Thinking about a cafe racer project, need some advice....

That would be a shame to hack that one up.

DoctoRot wrote: Looks like a good starting point. I would make sure the engine runs well before you dive into the other stuff, unless you are planning on rebuilding regardless.

Well, the carbs are going to need to be rebuilt for sure. I was planning on pulling the engine out and cleaning up and probably having the frame powder coated again. The swingarm swap (and forks/bars, controls) would happen then too, if I decided to do that.

Warner

SWest wrote: Gotta say this, I'd clean it up, get it running well then decide if you want to make changes that can't be reversed. Looks like a solid survivor to me and worth some real money.
Steve

Well, I guess it becomes a question of is it an investment, or is it a project? And what would it be worth if cleaned up and sold as an original LTD?

Warner

baldy110 wrote: That would be a shame to hack that one up.

Ugh....well, what's it worth all fixed up stock? $4k? I'm not sure I could find another one like this for what I'm paying that would make as good a starting point for the project I want to do. I know that purists don't like seeing one of these intact bikes getting "ruined"...so I get both sides.

Warner

I guess we didn't realize you were getting such a complete bike and in such decent condition. That dirt will just wash off and a little polish can make that bike look entirely different . I don't know my 1000's that well, but that paint even looks like it could be original. The problem with hacking up Kz's, in my opinion, is that their body work was so iconic, especially the tail section. The bike in my avatar was basically free and already chopped up, so it was a no-brainer.

It's your bike so you should do what makes you happy. I think the way the Kz disease starts is you get a decent one to chop up, then can't do it, so you start to look for a chopped up second one, then a third one comes along and bam, your garage is full.

If it were my bike, I'd get a different seat, strip off the windshield and forward pegs, clean it up and live with it in stockish form until all the mechanicals are worked out. That buys you time to really decide how you want it. On the other hand, I know it's hard to not want to put a plan into action.

Good luck.

loudhvx wrote: If it were my bike, I'd get a different seat, strip off the windshield and forward pegs, clean it up and live with it in stockish form until all the mechanicals are worked out. That buys you time to really decide how you want it. On the other hand, I know it's hard to not want to put a plan into action.
Good luck.

There is wisdom here...

That's a pretty nice survivor bike. As others pointed out, clean it up and get it running. It also looks to have been garaged, which helps considerably as to the overall condition of the bike. A bath and a battery will do wonders for that bike.

Cafés are all about taking what you got and making it what you want. Don't listen to the purists. I agree that small to mid displacement twins are the most traditional examples of a café racer, but that's because that's what the guys back then could get or had lying around.

I wanted to build one and the bike I found was a 1982 KZ750 twin. now it's a café bike and I love it.

A 4-cyl would be fun to ride but do understand the maintenance and repair costs are going to be considerably more than a twin as you have twice the carbs and cylinders.

Sportster cafés are sick af. Harleys hold their value better than most anything for one, the sportster tank is built to lay down on the way it humps up, and it's just a big, powerful bike to begin with. If you have the outlay to get a Harley that's what I'd do.

Black_n_chrome wrote: Cafés are all about taking what you got and making it what you want. Don't listen to the purists. I agree that small to mid displacement twins are the most traditional examples of a café racer, but that's because that's what the guys back then could get or had lying around.

I wanted to build one and the bike I found was a 1982 KZ750 twin. now it's a café bike and I love it.


Sportster cafés are sick af. Harleys hold their value better than most anything for one, the sportster tank is built to lay down on the way it humps up, and it's just a big, powerful bike to begin with. If you have the outlay to get a Harley that's what I'd do.

I'm going to have to disagree...

The modern (dime-city-cycle) cafe racer image is what ends up giving us the unrideable art bikes from bikexif/pipeburn and a craigslist full of ruined bikes.
It's the next cool thing now that nobody cares about or can afford something from orange county choppers.

