, now its only an R6 but i want to cafe it. Here is what I have so far.


There will obviously be one big round chrome headlamp and hopefully four exhausts if I can find four small carbo end cans. But the seat is my stumbling block. Cany find the right one.

And want it to end up a little like this.



Retro cool, and yes I have the right P*** pot helmet and Goggles to wear with it!

[Busamav]

I got excited then I was expecting to see an old Triton with the big ally tank and swept pipes .

Looks good though , get the tank buffed for that extra added retro look , and drop some Castrol R40 in the tank

[humpbackmaniac]

i'm going to strip all the paint off it and the lacqure (hmm spelling) it! But I am told it is illegal to have a polished metal vehicle. Still sod that.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Get some Harris adjustable clip-on's that fit under the top yoke.

[bimsb6]

humpbackmaniac said:

i'm going to strip all the paint off it and the lacqure (hmm spelling) it! But I am told it is illegal to have a polished metal vehicle. Still sod that.

who on earth told you that ?

[humpbackmaniac]

Well, in actuall fact it was in reference to my Mark 1 golf that I stripped and "varnished" I got nicked for a reason that escapes me but meant, if someone after dark is following you then their headlights will reflect back off my dazzling car and, well, dazzle them. Not so likely from a petrol tank of a bike though!

[bimsb6]

thats a new one on me ! bike looks smart btw .

p.s they are streetfighters now not cafe racers , the latter is very old skool .

[Busamav]

bimsb6 said:

p.s they are streetfighters now not cafe racers , the latter is very old skool .

No no no , streetfighters are " crashed reapaired" bikes and are something else , we knew them as Rat bikes .

I prefer to think of Cafe Racers as classic rather than old school

[srob]

There is still something cool about specials of any description! Would look good with BMW GS wire wheels and single sided swingarm. Chunky but retro- bit like me!

I was hoping for pics of a Triton as well though as that's about as close as I'll get to one for a while- fecking house is sapping all the money out of the fund....

[crankshaft]

bimsb6 said:

p.s they are streetfighters now not cafe racers , the latter is very old skool .

A streetfighter has Renthal type handlebars and an upright riding position.
Cafe racer = clip-ons / leant forwards like a sportsbike.

I love the cafe racer look - especially the old ones: Triton, Manx Norton etc. The Triumph Thruxton and Ducati Sport 1000 look pretty good too.
I had a Yamaha TRX850 which I turned into a streetfighter, and later a cafe racer.
From a looks point of view, on a cafe racer I think where the back of the bike ends is important.
Take a look at a side view of the Ducati Sport 1000. The back of the seat hump ends directly above the rear edge of the rear disc - a lot of the reason it looks so right IMO.
I copied this with the TRX. I cut the frame at this point, then made seat hump like the Duke.

ps. I had a matt black open face lid and goggles!

[Hooli]

thats gonna be great, it looks better than stock already just by loosing the nasty tuppleware!

[Fire99]

humpbackmaniac said:

i'm going to strip all the paint off it and the lacqure (hmm spelling) it! But I am told it is illegal to have a polished metal vehicle. Still sod that.

Isnt the DeLorean Car made of Stainless Steel? That would make it illegal for the owners to keep their cars clean..

[bimsb6]

Fire99 said:

humpbackmaniac said:

i'm going to strip all the paint off it and the lacqure (hmm spelling) it! But I am told it is illegal to have a polished metal vehicle. Still sod that.

Isnt the DeLorean Car made of Stainless Steel? That would make it illegal for the owners to keep their cars clean..

it wasn't polished it had a satin finish

[Biker's Nemesis]

Hooli said:

thats gonna be great, it looks better than stock already just by loosing the nasty tuppleware!

Much better to have the naked look, don't you reckon Hoolie.



A naked GSX 1400: I'm not suggesting that ALL GSX 1400 riders are fat and like sitting too close to their naked mates.

[gareth h]

What did the bike in the first pic start its' life as? Looks like a 500 single honda or yamaha. A very inspired build.

[humpbackmaniac]

gareth h said:

What did the bike in the first pic start its' life as? Looks like a 500 single honda or yamaha. A very inspired build.

I think it was an Sr or XT 500 Yamaha, way cooler than mine but you have to work with what your given.
Thinking Four end pipes like an old Honda Four hundred four. Just the healdapm and tail that im lost on, where can a man buy an aluminium tail unit?

[IsMad]

sorry; O/T comments

Biker's Nemesis said:

Hooli said:

thats gonna be great, it looks better than stock already just by loosing the nasty tuppleware!

Much better to have the naked look, don't you reckon Hoolie.



A naked GSX 1400: I'm not suggesting that ALL GSX 1400 riders are fat and like sitting too close to their naked mates.

Oh my god, thank God I had breakfast a while ago, otherwise it would now be all over my keyboard,

I like the barcardi touch, there is indeed Latin spirit in them two

Edited by IsMad on Friday 28th March 11:28

[Busamav]

humpbackmaniac said:

gareth h said:

Thinking Four end pipes like an old Honda Four hundred four. Just the healdapm and tail that im lost on, where can a man buy an aluminium tail unit?

The 400 / 4 came with a 4 into 1

The early CB 750 K models had 4 into 4

[crankshaft]

humpbackmaniac said:

gareth h said:

What did the bike in the first pic start its' life as? Looks like a 500 single honda or yamaha. A very inspired build.

I think it was an Sr or XT 500 Yamaha, way cooler than mine but you have to work with what your given.
Thinking Four end pipes like an old Honda Four hundred four. Just the healdapm and tail that im lost on, where can a man buy an aluminium tail unit?

If you've seen Classic Bike magazine in the last couple of years, you might have seen the Moto Guzzi cafe racer that Gary Inman did. He fitted an alloy tank and seat hump - IIRC they were from The Tank Shop. They do off-the-shelf stuff, plus (I think) custom made as well.

CB750-style exhausts would be good!

[srob]

As mentioned above, have a look at www.thetankshop.com. There's some brilliant stuff on there and pretty reasonably priced for the quality.

I reckon a nice one off AJS 7R style seat, with two LED lights sunk in one above the other (one rear light and one brake light) and with a polished alloy finish