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.
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).
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.
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.
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 😀
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.
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!
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.
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…
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.