Cafe Racer Thread

[cantdrv55]

Originally Posted by munsonbw

I'm not into bikes. I don't know how to ride. But this bike makes me wanna buy one.

[ednj]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjU7OhToSBU


helicopter jet engine

[VaSteve]

I don't know if this qualifies as a true "cafe racer" but I thought it was certainly cool.

[MotoSook]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Isn't that bike the infamous "Gina?" There are epic threads about the thing on various Ducati forums.

Norm and Jeff Brown are Ducati fans and like their big Italian V-twins to be light as a cannoli shell, as curvy as Sophia Loren as and as fast as a Ferrari.

Aptly named Hurricane Motorcycles, Norm and Jeff specialize in both building bikes and one-off custom fabrication. Featuring one of Norm's trellis frames, 'Gina' was built using a tuned two-valve 900SS engine and a host of specially fabricated parts to showcase Hurricane's expertise. Although why the bike is called Gina we dunno, as there's never been a hurricane of that name on America's Atlantic coast.

Starting with a 1992 SS900 engine, Norm cranked the Hurricane up to a Force 5 with a 944 big-bore kit featuring 11.5:1 high compression pistons, polished and ported intakes, titanium valves and a couple of Vee-Two high-torque camshafts. Making the bottom-end bullet proof was just as expensive with an FBF lightened flywheel and slipper clutch backed up by a Velocity clutch retainer and spring kit.

Complementing Norm's exquisite curved space frame chassis is a modified 996 single-sided swingarm juxtaposed with an hlins Road & Track shock, while the front wears a similarly purloined 996 Showa fork combo with matching Brembo discs, Goldline calipers and radial master cylinder.

[MotoSook]

Nice Thrux, Munsonbw.

I know a guy who siezed on on those up while riding on the highway. Don't know if that is common. I do like them. There is a French company that makes same very cool parts for the new Bonnies that transforms the bike visually. I'll try to find some pics.

Steve, that looks like a mean back alley fighter. Cool.

[holtjv]

Funny how popular this topic is to 911 owners. The "visceral-functional-retro-easy-to-work-on-and-mod" character of cafe racers and 911s must be colliding in our galaxy of lust.

Did I just write that?

I'm happy to whore out the pic of my new thrux just one more time:

[munsonbw]

Originally Posted by Souk

I know a guy who siezed on on those up while riding on the highway. Don't know if that is common. I do like them. There is a French company that makes same very cool parts for the new Bonnies that transforms the bike visually. I'll try to find some pics.

I hope its not common! From what I have read these bikes are very reliable and the motors are built very stoutly. Huge crank journals and very beefy guts in general. That is certainly the first I have heard of one seizing up.

I would like to see some pics of the mods. I think you are referring to Mecatwin (see last pic). I think they are French. I personally like the look in the first two pics. I think the tank is from thetankshop.com. I would like to try my hand at beating out an aluminum tank, but I have no welding rig to do al, and I am guessing you need quite a bit of practice. I actually prefer the beat up look of that Guzzi, so my metal forming skills could be lacking. But being realistic, these tanks are around $700 and by the time I get the equipment and find time I could just buy one and have it now.

Enjoy! BTW, lots of great cafe pics over at triumphrat.net under the cafe forum.

[Noah930]

Souk, I'm not a particular fan of the styling of "Gina." But have you actually read any of the correspondence and banter back and forth between Norm Brown and the 'tard who purchased it from him? Like I wrote--epic flamethrower threads. Makes the Motor Meister threads here seem tame, in comparison.

[SLO-BOB]

After drooling over hundreds of bikes on this and other forums, this is the bike I would most like to use as a reference for my ultimate cafe project.





I mostly play with Hondas and they're cool, but I think a great cafe bike starts with a classic english bike and good looking motor. Then add a cleaned up frame, delete anything and everything possible for that ultra clean look, and finish with formed aluminum pieces.

The above bike is a project by a Norton specialist out of Colorado.

[Dueller]

OK...spring is almost here...let's see what you guys have been doing over the winter.


Alas, haven't had time to touch my project.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Dueller

OK...spring is almost here...let's see what you guys have been doing over the winter.


Alas, haven't had time to touch my project.

Same here, but I just started tinkering with my cb450 cafe again this past weekend and started building my rearsets. I am also about to start on a new lightweight battery mount bracket.

[nynor]

i cannot believe i missed this thread. my cafe:

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Dueller

OK...spring is almost here...let's see what you guys have been doing over the winter.


Alas, haven't had time to touch my project.

Spent the winter building a '68 912/911 with and for my 18 year old son, so the bike didn't get much love. I did the basics - new timing belts, valve adjust (easier than a 911 - don't let the desmo valve gear put you off), chain and sprockets, new front wheel bearings, etc. I did fit a new set of Sharkskinz fairings and repainted it, but that's about it. It's a repost, but here's a picture again:

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by munsonbw

That looks a lot like a Kenny Dreer creation. Great looking bike.

[Nader]

Winter bike project:

Just finished slapping together my fourth CB160 (third racebike). If any of you are interested in cheap vintage bike racing, a couple of magazines have picked up the story on what we do in the Pacific Northwest with these little old Hondas. Road Racer X and Bike have not only a couple pics of a couple of my bikes, but also my dog Baldor sleeping under one of them in the paddocks.

[Tim Hancock]

More pics of the CB's Nader!

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Nader, are you associated with Vicious Cycle at all?

[Jim Bremner]

threadserection...

[Dueller]

Might as well resurrect this thread since the cafe bug is in the air.

[nynor]

i wheelied my cafe bike a couple of days ago.