Cafe Racer Thread

[motion]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

fwiw: I just sold my last two stroke to the owner of Tech 3, in France. He has been madly gathering up 2 strokes from North America. There were 20 of them, in the container. His agent has been collecting and sending 1 container/year, for a while.
There were 2 water buffaloes on board.

No way. Hervé Poncharal? I know him well from watching races on BBC. What 2 stroke did you sell him? I've personally been buying 2 strokes from all over the country, and I know I have competition from a couple people. I wonder if he's one of them. Any idea what other 2 strokes he's been acquiring?

[motion]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

My buddy with the Kawi two-smokers really kind of rues the quality of those machines, and the aftermarket stuff available for them. He says it was before Kawasaki really hit their stride. How are the Suzukis? The Yamaha RD's?

Kawasakis were very, very crude until the mid 80's, when they introduced the 900 and 600 Ninjas. They kind of had a kit, homebuilt feel to them. Yamahas were much, much better. I don't really know much about older Suzukis. I have a 1982 Suzuki Katana 1000 and its actually very solid. Hondas, of course, were the best.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by motion

Kawasakis were very, very crude until the mid 80's, when they introduced the 900 and 600 Ninjas. They kind of had a kit, homebuilt feel to them. Yamahas were much, much better. I don't really know much about older Suzukis. I have a 1982 Suzuki Katana 1000 and its actually very solid. Hondas, of course, were the best.

I have to admit, I wasn't really paying attention back then. In retrospect, however, this really seems to fit. A high school buddy rode RDs; first 350s and then 400s. None of us on the Sportsters, Bonnevilles, Commandos, Tridents, or Rocket IIIs could ever keep up. Plus, those darn things ran every day, including Sundays. One guy had a Honda 750; he could run with the RD guy, plus he never had to work on it. I only knew one guy with a Water Buffalo, so it was the only Suzook two-smoker I remember. He had it set up for touring (bags, windshield, etc.) so it didn't really count. Maybe I should focus on RDs and smaller Suzukis.

[Bill Douglas]

Ha, Jeff it sounds like my time with motorbikes around here.

A Honda 750 definitely was the mark of a man, and anyone with a Kawasaki 900 was elevated to a God like level. Us Triumph boys had too much pride to ride with them (because we didn't want to get thrashed ). A few of the guys went the Suzuki 380 route then bought water buses (the 750). LOL One or two are still alive and ride BMWs now.

[creaturecat]

Originally Posted by motion

No way. Hervé Poncharal? I know him well from watching races on BBC. What 2 stroke did you sell him? I've personally been buying 2 strokes from all over the country, and I know I have competition from a couple people. I wonder if he's one of them. Any idea what other 2 strokes he's been acquiring?

I sold him my '68 YR2C. aka 350 street scrambler. H. P. noticed my bike being advertised and directed his agent to purchase the bike.
Claude is the name of his rep in Canada. He is a shark helmet technician.
Claude included 2 tickets to Moto GP in Valencia, with the sale. We didn't make it there, due to unforeseen circumstances.
The 750 triples. He wants all of them. Mach 3's, as well.
Couple of water buffaloes and a Titan in the container.
There were a few smaller single cylinder 2 strokes in the container. 250's 175's.
The agent bought my bike over the phone, basically.
BTW They have a B and B outside Marseille. Shop next door. Claude inferred that there would be viewing opportunities, if we chose to stay there.

[creaturecat]

Yamaha RZ 500 is THE two stroke to own, IMHO.
The RG 500 Suzuki comes in a close second.

Raresportbikesforsale gotta stay away from that site.

[nikita76]

Just had this beauty dropped off today! 1980 Kawasaki 650. Some updating with forks, rear with mono shock, balloon tires, very excited!


Something like this:

[nikita76]

Part is aesthetic, part ride. Looking for a sporty comfortable ride with a retro look.

