For those into building "Cafe' Racers"....

JMKZHI wrote:

I guess he forgot to paint the wheels.

Nah, he painted them. Just when he did the ton day in and day out the paint flew off.

Again, the origins of cafe racers is pretty cool. My friends and I were doing that in high school without knowing that it had a name. Wish I had a picture of my friends cb550. He did a real nice job on a 200.00 bike. Of course working at an auto body shop has its advantages.

I just think the term is applied too quickly to anything that has had the simplest bit of work done on it. Then others argue its a mentality rather than what is done to the bike.

In this case though, I'll argue someone got too happy with the rattle can and ruined a good bike. Then to cover his backside he calls it a cafe and tries to sell it for more than the cost of a bike and 3 cans of paint.

To be honest, the term can cover a multitude of motorcycles - everything from a stock bike with low (ace) bars, or clip-ons, to an almost pure race bike with tweaked motor, clip-ons, rearsets, custom tank, fairing, etc. Some of them are works of art, others are rolling disaster areas! No matter - it is the "spirit" that is important. However, just taking a rattle can to a stock bike does NOT count as a cafe racer, and would certainly have any, and all, bona-fide members of the "Ton-Up Club" falling apart laughing!