Topic: Rules of the Cafe' Racer

[Magilla]

i think we need to break this down for you using SCIENCE, Magilla:

CAFE RACER HP CALCULATOR:

+1 per turn signal removed
+1 for putting a black X of electrical tape over your headlight
+10 for installing PODS
+5 for saying it's rejetted
+3 per fender removed
+1 for ditching the side covers
+2 for gutting the triangle
+1 for running on a flashlight battery
+5 for a poorly upholstered flat seat
+4 for chopping off the frame behind the rear shock mounts
+2 more if you actually weld in a hoop
+.5 for every ace painted or stickered onto the bike
+.01 for every hole drilled in your brake rotors, sprocket cover, or rear drum brake cover

knee dents, clubmans, fairings, pipe wrap, rearsets, and custom seats all increase top speed, variable by color.

I should have paid more attention in science class.  This is much more statistical than my top 10 list.  I think you need to add +25 for each checkered flag it has.  Also dont forget +5 for a mathcing helmet.  Or even better +10 for a helmet that has goggles on it.

[Stev-o]

Cool pics malc.

What kind of lower fairing is this?

[toytuff]

That is so cool. Just love it.

tt

[Rookster]

7:  The original point of a Cafe' racer was to make it faster so when you raced from Cafe' to Cafe' you would win the race.  Try spending more time making it faster than adding a checkered flag sticker to it.

OK, I think this was true for maybe 5 minutes or until the deaths and accidents started to climb higher than 4.  For most of the life of the term "Cafe Racer" it meant a STREET bike that LOOKED like a race bike.  Not a street bike that handled or cornered or braked  or accelerated like a race bike.  A street bike that LOOKED like a racebike.  The look has always been what defined a cafe racer.  That term has evolved and changed over time.  Although we may not like or agree with what it means in the summer of 2013 a list of rules isn't going to change it.

Its also funny how over time the glorified idea of a poor English kid tricking out his bike in the shed so he could beat his buddy through a roundabout in the rain before Gene Vincent stopped playing on jukebox at the greasy spoon, er "Cafe" seems so pure.  Yet no one mentions the leopard print seat covers many of those bikes sported.  In 30 years from now when the new Cult of the Cafe Racer is reinvented the legend will involve poor American kids in their garages tricking out their vintage Japanese bikes with hand made parts to go and ride the 'Tail of the Dragon' or the 'Snake'.  And not a mention of checkerboard duct tape and rattle can black will enter the legend.

Scott

[malcolmgb]

Cool pics malc.

What kind of lower fairing is this?

It was a Churchgate Mouldings full fairing, I bought it used. Coincidentally I spoke to the person who I thought sold it me recently and he said he never had one so have to rethink where I got it from now.
http://www.rockersbikeads.co.uk/Parts/Fairings/Fairings-Churchgate%20Mouldings-1969-1.html

The fibreglass tank and seat were possibly from them too or maybe Brealey-Smith.

[faux fiddy]

"Modern" Cafe Racers are a fashion that was revived by Carpy many years ago. Carpy bought lots of neglected CB750's at yard sales for cheap, threw on some horrible Clubman bars, did a quicky paint job, threw on some checkers, and sold them on eBay for way more than they were worth.

I built my Cafe Racer from bits and peices that I had lying around my garage, it was never a nice clean complete bike, just a collection of parts that I'd picked up on eBay, at swap meets etc. As I'll eventually tire of the Cafe Racer fashion, I made sure that I didn't chop off any tabs, or install a hoop, or anything that will prevent me from restoring this bike back to original, if I decide to do so.

While it looks nice and I get lots of positive comments when I take it out on the road, it is the most uncomfortable bike I've ever owned, well, maybe second only to my old Ducati 900SS. I'm about to do an engine rebuild, then it'll be good for some Cafe Posing when the weather warms up again. Cheers, Terry.

So, you're a poser?!

You can tell  by the fenders, uncut and in place.

[Retro Rocket]

7:  The original point of a Cafe' racer was to make it faster so when you raced from Cafe' to Cafe' you would win the race.  Try spending more time making it faster than adding a checkered flag sticker to it.

OK, I think this was true for maybe 5 minutes or until the deaths and accidents started to climb higher than 4.  For most of the life of the term "Cafe Racer" it meant a STREET bike that LOOKED like a race bike.  Not a street bike that handled or cornered or braked  or accelerated like a race bike.  A street bike that LOOKED like a racebike.  The look has always been what defined a cafe racer.  That term has evolved and changed over time.  Although we may not like or agree with what it means in the summer of 2013 a list of rules isn't going to change it.

