Custom bikes and cafe racers - I think I want one, one day!

[CKQC]

I rode bikes for many years, had 11 of them including a Honda 400 Bros, various Ninjas, a Z750 (best bike I've owned), Suzukis and Monsters but then stopped for family, etc.

I think I want a custom bike that I can enjoy on sunny days and just to look at. I absolutely love the new retro-modern takes I'm seeing here and there and would love to learn more about:

1. How and where to go about getting one (happy to look abroad and have one built from scratch)
2. What are the costs involved
3. Where to buy used - eBay has precious little.

More than happy for this to turn into a thread about the custom bikes and cafe racers on PH. Love to see your pictures and here the real world riding experiences.

Still wondering what bike I would like as a base as I've been out of the loop for a decade.

[raining_sulphur]

Missioncustomoto on IG, he does some lovely work. Based in Poland I think.

[anonymous-user]

I've been having similar thoughts lately. After several Ninjas I have come to the conclusion that I simply can't be trusted with a sportsbike anymore. The riding position, the ability to tuck behind the screen in order to utterly obliterate the speed limit, the power delivery all seem to flick a switch in me that is going to either end me up in prison or worse.

I have always liked the cafe racer look, and think my first attempt will be an s4 monster as its a nice looking bike to begin with, which I imagine makes the process easier!

Hopefully it is a process that can be done in little bits, so can be a ridable project.

Good luck with your plans OP, I look forward to seeing your progress down this road

[CKQC]

raining_sulphur said:

Missioncustomoto on IG, he does some lovely work. Based in Poland I think.

Thank you. This bike looks quite superb and I would be very happy with this look and finish! I definitely want a modern bike for the base though - needs to be fuel injected bike after years of riding in winter and not being able to start!

[raining_sulphur]

CKQC said:

Thank you. This bike looks quite superb and I would be very happy with this look and finish! I definitely want a modern bike for the base though - needs to be fuel injected bike after years of riding in winter and not being able to start!

I enquired a good number of months back about costs for a potential xjr1300 build after seeing one of his. His response was a very detailed, broken down build spec of that actual bike with options to customise further. As he fabricated most his stuff, you could pretty much request your own build, including the original bike.
Drop the guy a message, surely worth the question. I love his work.

[CKQC]

Thanks very much. I'll drop him a line. Surprised to see so little interaction to this topic from the PH community, but to be fair it is much more of a car forum.

[pidsy]

In just because I love modern styled cafe racers.

I don’t ride, don’t want to but I think some of the stuff being done is incredible.

[crofty1984]

Look into the bike shed. I think their website has a classifieds section for custom bikes.

[Zakalwe]

A lot of the stuff that goes through Bike Shed is too steampunk for my taste, I can’t grow the required twirly moustache to pull anything like that off

[Speed addicted]

CKQC said:

Thanks very much. I'll drop him a line. Surprised to see so little interaction to this topic from the PH community, but to be fair it is much more of a car forum.

Depends what you want really.
I’ve got a couple of bikes that fit the description because I enjoy tinkering with things.

If you wanted to build something yourself a Triumph bonneville or thruxton is a great base as there’s so much stuff available to modify them.
A standard 1200 thruxton with the Triumph fairing is a lovely thing. You could then modify that to your taste fairly simply.

This is my Ducati ST2
Bought as a crashed bike with knackered fairings and modified to my taste.
It’s cost me about £3k all up including servicing it myself with the paint being the most expensive thing. But it’s 19 years old and has taken a fair amount of refurbishing. There will (obviously) be more to do in the future as I find things I’d like to change.





I’m now taking my BMW K100 apart again to investigate an ominous noise from the engine and change things that I don’t like as loads more things are now available for them.

If you just want to buy something just type cafe racer into eBay, it’s usually worth a laugh if nothing else!

Edited by Speed addicted on Friday 10th April 19:20

[lukeyman]

I love a nostalgic bike!

Happened across this website the other day:

https://www.baakmotocyclettes.com/en/

Some nice stuff available to order. (Well, at least in my eyes!)

[Pizzaeatingking]

I found myself in a similar situation. I had quick bikes for a while but got to the point where they were too quick to enjoy on the road, particularly if I want to keep my licence and all my limbs intact. I ended up getting rid and spent a couple of years without a bike. I got the itch a few weeks back for another but I was thinking about a bike that I could potter about on and have fun on bumbling about on a sunday afternoon.