NRD

[motion]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

I have to admit, I wasn't really paying attention back then. In retrospect, however, this really seems to fit. A high school buddy rode RDs; first 350s and then 400s. None of us on the Sportsters, Bonnevilles, Commandos, Tridents, or Rocket IIIs could ever keep up. Plus, those darn things ran every day, including Sundays. One guy had a Honda 750; he could run with the RD guy, plus he never had to work on it. I only knew one guy with a Water Buffalo, so it was the only Suzook two-smoker I remember. He had it set up for touring (bags, windshield, etc.) so it didn't really count. Maybe I should focus on RDs and smaller Suzukis.

RDs are a very solid investment right now. You can buy fixers for less than $2,000. These won't last much longer.

[motion]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

I sold him my '68 YR2C. aka 350 street scrambler. H. P. noticed my bike being advertised and directed his agent to purchase the bike.
Claude is the name of his rep in Canada. He is a shark helmet technician.
Claude included 2 tickets to Moto GP in Valencia, with the sale. We didn't make it there, due to unforeseen circumstances.
The 750 triples. He wants all of them. Mach 3's, as well.
Couple of water buffaloes and a Titan in the container.
There were a few smaller single cylinder 2 strokes in the container. 250's 175's.
The agent bought my bike over the phone, basically.
BTW They have a B and B outside Marseille. Shop next door. Claude inferred that there would be viewing opportunities, if we chose to stay there.

Very cool story! Damn... was just in Marseille. Will try to find the shop next time.

My focus is on 80's two strokes and newer, so I doubt he's competition for me right now. Wonder what his collection looks like.

[motion]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

RZ500 has got to be a monster. I've ridden RD400s, RD350LC (RZ350?), 250 Gamma's and they were nutty enough. I can't imagine riding the 500 on the street.

I just want a lowly 125 Mito

I have a very pristine RZ500. To be honest, they're not that fast. I think HP is around 85 or so. Its a heavy bike and the power band is fairly tame. An RZ350 with Toomeys would kill it. RZ500s have shot up from $6Kish about 5 years ago to the 12-15K range today. RG500s have gone from $12K to about 30-35K in the past couple years. They're kinda crude compared to the RZ500, but I believe they're a bit more rare. I predict that RZ500s will be $30K within a few years, too.

Another pic of my new Titan 500

[nikita76]

Got started today....removed wire harness, handlebars, speedo cluster, front light & fender, seat.....I'll pull motor, wheels and fork tomorrow and get the frame to the fabricator for it's front and rear updating!

[nikita76]

Last update for a while...frame is going to my buddy's shop this week for fabricating/updating! probably back in 2 months.

[motion]

Originally Posted by nikita76

Last update for a while...frame is going to my buddy's shop this week for fabricating/updating! probably back in 2 months.

That was quick! Keep the thread updated!

[nikita76]

Will do! I've had this bike in my head for a few years and I'm pretty excited that we're on the way to the shop for fabrication!

Nrd

[motion]

Sealed the deal on a '76 Suzuki GT750 last night in excellent condition. Going to be a couple months before I can get back down to SoCal and pick it up. Didn't know this, but.... the GT750 was the first liquid cooled Japanese motorcycle.

[maxnine11]

Yes; hence the nicknames "the Kettle" or "the Water Buffalo".

By the way, your commodities market buying stories and photos are far more interesting than the average stock broker's !! haha

[nikita76]

Annnndd, we're back! seems like forever but moving fast and hope to have in paint by the end of October. Almost all fab work done! went with a different frame and rear setup, my builder had this around and it made more sense, and faster than cutting up the original frame to get it to this point.

[nikita76]

Have to wet sand, polish and a few more coats of clear. Gap piece has to be made. Spokes going black. Exhaust being completed this weekend. Fab work and final paint shooting for thanksgiving so I can do the wiring over the winter.

[MotoSook]

Picked this up about a month ago...Not a cafe racer exactly...but very much in the spirit. 2001 ZRX1100 with ZX-11 cams. Pulls like a freight train after 9000 rpm.