cafe racers.. what ya got? [Archive]

disastron13

05-02-2004, 11:11 AM

The clubmans bars available now are too low and wide for your bike, they are made for newer bikes with big switches and hydraulic clutches. Make your own from an old set of stockers, just cut and tig weld. It's free too.
The commercially made rear set foot rests are fragile and clumsy die cast cheapo alum, cut and weld the stock Honda shift and brake parts, make your own.
The center stand won't work with a pipe, I welded a T handle to the spindle and just use it to adjust chain and change the wheel, leave it in the shop.
The 350 tail lamp and lic. holder bolt on to replace the giant 500 one.
750 tank fits if you shorten your seat.
Make a spacer of aluminum to move your gages 1 and a half inches forward to clear the cables and brake hose with clubman bars. Also a braided steel brake hose with a banjo end fitting helps clearances up there.
2 or 3 teeth smaller on the back sprocket and the 500 will go a hundred with 2 people and all your camping gear.
If you are missing the rubber fork gaiters, Norton Commando ones fit and they are cheaper.
Wide tires upset the handling and make the steering feel floopy and imprecise.
Be really careful not to strip the oil filter bolt, it is fragile
Don't use the modern brake pads made for stainless rotors, they will chew up your discs.
The stock air box and filter are more efficient than K&Ns.
Safety wire the stupid on/off handlebar switch to the ON position so that you don't push the big a mile to an exit and take apart half the ignition system in the dark and rain...yes...
AND if you find where to buy a 4-into-1 for it, let me know.
A good little bike, you can ignore the red line.

burndup

05-02-2004, 10:13 PM

Same clubman bars at mikesxs.com for $26, put your order over $30, free ship... and they ship FAST. fork gaiters, $20.

my humble progress so far...

burndup

05-02-2004, 10:14 PM

AFX, what kind of tank you got there?

Yeah, I need a shorter brake hose, that one's already 6" shorter than stock...

tach was rather erratic... prolly replace both gauges with those mini-ones...

also...

D Picasso

05-02-2004, 10:44 PM

not mine...wish it was.

burndup

05-03-2004, 12:20 AM

Foiled, thats a cb350, right? I think this pic got posted before... I have a stock '71 in rough shape, supposedly runs... I WANT A TANK LIKE THAT for it! How rare, and thusly expen$ive are those?

I spose I could make one outta fiberglass...

That thing needs to be honda red, not yamaha yellow!

bitchin...

D Picasso

05-03-2004, 12:57 AM

affirmative, it's a 350. kinda like the yellow...

if that tank's available it's probably an Airtech piece. I want to build a CR750 lookalike someday with a similar tank.

zgears

05-03-2004, 01:10 AM

nice bikes! any body got brits? i didnt mean to to be completly O/T. i just got a line on some manx/noton hybrid hot rod cafe racer. manx w/ a 750????!!! i hope this pans out. any noton guys know any thing about a real manx? something like this ..

Bass

05-03-2004, 10:15 AM

I really like cafe racer style bikes...I'd like to build one some day. Here's one of my favorites, a Kawasaki Mach 1 (500H1) triple. Really simple, but really cool:

junk runner jr

05-03-2004, 10:41 AM

I just picked up a 78' GL1000 (Goldwing) that has been put on a serious diet and done up in Cafe Racer style. It needs a little TLC but I think I can get it on the road in a few weeks.

The Blownranger

05-03-2004, 01:01 PM

Go to Ace Cafe,a mecca for motorcyles outside London;

http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/f2.htm

They have hundreds of pics of C Rs

I`m very tempted to order the new Triumph Thruxton.The
first ones are just getting to the dealers.They will only
ship 500 to the USA,each dealer has a small alotment.Most
are already spoken for.
AWSOME bike $8000. a steal.
My only concern is the clip on bars and they moved the foot
controls back a little,not as severe as a sports bike,but
might not be comfortable on long cruise.
Got a great write in this month sports bike.
Cafe Racer never caught on here as they did across the pond.

Good Luck...JR

Choptop

05-03-2004, 01:42 PM

Does the BSA/Triumph on the left count as a cafe racer?

Will have to dig up the pics from 2003 (this one is from 2002)... the fairing and front fender have been painted the same color as the tank... makes it faster ya know.

http://www.teamgalbraithracing.com/images/worldfinalsteamlarge.jpg

max wedge

05-03-2004, 02:53 PM

I just took my KZ550 on the "Slimey crud run" yesterday. I'll have to get some pics up. I'm looking at getting an RD350 to build into a cafe racer next.

