Cafe Racers

[learningcurve86]

Has anyone seen these? The oldschool look really does it for me. They look like some cool classic spin-offs. Does anyone have one of these or know anyone that does?

I'd love to get a motorcycle because I infatuated the idea of them, but I'm not into super-fast sport bikes. [I would die] So I've been looking for something a little more tame but still with that cool factor and I think I've found what I want to build.

[ColdAccord]

i just picked up a 78 cb550 last week actually

[learningcurve86]

really? do you have plans for it?

[deutschman]

love these bikes! you can get hondas from the '70s and convert them to cafe' stile bikes.

http://www.cb750cafe.com/

my friend has a '74 honda cb360. its his first bike so he is starting small. im helping him work on it.

[OOMPH!]

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1695669

That is the mother load thread.

My father owns a 1974 Benelli and he just picked up a 196X something off road Benelli. Cafe Racer's are awesome!

[Atreus]

i've been thinking about this too recently. i like motorcycles, but i don't want a crotchrocket. something like a ducati 900m or w/e is cool imo. but these look nice too....

[Streichholzschächtelchen]

One day I'll get to build one, got a norton commando 850 just waiting.

[learningcurve86]

love these bikes! you can get hondas from the '70s and convert them to cafe' stile bikes.

http://www.cb750cafe.com/

my friend has a '74 honda cb360. its his first bike so he is starting small. im helping him work on it.

that's my plan. it would be my first bike.. and like i'm doing with cars: learn it by tearing it apart and building it better than it's ever been.

for you guys that know people that have these: is is really expensive? i think i'd leave the motors pretty near stock at first, and just work on making it run reliably and look the way I want. Am i crazy for feeling like in comparison to an e30 they'd be rather inexpensive?


this is way above anything i'd dream of.. but its effing awesome.

[DatUtahGuy]

My friend has a couple of them, he restores and races vintage bikes. I don't have any pics.

[deutschman]

check this place out

http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/forsale.html

[learningcurve86]

$835 for the seat and tank i would want :( -i think i should learn how to fabricate.

[deutschman]

this is more like an original chopper.
when the vets came back from wwll they got really into the bikes they had ridden in the service over in europe (mostly harleys). the fad back then was to take everything off the bike that was not 100% essential for the bike to function. hence the name "chopper." the british version of this was the cafe racer. they were called cafe racers because kids would challenge one anther to races between cafes.
it wasn't till the late '60s and '70s that choppers evolved into what we know them as now.

[learningcurve86]

thanks! i'm just starting to get into these, but the more i see/read the more i want to do this.

[DerRoteBaron]

www.dotheton.com its got to be the best cafe site out there!

[learningcurve86]

really diverse setups!