Trying to make a "race replica" (because at it's core, that's what a "cafe racer" is) out of a cruiser is just going to give you a bike that looks bad and rides even worse.

Play to the bikes strengths and you'll save money, save frustration, and wind up with a really cool daily rider.
For something like a vintage muscle bike here's what you need to do (after basic maintenance and service is complete)
-Racetech emulators and springs
-Hagon shocks
-Fork brace
-Braided brake lines
-Wheel bearings
-Stem bearings
-Good tires

That alone will make the bike much more enjoyable, safer, and more reliable. AND you'll see immediate improvements vs slapping a "brat" seat and mojave tank on it.

Black_n_chrome wrote: A 4-cyl would be fun to ride but do understand the maintenance and repair costs are going to be considerably more than a twin as you have twice the carbs and cylinders.

Considerably more? The only major difference is going to be a few more valve shims and two more carburetors

Move0ver wrote:

Black_n_chrome wrote:
Sportster cafés are sick af. Harleys hold their value better than most anything for one, the sportster tank is built to lay down on the way it humps up, and it's just a big, powerful bike to begin with. If you have the outlay to get a Harley that's what I'd do.

I'm going to have to disagree...

The modern (dime-city-cycle) cafe racer image is what ends up giving us the unrideable art bikes from bikexif/pipeburn and a craigslist full of ruined bikes.
It's the next cool thing now that nobody cares about or can afford something from orange county choppers.

Trying to make a "race replica" (because at it's core, that's what a "cafe racer" is) out of a cruiser is just going to give you a bike that looks bad and rides even worse.

Play to the bikes strengths and you'll save money, save frustration, and wind up with a really cool daily rider.
For something like a vintage muscle bike here's what you need to do (after basic maintenance and service is complete)
-Racetech emulators and springs
-Hagon shocks
-Fork brace
-Braided brake lines
-Wheel bearings
-Stem bearings
-Good tires

That alone will make the bike much more enjoyable, safer, and more reliable. AND you'll see immediate improvements vs slapping a "brat" seat and mojave tank on it.

Black_n_chrome wrote: A 4-cyl would be fun to ride but do understand the maintenance and repair costs are going to be considerably more than a twin as you have twice the carbs and cylinders.

Considerably more? The only major difference is going to be a few more valve shims and two more carburetors

Don't forget about all of those 2 extra spark plugs! :S

Move over gives good advice. Doing the small improvements moveover mentioned to that cherry old muscle-bike will make those cobblejobs eat dust as you ride past them while they push their "creation" home.

CL is a goldmine of half fished, half a--ed cafe bikes. Usually it is accompanied in the ad description with big words like, "no time to finish" translates into to a much different meaning for sure. Usually related to no mechanical aptitude.

A sporty is a powerhouse with a tank just made for lying on? I guarantee that Kz1000 in it's stock running form has almost twice the HP of any stock sporty. I love lining up on the loud and slow bikes at the lights. They fade away fast in my rear view mirrors.

This is exactly how NOT to do any bike. Naturally it does not run:


This bike is a prime example of a bike that could benefit from a teardown, not a complete survivor muscle-bike.

Believe it or not the two bikes in the pics below each began life as a 1977 KZ650-C1. One of them runs great and one of them will never run again after being modified. One is still stock and the other one was very nice but the owner decided to turn it into a cafe racer. One is mine (hint - the one that still runs) the other belonged to a member here who has not logged in for quite a while. I believe he scrapped the mess he made. There are MANY other examples of nice stock bikes that folks decided to turn into cafe racers but ultimately gave up on after ruining their stock bikes. The absolutely worse one was a guy in Norway who bought an Eddie Lawson Replica model and ended up totally destroying it and scrapping it. Think twice before ruining your stock bike. It's much easier and more cost effective to sell the nice bike and use the funds to buy a bike that is not in great shape and modding it. Ed

Ed, you keep posting that mono-shock bike over and over. I wish you would just finish it up some day so we can see it run.