I also fancied something I could tinker with, I'd never modified my previous bikes (aside from exhausts and tail tidy) but fancied getting something I could play about with and make my own. The thing I also wanted though, was something that would fire up at a flick of a switch and something relatively new.

I ended up going for a Yamaha XSR700, a bike built it with the intention of people taking it apart. There are loads of examples of custom versions, from simple bolt on bits from JvB that collectively change the look of the bike in a big way to full on custom builds.

Mine is stock (aside from the tail tidy, had to fit that before I rode it ) but I have some plans.



Plenty of bikes for inspiration from scrambler to sporty retro kinda thing.









I'm sure these might be frowned upon by some old skool custom bike owners but it offers a nice way into that genre of bike for someone who wants a modern bike and maybe doesn't have the time/skills to start making stuff from scratch. JvB make similar kits/parts for BMW, Triumph and others, I'm sure there are other companies out there doing similar.

Sorry, waffled a bit there

[Speed addicted]

The thing is that if you’re happy with the bike the main goal has been achieved.
Having a bike that looks cool, makes you feel good and is modern is a really good mix.
I love my Ducati, it’s a nice bike to ride and makes a great noise, but it’s occasionally been a bit Italian in the reliability stakes.
The 85 BMW is called Startyabh for a reason...

[ReverendCounter]

http://nx650elsinore.blogspot.com

Honda 650 Dominator based

[Merch131]

Not sure why you'd go to Poland when there are plenty of good builders here in the UK, though the further away from the South East the cheaper the labour rates will be.

If you insist on a modern bike with fuel injection, then I'd go for a new Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 as a good starting point. There are more bolt-ons coming onto the market for these bikes all the time. Check out TEC for both RE and Triumph aftermarket parts.

The Interceptor is one of the few new bikes I'd consider buying new, that said I'd soon start to modify it.

Below is a pic of my mates Z650 based café racer.. with a big bore 720cc conversion and alloy tank / seat made by an old chap in Leeds.. for £550 for tank/seat and front guard.

While the Black / gold Norton/Harley is one of mine and the Guzzi is my current 'work in progress'..

[t955daytona]

Here is mine, still work in progress, airbox removal and remap next, still contemplating wrapping the headers and I want to black wrap the fork legs. Love the bike though, its the one I will never get rid of.

[CKQC]

Thanks everyone - some lovely pictures. I think for me, I would definitely looking at a more modern bike as a base. This Speed Triple build looks superb... Everything I want here - short pipe, custom tail and some real attention to detail.

https://www.pipeburn.com/home/2017/03/30/metal-spe...

Merch131 said:

Not sure why you'd go to Poland when there are plenty of good builders here in the UK, though the further away from the South East the cheaper the labour rates will be.

Thank you. Please could you elaborate on who you think is worth looking at in the UK?

[Speed addicted]

You can get most of that speed triple cafe by changing the seat and bars on a standard speed triple.
Honestly if you’re at all handy with spanner’s this isn’t difficult stuff to do.

[NSR500]

https://www.bikeexif.com/
Plenty styles and ideas on here for you to decide what you are after

[Merch131]

CKQC said:

Thank you. Please could you elaborate on who you think is worth looking at in the UK?

I've never had a complete turn key bike built, as I like to do at least some of the work myself. But the following I have used in the past..

for aluminium tanks / bodywork I've used both the Tank Shop in Dumfries http://www.thetankshop.com/ and TABII in Wales http://tabclassics.com/

For Engineering (frames, machining etc) Metal Malarkey https://www.malarkeyengineering.co.uk/

and CCD http://www.ccd-briz.com/

However these shops tend to work on older classics / Harleys, though I'm sure they can modify modern stuff too. The examples you've posted seem to have a different seat unit, some bolt-ons and a USD conversion (on the XJR), none of which is particularly tricky to do.

I would suggest your starting point would be to decide on the donor bike first.. Triumph Speed Triple, XJR or whatever, work out what changes you want to make and then go from there. Most smaller workshops tend to specialise in a particular brand or style..

I also follow the work done by Craig Jones of Doghouse customs on YT.. his fabrication skills are impressive
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3XpxkSvafEP1GjMe...