Topic: Cafe build hack jobs.....

[Lostboy Steve]

I would eventually like to build a cx. I think theyre cool.

[RAFster122s]

A few others:

Greensboro NC CL
Cafe Racer for Sale - $1250 (Greensboro)

Cincinnati, OH CL
1981 Honda CM400 Cafe Racer - $2700 (WestChester)

VA Beach, VA CL
honda cafe racer - $3000 (va beach)

St Louis, MO  CL
1973 cb750 honda cafe racer style - $3500 (ofallon mo)

Chicago IL CL
Honda CAFE racer CB 750 CB750 - $5800 (Palatine)

Chicago IL CL
1974 CB360 Honda Cafe Racer Make offer - $2300 (Caledonia Wi)



Some aren't bad, don't look like hacks for the most part, just some are a little pricey.

[Bootlegger56]

Hack jobs or not.  I have been hearing the Motovocation boys up in Hickory are getting some serious out of state bucks for the things they are putting together.  Makes you wonder how long this fad will last.

[MoMo]

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/3933452709.html

Not to everyone's taste I'm sure given what it started with...


Charlotte, NC CL



 Quote:
Custom Honda Cafe Racer - $4600 (Huntersville)
1983 Honda CX650C cafe racer. Brand new items include Kenda Challenger tires, battery, All Balls Racing fork seals, dust covers, steering stem and wheel bearings, EBC sintered brakes, stainless steel brake line, headlight, custom seat, Randakks Master Rebuild Carb kit, starter relay, oil & filter, fuel filter. The build started from a completely stock CX650C with 10K miles on it. Have photos and documents to support items listed. Please don't waste your or my time with lowball offers and I'm not looking to trade anything. If you're serious about a cool, custom one-off cafe racer please text or call (704) nine zero two-2 eight seven 7. This bike recently won "Best Japanese" at the 2013 Mods vs Rockers show in Charlotte.


TO GIVE PERSPECTIVE, last photo is example of what he started with... Makes the CX650C look much nicer with CX500 Std or Deluxe tank and modified seating...

Not a big fan of the blue but I kind of like that bike, the CX(aka Plastic Maggot) is a good candidate for the cafe fad...Larry

[RAFster122s]

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/3933452709.html

Not to everyone's taste I'm sure given what it started with...


Charlotte, NC CL



 Quote:
Custom Honda Cafe Racer - $4600 (Huntersville)
1983 Honda CX650C cafe racer. Brand new items include Kenda Challenger tires, battery, All Balls Racing fork seals, dust covers, steering stem and wheel bearings, EBC sintered brakes, stainless steel brake line, headlight, custom seat, Randakks Master Rebuild Carb kit, starter relay, oil & filter, fuel filter. The build started from a completely stock CX650C with 10K miles on it. Have photos and documents to support items listed. Please don't waste your or my time with lowball offers and I'm not looking to trade anything. If you're serious about a cool, custom one-off cafe racer please text or call (704) nine zero two-2 eight seven 7. This bike recently won "Best Japanese" at the 2013 Mods vs Rockers show in Charlotte.


TO GIVE PERSPECTIVE, last photo is example of what he started with... Makes the CX650C look much nicer with CX500 Std or Deluxe tank and modified seating...

Not a big fan of the blue but I kind of like that bike, the CX(aka Plastic Maggot) is a good candidate for the cafe fad...Larry

Yeah, owning both a CB550K and a CX500, I think I would prefer to see the CXs used up by the cafe crowd rather than doing this to nice CBs.  It would not hurt CX prices or parts availability for that to occur. Given the price point of bikes that need some love, the CX bikes are ripe for the Cafe market and their prices are going up as a result. The tank from the deluxe has been much more desirable by many cafe builder because of its styling. 4.5 gal tanks that look good aren't easy to come by and the CX deluxe and standard tanks look good with nothing more than fresh paint.
Lots of cafe bikes are nothing more than looks and given the limited perf options for the CX motor it falls in line with that mentality. But you drop a larger set of Mikuni carbs and open up the exhaust and you can feel the performance improvement as well as see it on they dyno. Murray, fellow in NC, has developed some rebuild options and they can make the CX bikes wake up and bark or growl as well as get up and go much faster and still be dead nuts reliable.

The CX650C has a sweet motor but the riding position and seat are truely horrible. So, I can appreciate the nicely done work this fellow has done to his cafe'd bike, he made it look nice and perform nice. But, I agree...that blue is best loved by a Tarheel (one of the NC colleges uses a similar color if I recall correctly...).

David

[MoMo]

Didn't make the Tar Heel blue connection-it actually makes sense if one is a fan.  A co-worker hacked up a CX to make a cafe, looked OK.  Now that I have the PC maybe I should chop up the Silverwing?  ...Larry

[RAFster122s]

Seen a few Silverwing cafe bikes, when done nicely they are good, yours wouldn't be a hack.
Given the condition of your plastics it can be a blank canvas for you to play with... But, consider if it would be worth more as is or after the cafe birthing process.
You could sell the bags and trunk and other parts to help finance the build.

