Cafe Racer thread.

[JackyJoll]

She just has to be French.

What’s a soixante sept?

[mangocrazy]

Pretty sure the number plate gives the French Departement, 33 in this case, which is Gironde (named after the estuary that runs into the Atlantic). Bordeaux is capital of Gironde.

[Asian Boss]

I'd bum her into the middle of next week.

[Taipan]

The Davida models for the Guzzi shoot were Katrien and Job and it was shot at Amsterdam docks. Dunno anymore than that...

[mangocrazy]

The Davida models for the Guzzi shoot were Katrien and Job and it was shot at Amsterdam docks. Dunno anymore than that...

Only about 800 miles out, then... Crackin' photo, anyway...

[asmethurst99]

I always think she looks bored ...

[asmethurst99]

Needs a 954 engine .
Photo from Japan 2000

[Taipan]

I always think she looks bored ...

Probably is. Been there 2 hours waiting for the RAC...

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Original 60s/70s cafe racers are fine, but not to my taste, taking a modern bike and trying to make it look like one of these is total wank.

[Supermofo]

She just has to be French.

She might be Thai. That's a very big helmet she's got

[mangocrazy]

She just has to be French.

She might be Thai. That's a very big helmet she's got

I'd be mortified if (s)he was a ladyboy...

[Gimlet]

Talking of Guzzis:

4845392ee6dff1012736bf7ea5397f5f.jpg (54.33 KiB) Viewed 1671 times

moto-guzzi-1000-sp-c.jpg (64.06 KiB) Viewed 1671 times

[Rockburner]

I'm guessing you've been on the wrong end of unsolicited advice in the past....

The classic bike bores always go on about “handling” of Nortons. I’m just a road rider: my Norton (Triton) is steadier on the road than various other old bikes I messed about on, but I couldn’t say it steers or corners better than my previous “full power” old model Suzuki GS500 or Honda CB500 twin. The Suzuki had comparable engine performance to a 650 Triton; the Honda was significantly faster.

To be honest, a Fireblade engine in a Norton frame does sound like a recipe for a bike far inferior to a Fireblade.

Could possibly be a Historic registration cheat bike, but you’re risking a claims nightmare if you’ve deceived your insurer.

That's kinda my point. The Featherbed was the pinnacle of frame design in the 50s, but it was superceded in the 70 (ish) with frames that were more suited to the power outputs and characteristics of the time. Doesn't mean it's not a lovely frame for riding, and the 60s/70s cafe racer culture of shoehorning things into the Featherbed became a bit of a theme all on it's own. There's a chapter devoted to it in Mike Clay's 'Cafe Racers' book. (I sometimes wish I still had that book - donated my copy to the 59Club library a few years ago).

This is my Dad's contribution to the ouvre:


JAP 400cc 'speedway' engine in a (IIRC) Slimline Featherbed.
Custom tank (double chambered),
BTH mag
double Pilgrim pump
Twin leading shoe Grimeca (IIRC)
Norton (I think) gearbox
etc etc



He'd seen someone racing a JAP engined Featherbed in the 50s/60s (when he was racing himself) and always fancied building one, finally managed it after 50 years.... It's more of a race bike than a cafe-racer, but it's all road legal.

[Rockburner]

Here's the Cafe-Racer I "built"* in the '90s:








Did it handle any better than the original?? Not noticeably (Hagon shocks back then were the very definiton of 'cheap and cheerful')
Did it go any faster than the original? Maybe a little (open filters, re-jetted, Conti race pipe)

Was it more fun to ride than the original? Yes, definitely.




* well - recommisioned with improvements after crashing it.

[mangocrazy]

A friend of mine took a T3 Guzzi and turned it into a cafe racer. Piaggio actually heard about it and asked Brian if he would loan it to them for the 2019 (or was it 2018?) NEC bike show...

Brian's Guzzi (low res).png (987.33 KiB) Viewed 1648 times

[Mr. Dazzle]

One of my FiLs bikes, which I have in the garage, spent a bit of time as a "cafe racer" that he and a mate built in the 70s. My FiL eventually rescued it from said mates garden in the early noughties looking like this.



Somewhat amusingly its actually a former police bike Its a 1965 3TA with the engine from a 100SS. It looks nothing like that any more.

[cheb]

I'm guessing you've been on the wrong end of unsolicited advice in the past....

The classic bike bores always go on about “handling” of Nortons. I’m just a road rider: my Norton (Triton) is steadier on the road than various other old bikes I messed about on, but I couldn’t say it steers or corners better than my previous “full power” old model Suzuki GS500 or Honda CB500 twin. The Suzuki had comparable engine performance to a 650 Triton; the Honda was significantly faster.

To be honest, a Fireblade engine in a Norton frame does sound like a recipe for a bike far inferior to a Fireblade.

Could possibly be a Historic registration cheat bike, but you’re risking a claims nightmare if you’ve deceived your insurer.

That's kinda my point. The Featherbed was the pinnacle of frame design in the 50s, but it was superceded in the 70 (ish) with frames that were more suited to the power outputs and characteristics of the time. Doesn't mean it's not a lovely frame for riding, and the 60s/70s cafe racer culture of shoehorning things into the Featherbed became a bit of a theme all on it's own. There's a chapter devoted to it in Mike Clay's 'Cafe Racers' book. (I sometimes wish I still had that book - donated my copy to the 59Club library a few years ago).

This is my Dad's contribution to the ouvre:


JAP 400cc 'speedway' engine in a (IIRC) Slimline Featherbed.
Custom tank (double chambered),
BTH mag
double Pilgrim pump
Twin leading shoe Grimeca (IIRC)
Norton (I think) gearbox
etc etc



He'd seen someone racing a JAP engined Featherbed in the 50s/60s (when he was racing himself) and always fancied building one, finally managed it after 50 years.... It's more of a race bike than a cafe-racer, but it's all road legal.

Being a speedway engine does it have a total loss oil system? And stop putting up pictures of that hideous LS.

Guzzis suit the cafe racer look very well, it's the engine and the long low look that does it I think.

[Taipan]

Always think I love the sound of Ducatis, but then I hear old Brit bikes...

[Taipan]

360 twins sound lovely. They vibrate but for some reason it feels good compared to a Japanese bike with a 180 crank.

I think my 865 Thruxton was a 270 crank? Sounded bloody lovely whatever. Miss that bike...

[Mr. Dazzle]

I think 180 cranks are pretty rare. AFAIK all the common garden parallel twins (CB500 etc.) are 360' cranks. Brit bike almost univerally are are too. 360' cranks mean both pistons go up and down at teh same time, one is intaking while the other is on the power stoke.

180 cranks would be where one piston goes up while the other goes down. They rock side to side loads and have an uneven firing order.

The 'big bang' engines still have 360' cranks, they just change the cam timing so both pistons are doing the same thing at the same time.

EDIT: Here you go, neat little gif.