D Picasso

05-03-2004, 03:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I just took my KZ550 on the "Slimey crud run" yesterday. I'll have to get some pics up. I'm looking at getting an RD350 to build into a cafe racer next.

[/ QUOTE ]

ah...Egan's bunch.

you know what? every RD350 I've seen seems to follow this course- get running, get running better, update wheels/tires/forks/shocks, go fast, try to go faster, seize, sell at a huge loss. not to be discouraging, but I've seen it about 5 times, no exceptions. go find a Gamma instead.

zman

05-03-2004, 03:34 PM

This really makes me miss my RD400 and my RZ350. The RD was definately a cafe racer. And ripped the bigger bikes a new one. Very healthy and never seized till after I sold it. Something about adjusting the injection. Yes I used the oil injection, used it on my RZ as well. Man if I could just find a Japanese RZ500 I'd be set, black and yellow with bumble bee stripes and wheelies for blocks...

Christian

05-03-2004, 03:47 PM

my 750: http://www.loudmufflers.com/log/images/uploads/moto.jpg

DesmoDog

05-03-2004, 10:51 PM

[ QUOTE ]
you know what? every RD350 I've seen seems to follow this course- get running, get running better, update wheels/tires/forks/shocks, go fast, try to go faster, seize, sell at a huge loss. not to be discouraging, but I've seen it about 5 times, no exceptions. go find a Gamma instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wish I had pics of my RD... built it up from three different bikes, looked great. I got it running, updated a few things, got my novice road racing license on it, then pulled it apart to get it running better.

Put it back together and then sold it for a huge loss before I even rode it again. No, I'm not kidding. But it was still cool! And it never seized. (now I'm playing around with an old Ducati... talk about a money pit...)

burndup

05-04-2004, 12:07 AM

my beater rd 350 cost me $175 when I was 17. (WAY too young to be driving something that fast!)

Pops took a sledge hammer to it when A) he found out I got caught by the cops ditching school riding it and B) as soon as he found its hiding place in the back yard...

GAVE what was left to the cycle salvage place...

eh, I eventually forgave him... sorta! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

a/fxcomet

05-04-2004, 12:26 AM

[ QUOTE ]
AFX, what kind of tank you got there?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know what the take came off of. it came from a pile of bike parts my friend has. They are mostly Hondas, so maybe? I have never seen one quite like it. It has a really cool monza style filler cap. I am grafting it to the stock gas tank pan. I added a few inches of sheet metal to the sides to make it a little taller. I haven't worked on it for a while, as it has slid a little lower on the project list.

Also have to finish making the seat pan, cut the seat foam, upholster it, finish the butt fairing (aluminum), find some way to mount the Dunstall rearsets, get it to run on two cylinders consistently, and all sorts of other little crap.

Anyone know of any small high output coils to replace the crappy Yamaha ones? It has a 180* firing order.

burndup

05-04-2004, 12:30 AM

look at the coils on mikesxs.com, see if they'll work for ya... same as an xs650 right? electronic, or points?

oops, 76. points. dont think they'll have it.

marq

05-04-2004, 12:40 AM

this is what i had..........Marq

55olds88

05-04-2004, 12:59 AM

Hey,
no pics from me, but why is it these posts seem to ignore the Harley XLCR's ?? I always fancied one, fast (for a srock old Harley) and I always reckon one of the better looking HD factory offerings of more modern times. Anyone got pics ? I remember seeing one in a bike shop in London years ago when I was there, not too sure if I ever seen any here.

burndup

05-04-2004, 01:27 AM

Marq, the Matchless is siiiiick!

TRUE xlcrs are bitchin. Its just that they're harleys, though... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

D Picasso

05-04-2004, 01:38 AM

[ QUOTE ]
this is what i had..........Marq

[/ QUOTE ]

that's completely cool. you need to post more pics, immediately.

Christian, what kind of tank is that?

I bought Raask rearsets for my CB750 years back from an outfit called Novella. then they disappeared, and Omar's started hawking them waaaay more expensive.

one of these days I'll post photos of the Guzzi 500 'cafe' bike I've been fiddling with. it's kute.

marq

05-04-2004, 09:47 AM

ok you asked for it..........Marq

marq

05-04-2004, 09:48 AM

more........marq

marq

05-04-2004, 09:49 AM

Turn ya screen around 90

marq

05-04-2004, 09:51 AM

ooooooooops

marq

05-04-2004, 09:52 AM

finally.............