Its also funny how over time the glorified idea of a poor English kid tricking out his bike in the shed so he could beat his buddy through a roundabout in the rain before Gene Vincent stopped playing on jukebox at the greasy spoon, er "Cafe" seems so pure.  Yet no one mentions the leopard print seat covers many of those bikes sported.  In 30 years from now when the new Cult of the Cafe Racer is reinvented the legend will involve poor American kids in their garages tricking out their vintage Japanese bikes with hand made parts to go and ride the 'Tail of the Dragon' or the 'Snake'.  And not a mention of checkerboard duct tape and rattle can black will enter the legend.

Scott

Actually Scott, thats the way it was in England where it "really" all started, they weren't necessarily poor kids but they were looked at as out casts or out laws, it also lasted a lot longer than 5 minutes, more like 60 odd years {it never stopped}, A lot people still build their bikes in the true spirit of the cafe. Most, if not all the British bikes of the era handled well by the standard of the day, as good as the race bikes of that time.

It is perhaps the most influential motorcycle movement the world has ever seen. Born in the streets of England in the 1950s, its culture still thrives around the globe.
The café racer is both man and machine. With its Spartan appearance and aggressive styling, the café racer is one of the most distinctive and revered motorcycles in the world. Their impact on the motorcycle industry includes legendary high-performance motorcycles like Triumph’s Bonneville, Honda’s CB-750, and Kawasaki’s Z-1. Without the original café racers tuning and designing their ordinary street bikes for power and handling, manufacturers may never have designed the modern sportbike.

That kind of says it all and i hope that in the future , if it ever becomes popular again it goes back to its roots, not the way its been portrayed by a few today, remember it for what it really was, not what its become.... Some of us still like tradition...

[Magilla]

Café racer, (/ˈkæff reɪsər/ kaff racer or less commonly /ˈkæffi reɪsər/ kaffi racer) is a term which arose among British motorcycle enthusiasts of the early 1960s, particularly the "Rocker" or ton-up boy subculture. The term refers to a style of motorcycle that was and is used for fast rides from one "transport café" or coffee bar to another.Motorcycles of this type were also common in Italy, France, and other European countries.
 
The term was originally coined as an insult towards riders who were seen as playing at being road racers but merely parked outside cafés.

[FunJimmy]

The term was originally coined as an insult towards riders who were seen as playing at being road racers but merely parked outside cafés.

Meet you at Starbucks.

[Terry in Australia]

"Modern" Cafe Racers are a fashion that was revived by Carpy many years ago. Carpy bought lots of neglected CB750's at yard sales for cheap, threw on some horrible Clubman bars, did a quicky paint job, threw on some checkers, and sold them on eBay for way more than they were worth.

I built my Cafe Racer from bits and peices that I had lying around my garage, it was never a nice clean complete bike, just a collection of parts that I'd picked up on eBay, at swap meets etc. As I'll eventually tire of the Cafe Racer fashion, I made sure that I didn't chop off any tabs, or install a hoop, or anything that will prevent me from restoring this bike back to original, if I decide to do so.

While it looks nice and I get lots of positive comments when I take it out on the road, it is the most uncomfortable bike I've ever owned, well, maybe second only to my old Ducati 900SS. I'm about to do an engine rebuild, then it'll be good for some Cafe Posing when the weather warms up again. Cheers, Terry.

So, you're a poser?!

You can tell  by the fenders, uncut and in place.

Damn, you saw right thru me...........

[BeSeeingYou]

Been posted before but seems appropriate here.

The Legend of the Cafe Racer

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, and that is pretty much representative of young guys who are getting into the whole Cafe Racer culture.........

[Raul CB750K1]

I find many cafe bikes pretty looking, and many more crappy hack jobs. What gives value to a good-looking-good riding cafe bike is exactly how expensive and difficult it is to do it right. Therefore, many will fall aside on the way.

I think that was was MAgilla's post was about, and I found it funny. C'mon people, have a little more sense of humor and learn to laugh about themselves a little. I for one am into the heavy metal scene and the stereotype is laughed at quite often, and I, who have been in many music shows and have seen many metalheads, recognize many of the laughable traits and can't stop finding them funny. Unfortunately I have to admit I fall into some of them too but I have to laugh about them too; if I look at myself from another perspective I have to admit other people may find me laughable!

[Retro Rocket]

Awesome Raul, I'm a metal head from way back, I'm also a guitarist so i get the chance to play it as well.... I really don't give a sh1t what anyone thinks about it, I know how hard it is to get right and how much hard work goes into it.... I see some parallels there mate...

[faux fiddy]

"Modern" Cafe Racers are a fashion that was revived by Carpy many years ago. Carpy bought lots of neglected CB750's at yard sales for cheap, threw on some horrible Clubman bars, did a quicky paint job, threw on some checkers, and sold them on eBay for way more than they were worth.

