Anyone built up or bought a cafe racer?

It’s been a few years since I worked on a motorbike and with a trend towards cafe racers I quite fancy buying something and converting it to a cafe racer styled machine. Anyone done anything similar? Ideally I’d use a British machine as a base but not opposed to something like a CB350.

Friend of mine makes frames for the Norley.
The frame is based on a Norton featherbed but you can fit a Harley or Buell engine in it.
If you need info let me know.
I own a Buell and maybe go down the cafe road one day.

Fill your boots, although your wallet won’t thank me[/url]

This has been one of my recent favourites

Some ideas here;
http://www.caferacerdreams.com.es/motos
There are some lovely Bonnies on there.

Although I’m a Triumph fan and currently have a Bonneville (which I’m slowly customising), I love those BMW boxer customs. If I had the brass, I’d try to get hold of an old R60 or R75 and turn it into a café racer (but with higher bars, more of a flat tracker stylee).

xs650 every time for me

street scrambler’s are where its at now 😉

Toying with the idea of doing something to my RF900. If only I had the time and money to make it into something like this …….

**** me how ugly must the rf be if that treatment would improve it!

A few of my mates are endlessly doing them but they’re all Infinite Projects- just like the kitcar the old boy down the road’s “building” that only moves when he moves house. I think they’ve all realised that if they ever finish them, they’ll probably be crap, so it’s better to have a project and a dream than to have a reality.

Still, phwoar

At the bike show last week at the NEC there was a gorgeous CX550 special, could call it a cafe racer I guess, best looking piece of kit there apart from the new Huskies.

Can’t find any photos of it sadly.

Bit of originality would be lovely – so many Bonny/Boxer/SR’s out there that things are getting very formulaic now.

Yes, I know we’ve had 60 years of chopped V-Twins, but this new wave of identikit retro-bobbers shows signs of stagnating a bit already.

Lots of the really striking stuff out now is making use of previously forgotten and ignored motors – CX’s, XS twins, Yam 750/850 triples etc. Loads more around if you think about it.

A Jawa 350 would make a good retro Caff Racer – very clean design, bit odd.
I’d love to see a Hesketh lowrider, such a great looking engine.
Maybe a nice, traditional old-school Ducati 600 engined chop.
Really, really upset the purists and swan neck a Katana 😀

Some lovely stuff out there:

The frame is based on a Norton featherbed but you can fit a Harley or Buell engine in it.

Really? I can’t think of a worse combination, whats the next build, an Alfa-Ferguson….?

That XS 650 is stunning. Love it.

anyone watching philly throttle on discovery ?

Oh lord…. 🙂

Show’s the right attitude!

Apart from the slightly, er, folded riding position shows just what you could do with a litre of Vodka, half a day, a Jawa and a welding torch.
Ground clearance? Nah.

Oooooh, another one:

Dat’s nice.

Talking of ‘unusual’ engines for a chop:

I have a 79 CB550K3 thats been cafe’d

Gets lots of looks wherever it goes – though i suspect thats probably down to the glorious noise it makes 8)

Currently off the road for the winter – cant wait till spring

Assuming bike 816 has enough power to drag itself forwards when the hardtail has kicked your backside up off the seat, what happens next?

Nice CB 550! 400/4 is my pipe dream cafe racer project.

I’ve got a XBR500 at the back of the garage that has been altered a bit. Runnign a NX650 engine and single seat race unit, CIBIE headlamp, CBR600 brakes, wheels and front forks.


I really need to sort out the clutch, exhaust, carb, brakes…as itsd not moved for 7 years!

😯 😆

They handled badly enough stock. Why? Really. Why?

http://4h10.tumblr.com/

It has been posted before but there are some cracking cafe racer pics on here

Some great examples. Initially I was very much in favour of a British based build but actually looking at some Japanese machines that have been ‘cafe’d’ I think it has some potential. That cb550 looks great, maybe something along those lines. My wife also wants one so was thinking a cb200 cafe conversion would be a good option. Not powerful machines obviously but very light and definitely lend themselves to the cafe racer look.

Have a look at Bike exif for cafe racer inspiration as well as Deus Ex Machina in Oz and Wrench Monkeys in Scandinavia somewhere.

Plenty of small cafe racers about from Cb125s upwards. CB250rs would be nice.

piesoup

That site is fantastic ,thanks 🙂

I really need to get my finger out with my Norton Dommie build 😳

Oh why did I ever sell mine!

Not mine, but I liked the look of it when I saw it on the SV forum.
A good example of what you can do with not too much money.

Ooh, that’s a bit too Battle Of The Planets for my taste! But if we’re allowed SVs mine looked alright with the plastic off. Tail too big though. Don’t think liquid cooled really works for a cafe racer, too modern but thematically it works- light, fun, noisy and impervious to crash damage

Motomorphic made a stunner, I can’t find any reallygood pics of it now though 🙁

IMO the original XJ650 was closest to a stock cafe racer ever made. That ridiculous big headlight did it for me. Just add ace bars, rear sets and a 4 into 1 and you were set. Loved mine, ALJ161Y where are you now…

p.s. that wasn’t mine, but pretty close…

Some of those bikes aren’t what I think of when cafe racers are mentioned, and some are definitely out & out sprint bikes

NSA[/url] (the other NSA)

I owned this bike for a good few years.

With the intention to build something like this

But the truth was I was too in love with mountain bikes, and I needed the space, I sold the bike to an 82 year old, hope I am still buying bikes at that age.

One day I will build a cafe racer but probably in my 60’s by then, really like the look of Guzzis and MZ’s time will tell.

Not mine but I have a doner bike waiting for time & money

Is/was that a Griso? It’s fab, by the way.

One day. ( the bike not the girl)

Is/was that a Griso? It’s fab, by the way

Centauro V10 – 992cc of italian marmite, but a right hooter of an engine once the fuel injection & breathing is sorted 8)

Lots of stunning bikes here..
http://4h10.tumblr.com/

I do like the BMW boxer ones that have been built recently

My dad’s got a triton that needs rebuilding

The plan was for me and my brother to do it, but my dad has given it to my brother now so I doubt I’ll get a look in 🙁

My dad’s got a triton that needs rebuilding

My dad’s got one of those and a BSA Goldstar, my bother’s welcome to the Triton 😀

Lots of stunning bikes here..
http://4h10.tumblr.com/

Well that’s my new favourite website

Anyone like the flat tracker style? Spotted this in this months classic bike guide, sooo sweet

http://thebikeshed.cc/2013/10/12/glenns-650-tracker/