SanDiegoJoe

05-04-2004, 10:04 AM

I had a Yamaha like that. tore everything off of it and put a straight bar on it... no gauges, turn signals, nothin'.

fun bike.

burndup

05-04-2004, 10:11 AM

sorta the idea also... one of the mirrors internally disintegrated, now theres one less of those....

Got a smaller headlight that I want to use, so the wiring harness is gonna get ripped out and reincarnated much smaller...

[ QUOTE ]
fun bike.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely! Trying to understand why my waaaay faster other bike hasn't been ridden...

Hey, sorry to hi jack an otherwise bitchin thread, but what weight oil should I use in the xs650... books say 20w40, which seems obsolete...32K on it and isnt burning the 30 wt that I put in it... HOT here now, like 95 in the shade... should I go to 40 wt or 20w50, or is that too heavy?

Thanks,
J

marq

05-04-2004, 10:49 AM

20/50 all the way on an xs,we use that on them all the time over here .Just remember to get a real good quality 20/50 there are some real cheap nasty ones out there.It would be preferable to use morrises (dunno if you can get it)castrol classic 20/50 but not a real detergent 20/50 as the engine wont like it..........Marq

laverda

05-04-2004, 12:20 PM

Some Italian flavor is needed http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif My seven year build continues .... mine has the Jota spec pipes (not in pic). Maybe next year??? It keeps getting in the way of the cdan http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Later,
papa al

http://members.shaw.ca/alun.carter/images/Laverda_jota_1000.jpg

zgears

05-04-2004, 02:37 PM

wow! thats what i talking about. marq, what year is the matchless?

marq

05-04-2004, 03:19 PM

Thassa 59 G12 650 with 60 heads barrels pistons and a factory race kit,lightened and balanced crank,drilled gears,ported and unleaded balanced exhaust pipes (god that was hard work)lost about 100 lb in weight off the thing too and it was bloody fast for a brit...............Marq

D Picasso

05-04-2004, 03:38 PM

Thanks, Marq....gorgeous.

feel free to post photos from your neck of the woods...especially when there's a big gettogether at the Ace. is the 59 club still up and running?

oil: my rule of thumb is if the trans and engine share the same oil, use an SG-rated oil, w/o all the friction modifiers that can play hob with a wet clutch. oils now are rated at SH or above [if you are in the oil business please correct me] and contain stuff that doesn't agree with a lot of bikes.

in my BMW's and the Guzzi I run automotive oil as they have dry clutches, and for the others I run Honda GN4 or Bel-Ray, bike-specific oils.

junk runner jr

05-04-2004, 04:15 PM

I got to tinker on the Wing last night after working on my truck. I straitened the seat pan and replaced the battery. I still need to free up the throttle cable and replace the drain screws in the float bowls and put the new windshild on. But if all goes well I should get to hear it run this week end. I don't have all that much in it but I was a little shocked when I went to get the wind screan. It turns out the fering is off of a BMW and the wind shield itself was $100. I certainly was not expecting that for a little piece of lexan.

justinm

05-04-2004, 04:39 PM

that's funny cause i always wanted an RD but i figured it would go someting like this.

- get running, get running better, update wheels/tires/forks/shocks, go fast, try to go faster, die going really fast but having a really good time........

and jokers wonder why i ride scooters.........

"ride scooters like a fox!!!"

that matchless is, well matchless.......=)

D Picasso

05-04-2004, 04:47 PM

an old friend of mine in minneapolis had a first-year Gold Wing without a stitch of fairing/baggery/etc.
chrome yellow, drag bars, clean and perfect, and it looked absolutely terriffic.

Christian

05-04-2004, 05:04 PM

no idea, tank's a swap-meet find

marq

05-04-2004, 05:09 PM

Yeah 59 club is still going and the ACE has some blinding rock n roll nights there.They have bike runs one make days ,hotrod and custom meets and in the summer it's a real hive of activity and i live only 35 miles from all this most of it down the M1 but what the hell it's still a ride drive whatever ............Marq

junk runner jr

05-04-2004, 05:14 PM

Near as I can tell all that extra crap was all options stuff. Most of them came fairly stripped unless you orderd themm dressed. This one was fully dressed and was laid down in late 79. The insurance co totaled it since all the junk was destroyed, but the bike itself was ok. My buddy blew it apart in 80" and bobbed the fenders painted everything black and put the flat bars and the BMW fering on it. He was in love with the Harley cafe bike from a few years earlier and was going for that look. I think it looks alot like a BMW with the Flat four sticking out the sides.

