So here's a very pertinent question; please speak up all: how many members built their cafes beforethe present fad ( I guess there must be one in the rest of the world ) began?
Hmmmnn. Well, I built a "Cruiser" style CB750 originally, like the one I built and rode everywhere in 1980-85. Nice upright sitting position, good all-round vision, great for city commuting, and comfy out on the highway.
The problem was, when I rebuilt the engine with 12.5:1 836cc pistons, Mike Reick stage 3 head, Megacycle 125/75 cam etc, it got really scary trying to hold on to the "Buckhorn Bars" at 120(+) MPH, so I built a new bike around the engine, and ended up with this:
Good thing is, even though I started with just a bare frame that a mate dragged out from under his house and gave me, an engine I bought at a swap meet and other bits I bought from around the world, (mostly on EBay, and from members here) I think it came out quite nicely, and I didn't take my angle grinder anywhere near it, so I can return it to "stock" if I ever needed to.
Is it a "Cafe Racer"? Well to me it's more of an authentic 1970's era race bike with mostly 1970's era aftermarket parts used, and it goes like stink. Most modern era "Cafe Racers" that I've seen are more biased towards "show" than "Go", so I don't like to see my bike lumped in with these modern day poseurs.
Having said that, leaving your engine standard will ensure long engine life and reliability, and of course, with the penalties for speeding what they are nowadays, the fashion of "faux Racers" is probably the smart way to go. Cheers, Terry.