I built my Cafe Racer from bits and peices that I had lying around my garage, it was never a nice clean complete bike, just a collection of parts that I'd picked up on eBay, at swap meets etc. As I'll eventually tire of the Cafe Racer fashion, I made sure that I didn't chop off any tabs, or install a hoop, or anything that will prevent me from restoring this bike back to original, if I decide to do so.

While it looks nice and I get lots of positive comments when I take it out on the road, it is the most uncomfortable bike I've ever owned, well, maybe second only to my old Ducati 900SS. I'm about to do an engine rebuild, then it'll be good for some Cafe Posing when the weather warms up again. Cheers, Terry.

So, you're a poser?!

You can tell  by the fenders, uncut and in place.

Damn, you saw right thru me...........

Yep, obviously you weren't sure enough that it wouldn't be back to being a stocker some day. It's hard enough stitching the 40 yo fender cracks together as it is. Welding on that whole piece cut off, or two or three just to make it cool would be a real chore.  And then there's keeping the pieces where you'll always find them...    for once you want  go back to stock.

[Terry in Australia]

Well this is how the bike was before I "Cafe'd" it. I'd built it as a comfy cruiser, but when I rebuilt the engine and discovered that it'd do 120 MPH @ 11000 RPM in third gear, I decided that it'd be easier to ride at those speeds with lower bars.

With the "Pullbacks" and 2 inch over forks, it was really hard to hang on to the bars at those speeds.............

[faux fiddy]

Well this is how the bike was before I "Cafe'd" it. I'd built it as a comfy cruiser, but when I rebuilt the engine and discovered that it'd do 120 MPH @ 11000 RPM in third gear, I decided that it'd be easier to ride at those speeds with lower bars.

With the "Pullbacks" and 2 inch over forks, it was really hard to hang on to the bars at those speeds.............

I like that 2 into two configuration pairing the inner and outer cylinders.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Mate, that's a "Peter Allen" (not the gay singer) tuned length header 4 into 2 from "Back in the day". I bought it at a swap meet for 80 bucks, and swapped it for my original Yoshimura 4 into 1 that's on the bike now.

Then the guy who got it decided that it was too loud, so he gave it back to me, for free. I think in the bike's next incarnation, I'll put that system back on, I like it better than the Yosh. Cheers, Terry. 

[LesterPiglet]

I like that 2 into two configuration pairing the inner and outer cylinders.

Me too.

[RAFster122s]

That exhaust is cool. Tell me, with #1 a good bit longer than 4 and 2-3 about the same, what is tuned. What is the firing order, I forget...

What is the design of the paint on the tank?

Interesting bike. I like it sometimes when cafe styled bikes have their fenders uncut.

Remember that sulfur yellow show bike with highly polished and chromed engine, wheels, and exhaust? Yellow and chrome or polished aluminum looks great I think.

[Killer Canary]

Awesome Raul, I'm a metal head from way back, I'm also a guitarist so i get the chance to play it as well.... I really don't give a sh1t what anyone thinks about it, I know how hard it is to get right and how much hard work goes into it.... I see some parallels there mate...

At our age, we should be playing heavy metal polkas.

[Retro Rocket]

Awesome Raul, I'm a metal head from way back, I'm also a guitarist so i get the chance to play it as well.... I really don't give a sh1t what anyone thinks about it, I know how hard it is to get right and how much hard work goes into it.... I see some parallels there mate...

At our age, we should be playing heavy metal polkas.

That paints a funny picture....

[Ewan 500K1]

i think we need to break this down for you using SCIENCE, Magilla:

CAFE RACER HP CALCULATOR:

+1 per turn signal removed
+1 for putting a black X of electrical tape over your headlight
+10 for installing PODS
+5 for saying it's rejetted
+3 per fender removed
+1 for ditching the side covers
+2 for gutting the triangle
+1 for running on a flashlight battery
+5 for a poorly upholstered flat seat
+4 for chopping off the frame behind the rear shock mounts
+2 more if you actually weld in a hoop
+.5 for every ace painted or stickered onto the bike
+.01 for every hole drilled in your brake rotors, sprocket cover, or rear drum brake cover

knee dents, clubmans, fairings, pipe wrap, rearsets, and custom seats all increase top speed, variable by color.

#$%*sake , I'm getting 200 mph

[mono]

  haha nice!!  BE CAREFUL

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

[faux fiddy]

That exhaust is cool. Tell me, with #1 a good bit longer than 4 and 2-3 about the same, what is tuned. What is the firing order, I forget...

What is the design of the paint on the tank?

Interesting bike. I like it sometimes when cafe styled bikes have their fenders uncut.

Remember that sulfur yellow show bike with highly polished and chromed engine, wheels, and exhaust? Yellow and chrome or polished aluminum looks great I think.

The inner 2 are 180 out and the outer are 180 out so this is the way they should be paired to not have both firing down the same pipe at the same time.