Terrence

05-04-2004, 05:18 PM

Heres my 70 BSA firebird Which is for sale by the way $3500 . Lots of new stuff

D Picasso

05-04-2004, 05:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah 59 club is still going and the ACE has some blinding rock n roll nights there.They have bike runs one make days ,hotrod and custom meets and in the summer it's a real hive of activity and i live only 35 miles from all this most of it down the M1 but what the hell it's still a ride drive whatever ............Marq

[/ QUOTE ]

God, that sounds great. the only thing I miss not living in the city anymore is being part of a big loud pack of louts tearing around downtown...

max wedge

05-10-2004, 03:29 PM

Here's an old pic of my KZ and my roomates GS1100
http://www.anycities.com/user/crudpics/images/9crudrun09.jpg

D Picasso

05-10-2004, 03:38 PM

anybody remember that Meatmen album, War of the Superbikes ?
ha. I think of that when I see KZ's.

zgears

05-10-2004, 06:19 PM

looks like im geting a 65 bonie from hex. any more brits for inspiration.

Justin B

05-10-2004, 09:59 PM

well shit you guys are bad influences http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif i got this 78 kz400 a couple months ago really cheap at a garage sale. well anyways it was bone stock until saturday morning when i got to thinking about this thread and went looking for some more pics anyways two days later this is what i ended up with . i flipped the bars, made some recesses in the tank, cut the seatpan in half tossed the plastic rear fender and made a rear ferring, shortened the seat, covered it with some cheap vinyl, cut off the mufflers and made em straight through, got rid of the turn signals , moved the liscense plate to the side, and then rattle canned everything, then tonight i did a real quicki scallop job. all in all i don't think it came out to bad for a quicki and about $3 worth of vinyl and some spray paint. but i might have to make the tank a little taller but thats gonna have to wait cause it's too fun to ride now with the straight pipes even if it is slow

burndup

05-10-2004, 10:24 PM

I hate to break it to ya, but you made that tank look like ASS, not the good kind, either... unless, I'm a mistaken fool and it CAME with that hideous dent... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But, the rear fender/ seat is very cool, mind doing a tech post on howya made it?

Congrats on getting a bike, the more people out there on two wheels, the better.

-J

zgears

05-10-2004, 10:49 PM

any bodyknow of any one that makes custom aluminum cafe style race tanks. not unlike marq's matchless tank. i talked to a guy awhile ago that said he got his custom made by some oldtimer in scottland. ring a bell?

zgears

05-10-2004, 11:01 PM

Justin B

05-10-2004, 11:35 PM

burndup thats not a dent i actually cut a portion out of the tank and made some little domes on the english wheel and welded them in there.and it needed it to cause the bars hit the tank without it. but yeah it does kinda look like shit in the picture much better in person but i still don't really like the shape of the tank i'll probably end up making a new one eventually might even do one out of aluminum to look like some of the others on this post. but kinda don't want to put much more time into the bike cause it's kida a pos.

as far as the rear fender it is a no name mid 30's headlight that was rusted out real bad on the bottom half so i cut it in half then welded about 3 inches of metal to the bottom of it to get the shape. i cut about the last six inches off the seat pan and welded it to it. the taillight is inside and i drilled a little grid of 5/16 holes in the back so the light shines through . for the seat i just reused the old foam and cut it to shape by hand with a sawzall blade.

anybody have any ideas / cheap alternatives to making a new tank cause the overall shape of the origional one is a little fucked up looking.

D Picasso

05-11-2004, 12:12 AM

Django

05-11-2004, 12:23 AM

glass from the past (http://all-digital.net/gftp/) has parts. I have a link at the office on the aluminum fab place, but I can't remember the name of it right now.

marq

05-11-2004, 12:47 AM

Yep my tanks were all hand buit as well as my chain gaurd ,belt gaurd and other stuff and the guy sends stuff all over the world but he does take his time a bit as he has a lot of work on let me know or pm me if you want the details ...........Marq

marq

05-11-2004, 12:50 AM

p.s to really get the right look you have to have clip -on bars also the angle of the silencer is very important,if it looks right it usually is an if it dont it aint.........Marq

a/fxcomet

05-11-2004, 01:51 AM

http://www.thetankshop.com/ .

Brootal

05-11-2004, 04:46 AM

Here's one a friend recently slapped together. He loves cafe racers but simply can't afford to get a "real" one, so he made this one up out of two pretty average Yamaha XS650s. He's got less than $2000 AUSSIE in it, but he's a VERY handy guy.

http://www.the-rumbler.com/nats2k4/bikeprofile.jpg

http://www.the-rumbler.com/nats2k4/bikerearlh.jpg

http://www.the-rumbler.com/nats2k4/wellsie/engine2.jpg

http://www.the-rumbler.com/nats2k4/wellsie/tank2.jpg

http://www.the-rumbler.com/nats2k4/ridin.jpg

He's pretty handy at making something out of nothing, that's for sure. No major changes to the bike, apart from the tank and seat. He laid the tank up himself, changed the wheels, put some pipes on it and clip ons. You're done!

