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Discussion What is the definition of a cafe racer ?

Discussion in 'The Pub' started by kiffsta, Jul 29, 2018.

  1. kiffsta

    kiffsta Senior Member

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    Loads of talk about what is and is not a cafe racer , so let’s see if we can get some form of definition.

    For me a cafe racer is a cheap, smaller displacement bike , ie sub 500cc bike that is built for speed not comfort , handlebars are replaced with clip ons for tucking in, same with riders pegs being moved back to add to the tuck, bigger carbs to increase performance , louder upswept pipes, cut down seat and minimal use of plastics for aerodynamics. Mods are done with weight saving in mind. Minimalism is the key, they should be loud and as individual as their builders.

    When I think of cafe racers in their purist form, I think of norvins etc and I also think cafe racers shouldn’t be bought , only built , but I will give kudos to bmw for the nine t nine as I think they captured the true essence of a cafe racer, but done using modern design
    751C33DD-CDF2-47AB-942B-66A6DA55824C.jpeg BF6508BA-1760-4E1A-8E4A-673E2BABB45E.jpeg
     
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  2. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    :D

    worms.jpg
     
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  3. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    There are two distinct viewpoints. The first is basically as described by Kiffsta above and the second is the 'new Cafe'. This second view is that a cafe racer is a bike that has had the entire rear section hacked off and thrown away, no front guard, tyres from a 1932 Ford and whatever other dysfunctional features they can add. It is nothing more than a styling exercise.
    thumbnail-5-495x400.jpe
    Here is a perfect example and this is what happens when you do a Google search for 'cafe racer'. This is not a racer by any definition and would not be capable of racing anywhere, just riding it will be a challenge with that front tyre. Now the argument that those who like this kind of thing use is 'whatever floats your boat' and we get that. Our objection is really simple, it is not and will never be a Cafe Racer, so call it what it is, a 'Brat' or whatever you deem to be appropriate.

    ps: I had to censor that last sentence ten times to remove all of the incredibly insulting names that I came up with to describe the 'motorcycle' shown in the image.
     
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  4. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Some history. My first road bike was a Ducati 450 Desmo
    Ducati-450-Mk3-Desmo-Left-Side.jpg
    My friend had a Suzuki T20 with chambers, rearsets, alloy rims, clip-ons and a tank and seat from the earlier model 'Silver Shotgun' Ducati Single (pictured below). We both ran race tyres on our bikes (slicks had not been invented).
    maxresdefault.jpg
    In other words we had 'cafe racers'.
     
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  5. Wozza

    Wozza Active Member

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    spent some time writing out a huge blah this and blah that,then hit the delete lol. Meh opinions are like ar$$holes everyone has one :D
    Defining something that has been mutated over decades is just.......pointless. They are modified stock bikes what category they are in doesn't really matter. We as humans need balance, so we need villains as much as we need friends ..The ying and yang of life...
    There always be talent artisans that make you envious,ppl that make you mad, make you laugh (with and at) ect ect
    embrace it all its only going to get worse ;)
     
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  6. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    You can post away Wozza. No one is going to take it personally, well except for the guy that owns that 'thing' I posted the pic of. If someone is going to make a whole new genre of modified bikes then by all means they are free to do so and call them whatever. Hence there are brats, streetfighters and so on. If that 'thing' pictured above was labelled a chopper and posted on the web all the chopper owners would say bugger off. It is just that there was never many cafe racer owners, particularly in the USA, so most people don't know what they are. You notice that GreyImport jumped into this (on other threads) because he owns a Bonneville, skin in the game. My brother had a '67 with clip-ons and rearsets. It is part of our history, so when we see these things that have nothing to do with riding fast we think it is ridiculous and want to point it out. If people want to post pics of their bikes on the internet and call them cafe racers then other people have the same freedom to tell them that their bike is not a cafe racer and just saying it is does not make it so. Which brings us back to Kiffsta's first post, 'what is a cafe racer?'.

    Using what appears to be a CB450 as the base (as per the pic above) then stick some lights on this and I will call it a cafe racer.
    0000668_cb450_550.jpe
     
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    Last edited: Jul 29, 2018
  7. Linkin

    Linkin The Mechanic Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    And there lies the difference. A real cafe racer is designed and built for performance. A 'cafe racer' is built for looks, generally by people with little mechanical skills that pull the angle grinder out and start cutting bits of frame off without thinking too hard...
     
