An explanation of these cafe racers.

Wildh2oskier wrote:

After reading on here for months this strange fascination of taking a perfectly good motorcycle and turning it into a so called cafe racer I decided to research it.

Search a little harder and you will find that there were people in the 70's who were taking perfectly good BRAND NEW motorcycles and turning them in to cafe bikes.

www.woodgate.org/dunstall/

Wildh2oskier wrote:

I believe I have found my answer. Cafe racers are the same ones who think the 01 on the side of the General Lee made the Duke boys have a race car.

No, those guys are the ones who have to put "cafe" stickers on the tanks to let everyone know what should be obvious. If it is a cafe bike, you shouldnt need a "cafe" sticker on the tank to tell them what it is.

Me, I like a good bike no matter what it is.

My Dunstall/Honda
I am currently changing the front end to a GL 1000 with custom brakes. The rear will be changed to a spoked Boranni with custom brakes also.

Fish

Post edited by: The Fish, at: 2007/07/22 18:43

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe_racers

www.gocaferacer.com/home.html

www.ace-cafe-london.com/

www.cb750cafe.com/

Yawn, enough bickerin lets saddle up and go ride. Run what'cha brung.

Wildh2oskier wrote:
Hmmmmmmmm I quoted a backyard chopper magazine on a site that is devoted to backyard whatzit bikes and your chewing on me about it. Here is the shocker,,, for you anyway,,, I just believe we ought to just get them up and back on the road. BUT it is the anti-chopper, anti ratbike, cafe racers rule attitude on here that truly disturbs me.

So go somewhere else. You're giving us opinions like we have to listen, or agree.

Cafe racers are just streetbikes. Nothing special nothing fancy.
Choppers are just streetbikes. Nothing special nothing fancy.
Restores are just streetbikes. Nothing special nothing fancy.

Wow, you come up with that on your own? The whole point of customizing vehicles is that they AREN'T "just this or that."

Each and every one of us has put something of ourselves into our rides. Whether its a chrome doodad or a windscreen and set of clubmans.
Everytime you come on here (or in real life) and make fun of what someone else has done to "their" bike you are ignoring the fact that someone else is sniggering at how you spent the time to fix up that girlie ride of yours.


Ahhh... but most of us have grown up and realized that it doesn't matter, rather than getting our panties in a bundle and whining on the net about it.

For a truly goodtime I'll take a 2 stroke MX or enduro bike on a truly fun ride anyday. But I'll take the KZ over my truck anyday too.<br><br>Post edited by: Wildh2oskier, at: 2007/07/22 17:31

I hate whiners.

A word of advice....

Wise men have all had one thing in common... they understand the true freedom that comes with not giving a F*&K what the others have to whine about.

Now back to my projects.

Post edited by: caffcruiser, at: 2007/07/22 21:22

Fossil wrote:[/b]

I have clipons. So is my bike a Streetfighter or a Caferacer? I think of it as a Streetfighter, but I don't really care what label someone wants to put on it.

Oh Fossil, stop being coy.

I'm sure that you are more than capable of understanding the difference between a cafe racer and a streetfighter. :lol:

Don't be too hard on the youngster guys. We all had to start somewhere. Maybe someday he will develop his own thoughts and contribute somehting to the world.

That was kinda of a neat article. He did give me an idea though
"manufacturers to piece together a ‘naked’ (no fairing) sportbike, usually with a raised rear end (monoshock, of course), twin headlights and a bad attitude."
What if you took the longer coilover shocks and gas tank off of a evolution class dirt bike i.e Bultaco,Maico,CZ and used them to get a higher rearend without having to change the swing arm? The gastank would strictly be a weight reduction issue since you would be going from steel to fiberglass. Hell, throw in some old MX longhorn handle bars and it would kind of be like a supermoto in reverse. Don't know just a thought.

Now that would be cool. Kind of like this one
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_ponygal...6&func=detail&id=432

Cafe's rawk! I'm thrilled with how my old ugly 81 CSR 1000 turned out. And she pulls like a raped ape! First started last Friday the 13th, and now just over 300 miles. I *know* she's faster than my 2002 Triumph Speed Four in a straight line which I've dyno'ed at 92rwhp. I'm guessing the weight at 465lbs (20-40lbs more than the Triumph), and about 110 at the tire.

Motor is a Wiseco 1075 10.25:1, V&H .425 cam, APE springs cam sprockets and guides, Serdi 3-angle valve job, new cam chain, manual tensioner, Barnett plates and springs. My telltale tach showed 10,600 rpm and 116mph as my high numbers for the weekend, I'd also guess this will run an 11.9 at 120 as my S4 does 12.20 at 116.

I know several guys I twisty ride with on our modern bikes that I am quicker than in the tight twisty stuff. I will be able to dust them on this one too and it will drive them nuts, especially Josh on his Ducati 748.

It's the rider anyway moreso than the bike.

Cafe's are the truest expression of vintage sport motorcycling - they are modern day replica vintage hot rod ground pounders, stripped down, stiffened, and hot motored...

sheik*yerbouti wrote:

Cafe's rawk! I'm thrilled with how my old ugly 81 CSR 1000 turned out. And she pulls like a raped ape! First started last Friday the 13th, and now just over 300 miles. I *know* she's faster than my 2002 Triumph Speed Four in a straight line which I've dyno'ed at 92rwhp. I'm guessing the weight at 465lbs (20-40lbs more than the Triumph), and about 110 at the tire.

Motor is a Wiseco 1075 10.25:1, V&H .425 cam, APE springs cam sprockets and guides, Serdi 3-angle valve job, new cam chain, manual tensioner, Barnett plates and springs. My telltale tach showed 10,600 rpm and 116mph as my high numbers for the weekend, I'd also guess this will run an 11.9 at 120 as my S4 does 12.20 at 116.

I know several guys I twisty ride with on our modern bikes that I am quicker than in the tight twisty stuff. I will be able to dust them on this one too and it will drive them nuts, especially Josh on his Ducati 748.

It's the rider anyway moreso than the bike.

Cafe's are the truest expression of vintage sport motorcycling - they are modern day replica vintage hot rod ground pounders, stripped down, stiffened, and hot motored...

Damn that's really nice!

I really do feel the line is blurred between Streetfighters and Cafe Racers - they are really the same thing from diffrent eras. If you're looking at recent issues of Streetfighters magazine, well they've missed the point regarding Streetfighters and gone mostly "show bike". They no longer represent real world homebuilt bikes built to improve all aspects of performance. So, if this what people are basing what Streetfighters are, they're being steered wrong.

If they were the same thing they wouldn't have different names.

That's like saying hot rods and street rods are the same thing.