How to make a CAFÉ RACER? Complete guide
CAFÉ RACER: HOW IS IT MADE?
This is probably a topic that has been discussed over and over again, but with this article we want to make your life easier. What aspects to consider when choosing a base bike and how to customize it to have the real café racer?
We would like to point out that the suffix café racer identifies a specific style of motorcycle, but unfortunately today it is used inappropriately to identify those that generally fall into the “SPECIAL” category.
With this premise, however, we want to follow a purist path and delve into the real “CAFE' RACER” in this chat.
As you well know we are not talking about "stock bikes", but rather about bikes modified according to a personal idea of the owner. It is necessary to say that the history of this English style has defined common modifications to be respected to call a bike "CAFE' RACER". However it is obvious to make a brief mention of when, why and how these stylistic, but above all aerodynamic, traits were defined.
Let's start from the beginning. The history of the café racer.
Since the 50s, racing and speed had taken over among fans of two-wheeled motors, so much so that weight reduction had become the golden rule for winning. From this concept, in England, more precisely in London, bikers with leather jackets (“Leather Boys”) gathered in front of the ACE CAFE’ to then start real races.
And how can we win the latter?
We said that the real challenge was to lighten them to the point of absurdity, thus filling the impossibility of acting on the engine's power.
From the archives of the time, we can see that in order to achieve the lowest weight, there were even those who drilled plates and levers. For aesthetic and relatively aerodynamic purposes, these Leather Boys emulated the racing bikes of those years with fiberglass or metal tails, with a single-seater saddle and an X on the front light. The latter, usually made with scotch tape, had the task of avoiding the dispersion of glass in the event of a fall.
Other characterising aesthetic elements are the semi-handlebars and the tail to outline the single-seater saddle (sometimes included in it and other times, fixed as an external component made of fibreglass).
https://www.classic-british-motorcycles.com/
The queen of this style is definitely Norton, which together with the English BSA and Triumph, represent the parent brands of this style. If you have tried to search for some historical content, you will surely have noticed the name “TRITON”, the result of the union of Triumph engines and Norton frames.
After this introduction, let's try to evaluate which aspects we need to consider in order to build our café racer.
The structure of the frame is very important.
We are not here to differentiate the geometry of the frame, whether tubular, double beam or trellis. You could find the differences listed in any online motorcycle forum or even on Wikipedia. With this portion of the article we will analyze the shape of the frame that does not require particular modifications aimed mostly at correcting oddities of the tank or the tail.
Well yes, this frame exists and it is the “Cradle Frame”, characteristic of the 60s bikes but carried forward until the 90s. The peculiarity of it is that it is built on a straight line, allowing for ease of intervention on the other components such as the creation of a saddle or the insertion of a tailpiece. All this manages to give the bike a great style in a few simple steps. Furthermore, if you want to move on to the front part of the tank, this frame with the central tubular allows us to change or modify this last component without effort.
https://motoistruzioniperluso.blogspot.com/
Adopted for more than 30 years, the cradle frame allowed motorcycle manufacturers to create a remarkable variety of tanks, seats and tailpieces that are still easy to find today.
The only thing to do is to search carefully and view the parts to understand whether adopting them on your bike is feasible or not!
https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/
Looking for the starting base. All the aspects to evaluate.
While we are looking for our starting base, we often underestimate the general conditions of the engine, even considering the purchase of a running wreck, as there is the possibility of completely overturning it.
In our opinion, it would be a good idea to take a test drive when you first see it, to assess the condition of the engine and the general chassis. This way, you will avoid running into unpleasant and expensive surprises later on.
Furthermore, in this phase of testing and evaluation of the engine it is necessary to make an initial analysis of the motorcycle model to start from, since for some components to be replaced, in the future they could be difficult to find regardless of your wallet.
You may then find yourself in a situation where your idea of a motorcycle remains nothing more than a dream, and not even a fully functional one at that. A piece of furniture for your garage.
As for the displacement and engine characteristics, purists might find it necessary to retrace the historical path by taking inspiration from the 750 engine of the Norton Commando or the Atlas. In addition to the high price of the bikes equipped with these engines, even lower displacements could be excellent.
Personal advice: a good base could be a 500, like a Honda Four CB500 or a Kawasaki Z500.
Last but not least, the budget!
Aware of the cost of your dream, we have reserved a 50% discount for you with the code - cafe50 – (your bike required it 😉).
Make a 360° cost assessment at the genesis of your idea, evaluating every aspect carefully. Also, do not forget about the extra expenses during the process that can often have a significant impact on the budget.
Start with a good search and write down a list of motorcycles with their relative cost and the components that you will have to buy. After a first look at the motorcycle, make an evaluation of the aesthetic and non-aesthetic components. For anything else related to the chassis and engine, we recommend that you look at the motorcycle with a trusted mechanic, who will surely have more experience than you in recognizing the strangest noises and behaviors of the two-wheeler.
If you don't have any experience working with engines or other things, consider asking for various quotes once you have a fairly clear idea of what your future special will be like.
After this premise, to avoid unpleasant surprises for your wallet we must start by viewing the basic motorcycle.
Over the last decade, the cost of building your own café racer has increased exponentially, as the number of enthusiasts for this style has grown.
Especially for the most suitable basic motorcycles, the supply market has followed the trend well, increasing the selling price by almost 3 times compared to ten years ago.
Ordinary expenses such as transfer of ownership, insurance costs and stamp duty must also be considered. However, these can be avoided by registering in the various historical registers ASI, FMI etc.
You can find the components everywhere: from private sales sites and also through sites completely dedicated to café racer and general custom accessories. Their prices obviously depend on their quality. Here you will have to evaluate how much you want to spend and above all what quality to give to your bike!
Also, carefully evaluate who you will entrust with the labor of all the necessary work to be done. This will have a big impact on the budget, especially for those unplanned expenses, indicated at the beginning of this paragraph.
Final considerations
We have now reached the end of this article. Before leaving you to search for your new base, we want to point out that despite the constraints imposed by the purist world of the café racer, your bike can still become unique. Work on the colors of the bodywork, the saddle and their shapes, on the various components, on the color of the crankcase, on the rims and on the tire groove.
Every detail will make the difference and for these you can draw inspiration from the websites of various customizers ( South Garage Motorcycles , Bottega Bastarda , Bike Shed etc.) and from the photos of the historical models customized by those who gave life to this movement.
A movement that has written the past, defined the present and also the future, moving motorcycle manufacturers increasingly towards this market.
See you next guide…
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