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Cafe Racers?

524K views 1K replies 402 participants last post by  panhead_pete 
#1 ·
Just a quick question. Are cafe racers welcome on this board?

Primo
 
#128 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

orangeamcs said:
On the list of factory cafes the Manx Norton was forgotten, this is the bike whos style was emulated by many
i left the manx free of the list due to its absolute unobtainium by the fast boys,they were extreeeemly rare to be seen at the caff's,with the 3 wheel racers fighting for the engines,the 2wheel racers fighting to get them from norton,and the special racers like degans/dresda fighting for the carcases it made them a not viable bike for a 19 year old apprentice,mcm in the 60's always had a used price guide to the back of the mag similar to a blue book and for the most part the manx was allways left off the list due to it being scarce

Put it this way.... if you pulled up on any of those bikes and started talking about you kick ass cafe racer with a bunch of guys who have Tritons and Norbsa's you can bet your ass they will be thinking "Yeah right... as if you built that thing".
please refer to the following books to help you with some history
the top 3 bikes on my list were ran by the fastest rockers inthe late fifties,and through the 60's they are legendary among anyone and yes special owners would KILL to get them,the alexandria pl. cafe was known for the fastess most ruthless streetracers of the day...they all ran goldstars,pure factory muscle and clocked up more deaths to streetracing than any of the other haunts like the busy bee,ace etc.

and as a norbsa owner myself i love,lust and desire a true dbd34 gs or rgs along with my triton riding friend

cafe racers,rockers,rocknroll and the coffee bar cult
by Mike Clay
Published in 1988 by Osprey Automotive, London
Hardcover; Dimensions: 8" x 11" (20.5x28 cm)
ISBN 0850456770

rockers-kings of the road
johny stuart
Paperback: 127 pages
Publisher: Plexus Publishing (UK); Reprint edition (September 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0859651258
ISBN-13: 978-0859651257

The Rocker Years
"Bookazines" Edited by Steven Myatt
Published by Mortons Media Group Ltd.
£6.99 each
Available from Mortons Books (UK)

steven myatt's new magazine
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKER-Magazine-Winter-2006-2007-NEW-

there is a huge resurgence of old rockers now with $$$ buying up the
bikes they envied as youth the ones ive spoke with are generally after factory bikes the thruxton the rgs and the gs

http://www.realclassic.co.uk/opinionfiles/opinion04060800.html

cheers!
 
#130 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

tonuprocker said:
i left the manx free of the list due to its absolute unobtainium by the fast boys,they were extreeeemly rare to be seen at the caff's,with the 3 wheel racers fighting for the engines,the 2wheel racers fighting to get them from norton,and the special racers like degans/dresda fighting for the carcases it made them a not viable bike for a 19 year old apprentice,mcm in the 60's always had a used price guide to the back of the mag similar to a blue book and for the most part the manx was allways left off the list due to it being scarce
This is very true. Thats why kids would buy the "manx tanks" from companies that made them to make their bikes *look* like a manx (Or, if inclined and able, build their own tanks). See? Customization.....

tonuprocker said:
please refer to the following books to help you with some history. the top 3 bikes on my list were ran by the fastest rockers inthe late fifties,and through the 60's they are legendary among anyone and yes special owners would KILL to get them,the alexandria pl. cafe was known for the fastess most ruthless streetracers of the day...they all ran goldstars,pure factory muscle and clocked up more deaths to streetracing than any of the other haunts like the busy bee,ace etc.

and as a norbsa owner myself i love,lust and desire a true dbd34 gs or rgs along with my triton riding friend

cafe racers,rockers,rocknroll and the coffee bar cult
by Mike Clay
Published in 1988 by Osprey Automotive, London
Hardcover; Dimensions: 8" x 11" (20.5x28 cm)
ISBN 0850456770

rockers-kings of the road
johny stuart
Paperback: 127 pages
Publisher: Plexus Publishing (UK); Reprint edition (September 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0859651258
ISBN-13: 978-0859651257

The Rocker Years
"Bookazines" Edited by Steven Myatt
Published by Mortons Media Group Ltd.
£6.99 each
Available from Mortons Books (UK)

steven myatt's new magazine
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKER-Magazine-Winter-2006-2007-NEW-

there is a huge resurgence of old rockers now with $$$ buying up the
bikes they envied as youth the ones ive spoke with are generally after factory bikes the thruxton the rgs and the gs

http://www.realclassic.co.uk/opinionfiles/opinion04060800.html

cheers!
Last I checked the truest cafe's were by no means factory stock at all. SOMETHING was modified on them to make them a personalized bike, which brings us directly to the exact point I was making. A Cafe Racer was a culture based on custominzation of those bikes. Even if it's a matter of adding the proper bars and nothing else, it's still not a factory bike.