Piece of cake! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

burndup

05-11-2004, 07:01 AM

Rightous!! Thats how I want my XS to look... I've got a suzuki gs450 tank that looks very similar... just gotta pick the filler cap lock and find out how rusty it is inside...

Also want to add that second front disk...

Django

05-11-2004, 09:54 AM

Yeah, that's it. The Tank Shop.

I'm thinking about taking some cues from pomadepete's Duc (which RULES) and adapting a dunstall half fairing to my 97 SS. He went all out on his with wire wheels, relocated the electronics, etc. I'm just going with the fairing.

zman

05-11-2004, 10:05 AM

When I worked at a Ducati/MotoGuzzi dealer in the 80's we used to get aluminum tanks from an gentleman out of CT. Don't know if he's still around. I'll look and see if I can come up with a name and address.

Jet Fuel

05-11-2004, 12:59 PM

This is the closest I can come to one.
1974 Benelli 750 SEI.

http://liberalredneck.org/albums/Jets78Benelli/031123_6.jpg

-jf

$pomadepete$

05-11-2004, 01:06 PM

I've owned over 30 bikes, all of which I've built into cafe racers... just about every Honda made, a few KZ's (mad max style), 4 Beemers and 5 Ducatis... This is prolly my fave project that I just finished and sold... prolly do another Monster soon... (the fairing on this bike is aluminum, paint has blue pearl/flake in the clear, pix dont show that well).

disastron13

05-11-2004, 02:02 PM

Tanks- the "old timer in Scotland" was the Bartel Aluminium Company, now DBA as the tank shop.
He made a tank for my morini that was beautiful.
Man that triple is just right, similar to how I built my late Bonnie.

Django

05-11-2004, 02:17 PM

...and here is my photoshop of Pete's Duc as a guide for what mine will look like. Except for the wheels, pipes, practically everything else. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

http://www.mdesignstudio.com/chad/other/ducaticafe.jpg

Brootal, that Yamaha looks bad ass.

I was watching this on ebay, but I don't have the cash right now.

Norton (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6714&item=24770588 42&rd=1)

http://i12.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/9a/2f/ab_1_s.JPG

OHIOCAFERACER

09-28-2005, 11:19 AM

Okay.......this thread is a little old, but thought i'd post a pic of my 1972 Honda CB350 Cafe Racer with handmade alloy tank. I've since changed the mufflers to nice chrome reverse cone megaphone.

http://www.ohiocaferacers.com/finished2-150.jpg

You can view more pics and some of my other builds at my website:

http://www.OHIOCAFERACERS.com (http://www.ohiocaferacers.com/)

Later,
Greg

McQueen

09-28-2005, 12:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]
any bodyknow of any one that makes custom aluminum cafe style race tanks. not unlike marq's matchless tank. i talked to a guy awhile ago that said he got his custom made by some oldtimer in scottland. ring a bell?

[/ QUOTE ]

Norman Hyde makes them for the Hinkley Bonnies. Not sure if you can mod them to fit older bikes.

http://www.normanhyde.co.uk/

Here's mine. Not too cafe-d out. But I'm working on that. This is one of the rare instances she was running.

'79 T140D
http://www.covamusic.com/image/79bonnie.jpg

I have one of the new Bonnies as well...complete with the weenie button.

cheers,
http://www.covamusic.com/image/me.gif

McQueen

09-28-2005, 01:08 PM

Coupe-De-CAB

09-28-2005, 01:22 PM

My BSA used to have clubman bars on it and i had it cafe race style. I got tired of being hunched over all these years of owning it, so then i switched out the handlebars... much more comfortable now:)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/cabphotos/BSA.jpg

best wishes,
CAB

OHIOCAFERACER

09-28-2005, 01:58 PM

Wow! i just crapped my pants.

That's one nice bike.

Cheers,
http://www.covamusic.com/image/me.gif

Thanks man!!

Building another one....with a little more modern day technology......GSXR750 inverted fork front end and FZR600 rear wheel. It will have the old race look with a little better handling.

http://www.ohiocaferacers.com/tankside2-150.jpg

Later,
Greg
www.OHIOCAFERACERS.com (http://www.ohiocaferacers.com/)