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  8. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    I'd generally agree with that. Amazing how many do the cosmetic stuff before sorting out the mechanical bits like...does it run? are the pistons banging around in there for a reason? What's all that smoke pissing out of the exhaust pipe? Does anyone else hear that loud clicking/ticking noise? Why is my battery bloated like that?
     
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  9. Wozza

    Wozza Active Member

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    Thats exactly how the caff racer came to be, a bunch of young blokes without a clue and with basic hand tools, modding their bikes and killing themselves...no internet, no cordless power tools....just youthful enthusiasm... We tend to romanticize the past, nostalgia is nothing more than the past with all the bad bits removed....
    I know this because I lived the tail end of it trust me the caff racers of old were death traps lol...Well not all of them, the dresda triton I played with for a few mths in the 80's was prob the best bike Ive ever ridden.....meh always exceptions to the rule ;)
     
  10. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    The original 'cafe racer' wasnt modded at all , except for drop bars for a more 'racing' position .... old school British bikes racing between cafes ..... and sure they killed themselves , just like present day .. by riding too fast too often...... the 77 Bonneville I have sitting in the shed was classed as the best handling bike of its time.

    In my young days me and a mate rode around the streets of Sydney in the early hours of the morning riding thru red lights at speed ... from memory it was hundreds and hundreds .... why? .... cuz we could ... and probably fuelled by tequila and LSD .... meh the joys of youth

    Ill take nostalgia all day long
     
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  11. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Well Wozza I am waiting to see more pics of your project. I think it is pretty impressive so far. I have been on the lookout for a Bridgestone 350 or Suzuki Titan for a long time but I think the odds of finding one here are extremely slim. If I do get one I will put my money where my mouth is.

    Check this out, a CB450 Cafe Racer in Thailand. Now I always rant about rear guards but that one looks a bit of a worry. Maybe the rear bracket snapped or some such.
    31460761_1473800399398805_522350776917104604_n.jpg
     
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  12. Wozza

    Wozza Active Member

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    Man Im glad we didnt meet in those days, use to run the reds in Sydney in a dato 260z, the pre metric ton was always an option :)
     
  13. Wozza

    Wozza Active Member

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    My first bike was a Bridgestone 80 :)
    As for the suzuki, a mate I rode with way back had a waterbottle obsession had about 6 of em...He be a millionaire by now if still has em .....
    https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wal...sale-1974-gt550l-suzuki-motorcycle/1188397855
     
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  14. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Well I am not going to confess to my past sins, the cops might still be looking for me, and there are too many wild stories. I'm sure if you tried to do that these days you would get shot.
     
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  15. Wozza

    Wozza Active Member

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    lol don't you have a statute of limitations?...um they have that here don't they lol...besides I wasn't driving :D
     
  16. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    All of my past sins were in Oz, but no outstanding warrants or unpaid fines, here they have nothing. Although apparently a points system is going to be introduced. Which doesn't mean a great deal because the police never pull anyone over.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2018
  17. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Unless they're running short of cash, right?
     
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  18. Bab

    Bab Well-Known Member

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    I had a '69 Bonneville and we did time trials around a lake that was approximately 7 miles in length, winding roads with fresh pavement on them. The Triumphs, and Nortons were considered large bikes at that time, and were a rush even without the preferred substances. The phrase "caffe racer" was heard at the time, but we didn't care about resteraunts, or coffee. In the condition we were in, we weren't civilized enough to be on the streets and amongst the general population. Some did modify their bikes as stated earlier by taking the fenders, tool box etc. off. A Honda dream had a hacksaw taken to the fenders and cut off at the attachments. The rest of it was held together with J-B Weld. Some where absolute savages with the things they did to their bikes. Hill climbs with a Harley Super Glide was a good example. People will do what ever they want to their bikes, and others have a need to lable / name it.
     
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  19. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    You make a good point Bab. Maybe we should just accept that cafe racer actually means pile of garbage brat bike thing? I am good with that. We never called our sports bikes cafe racers anyway.
     
  20. Bab

    Bab Well-Known Member

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    I don't mean to thumb my nose at these efforts collectively because there are some trick bikes built with serious skills and talent involved, but unfortunately they are the exception. I recognise the amount of money, time and effort put into some and applaud the results, but a hacksaw and a can of flat black paint doesn't make you an artist. I'm getting to be particular and opinionated in my old age (and don't care) and prefer the "naked stock" bikes, tuned and running as they were meant to.
     
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