They may have been running Goldstars, and they may have been factory mills (why mess with near perfection, right? :)), but I would bet a left nut that they still customized things on the bike to make it their own. ;)

Also, they may have lusted after said bikes in their youth, and they may buy and leave them stock now as they are not so much a bike, but a collector piece to bring them back to "the good old days", but I'd bet that had they gotten the bike back then, it wouldn't have stayed bone stock.

I'm just saying... all of the best cafe bikes, and all of the ones that epitomize the culture that surrounded them are definitely NOT 100% stock.

Again, compare it to the hot rod culture. What would have more properly defined the culture that was hot rodding? A *stock* 1934 Ford Pickup, or a *rodded* 1934 Ford Pickup? The rodded one! Why? Because part of the defining aspect of the culture was the build. :)
 
#131 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

I quote you...

tonuprocker said:
heres a few pix of period dyed in the wool cafe racers,most were not nearly as modified as these the majority ran near stock off the shelf bikes with slight mod's,at one point at the pinnacle of the scene there were over 40,000 kids under the age of 25 on 2 wheels in england alone it was a huge craze






this last one was recently uncovered in a basement layed up in the UK since the late sixty's then brought over here
Of the above bikes that you posted not one of them is bone stock.

If they were kept stock, they wouldn't be cafe racers. :D No such thing as a factory cafe racer.
 
#133 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

Creepinogie said:
Since your from Mpls/St. paul you must know the tee shirt guy with an industrial basement full of those bikes. You get to the Blind Lizards Rally every year?
Tee shirt guy? Do you mean Gary, or Marty?
 
#134 · (Edited)
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

Also of interest... straight from The Ace Cafe's site of Cafe Racer history...

"The main reasons to have a standard bike converted into a cafe racer were:The need for speed, and being cool in all the right places (preferably where you could hear Rock`n´Roll) as well as being quite simply different.

These machines were not only meant to transport you as fast as possible, but were also saying something about you and your distinct attitude. As such bikes were not readily available, you simply had to build them yourself."
 
#138 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

When the British M/C Industry was taking its very last gasp, Norton came out with this "Cafe Racer" which instantly became known as the Sheep in Wolf's clothing.
Norton had the PERFECT bike to market as a real cafe racer ,the Yellow Peril Production Racer, but they blew it one last time thinking this monstrosity would save them. This is a custom painted version, the stock bike was White with Red and Blue stripes
 
#139 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

Now this is a California Cafe Racer circa 1972. Featherbed/Commando/Snowflake Mags/Hurst Airheart brakes/Ceriani RR forks , racing tires. A real canyon warrior,ready to kick ass on the new crop of '73 Jap stuff, from Big and Little Tiujunga, Sand Canyon, Latigo ,Topanga to the Crest Hwy.
 
#141 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

What the fuck is that? It's not a stock featherbed, as my slimline barely had enough vertical clearance for the ironhead rockers. That frame looks suspiciously tall. I remember seeing a Dave Degens/Dresda frame for H-D big twins somehere. Dresda frames look a lot like featherbeds, but made for a bunch of different engines and trannies. I'd love to know more about this creation.

GASIT said:
Big Inch Featherbed,at the TT
 
#145 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

bigassbike said:
cool, ive been building this out of an old 86 fxr (eric buell's first job for the factory)frame i had laying around...and i guess i deraked it so its a chopper, stripped it down so its a bobber:rolleyes: i been calling it a rally bike, for lack of a better term. but its muscle all the way. doesnt have much of the cafe styling, but some of the right cafe attitude i think.


Metmachex swingarm? check
Dual Headlight? check
USD front with big dual discs and twin pot calipers? check
Dirt bike/flat track handlebars? check

Looks like you built yourself a Streetfighter.
 
#152 ·
Re: Cafes? Cafe projects?

Newby here for the 1st time.

Although not in the same league as the wonderfull machines on here, I thought I would post a few photos of my lightly modified Thruxton. Work includes cut back rear fender, new rear light and indicators, home made flyscreen, a few other cosmetic improvements, engine tuning mods, British Customs reverse cone megaphones.

Works still in progress







 
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