[MoMo]

Seen a few Silverwing cafe bikes, when done nicely they are good, yours wouldn't be a hack.
Given the condition of your plastics it can be a blank canvas for you to play with... But, consider if it would be worth more as is or after the cafe birthing process.
You could sell the bags and trunk and other parts to help finance the build.

Most of the plastic has cracked so there really isn't any money to be gained. I most likely will sell it(cheap too) and use the money to finance th restoration of this new acquisition

[Thunder]

From the ad:

Okay so here is the deal with this baby.  we are a bike shop and we took pride in purchasing old bikes and restoring them, then the cafe racers took over so we decided to give it a bash.  Not to shabby just to blow my own trumpet here.  This is and xv1000 that we have changed, it is now a single seater, upside-down bars, sponge seat, hip indicators ect that goes into making a cafe racer.  If you want we still have all the original parts for this bike.  She rides like as dream, comfortable and still has that spring in her step.  We can convert your oldy into a "new" generation racer.

[70CB750]

Those shock absorbers are killing me, did they at least use soft metal?

[Roach Carver]

 ^ You know its a mono shock right?

I must say, HIDEOUS. just absolute garbage. Bravo.

[LesterPiglet]

A monoshock sans monoshock. It's bolted rigid.

[Bankerdanny]

And it's an XV920, not an XV1000. That's actually a much better choice for a Yamaha V-twin cafe than the XV750's that have been turning up because it's chanin drive rather than shaft, and the pegs are several inches farther backwards than the 920 Virago's are.

edit: I see that's from South Africa. In the US that version of the XV series only lasted one or two years, so never got the dispacement bump that the Virago got.

[davidtime]

I'm speechless and I know where not to get a bike from.

[Doctor_D]

I must say, HIDEOUS. just absolute garbage. Bravo.

It's gotta be a joke, right?  Please tell me they're kidding.

I like my bikes with a little more time and thought put into the execution.  My CB took four years, and still isn't done - but we're getting there.

[davidtime]

Looks great that should be in the BOTM thread though.

[Retro Rocket]

Looks great that should be in the BOTM thread though.

I think it may have already won one previously....

[Davez134]

I must say, HIDEOUS. just absolute garbage. Bravo.

It's gotta be a joke, right?  Please tell me they're kidding.

I like my bikes with a little more time and thought put into the execution.  My CB took four years, and still isn't done - but we're getting there.

Followed your build, my favorite bike I've ever seen so far. Love the thoroughness and attention to detail!

[Mikey S]

I must say, HIDEOUS. just absolute garbage. Bravo.

It's gotta be a joke, right?  Please tell me they're kidding.

I like my bikes with a little more time and thought put into the execution.  My CB took four years, and still isn't done - but we're getting there.

Followed your build, my favorite bike I've ever seen so far. Love the thoroughness and attention to detail!

What a coincidence, I was just watching the Moto Channel video of your bike at Twinline. I agree this is one of my favorite bikes of all time. I wish he fired it up in this video! Still cool though:
Twinline Motorcycles: 1975 Honda CB 750 Supersport Cafe Racer

[Juan1]

Yeah, owning both a CB550K and a CX500, I think I would prefer to see the CXs used up by the cafe crowd rather than doing this to nice CBs.  It would not hurt CX prices or parts availability for that to occur.

The early CX500 engine and tank look great, and need to have that tumor of a back end removed.  On the other hand, the CB750 looks pretty great stock.

[stewonepot]

That supersport has no fork brace?

[Doctor_D]

That supersport has no fork brace?

In this iteration it didn't have a brace, but I didn't feel any issues when I pushed it into corners.  It was a different story under braking loads.

The most recent change is that I've just put GL1000 forks on it - per my build thread.  They will have a brace.  Pics coming by the weekend.

[Geeto67]

yeah I am kinda surprised at the people here "bashing" other's work when their own won't stand up to scrutiny. Just because a bike is polished and clean doesn't mean it isn't unsafe or has a stupid mod. If you have a stock tank with bashed in knee dents, low bars with stock pegs, pods on bone stock carbs, 16" rear wheels, or are missing any of the following: fork braces, front fenders, rear fenders....I am looking squarely at you.

[lucky]

The turn off for me is that I very seldom ever see a cafe build where the builder actually sat down to crunch the #'s to determine suspension geometry and how the mods they intend on doing will effect that geometry or hacking the frame to make a modern component fit without first determining whether or not they may actually be weakening the frame in order to make the component fit. What I see most often is builders installing modern components and crossing their fingers that it's actually an improvement because their main priority may be looks more so than function

I too have kicked the idea around of a cafe build but until the day comes that I feel I have a good understanding of suspension geometry then I'm not touching it nor would I buy a cafe bike unless I felt the builder knew what they were doing.

It is a free country sir.

But your are correct about converting aCB750 to a single shock design with these 1/16 thickness frame tubes that are 40 years old.
I see no advantage to that plan. You just have to relocate the oil tank and all of the electrics, so you gain nothing.

With the double shocks you can easily change the shocks without even jacking the bike.

[jamesbekman]

Or you can just not change anything to the suspension...