background preloader

Café racer

Facebook Twitter

Revival Cycles. THE EPIC BIKE BUILD GOES TO GLORY | THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO « The Selvedge Yard - Aurora. Honda CL350 motorcycle built by GLORY Motor Works for the film, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” –Image by © COOP, see more here In case you missed it– Bike EXIF ran a great piece on the bike build by Justin Kell and crew at his GLORY Motor Works in LA for the highly anticipated David Fincher film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After seeing the 2009 original, I’ve been going nuts waiting for Fincher’s release– as he’s bound to take Stieg Larsson’s riveting novel to cinematic greatness. He obviously picked the right guy to bring Lisbeth Slander’s bike alive– it will no doubt become a prime object of obsession in itself.

Justin chose the humble Honda CL-350 (an unlikely hero, much like Lisbeth herself), whose classic, clean lines don’t need much finessing to quickly blossom into the ultimate bare-bones damaged bastard that packs more punch than meets the eye. Here’s Justin’s own words on the epic experience for which he was given just 30 days, via Bike EXIF– Like this: Like Loading...

Dime City Cycles - Vintage Cafe Racer & Bobber Parts; Delivered Anywhere in the World! Sportster Bobber. A blog that’s caught my eye recently is GasCap, run by Spaniard Alex Ramon. Alex has now sent in details of his Sportster bobber, built by Lluís Ibañez Casabon of L.A. Motorcycles in Barcelona. I’d never have guessed, but this machine is based on a 2006-model Sportster 883 Low. The retro bobber flavor is helped by a custom tank from Salinas Boys, pre-War Harley VL style springer forks, and a matching Phantom headlight. The rear suspension is considerably more modern, with 11” shocks from Progressive Suspension, nestling alongside a “Flat Bob” rear fender and a replica pre-War taillight. Avon Speedmaster tires on 16” rims complete the look. With only the grips and leather seat providing a touch of color, it’s clean and understated. Laverda Jota. One of the great tragedies of modern motorcycling is the death of the Laverda name.

The brand was bought by Aprilia at the turn of the century—along with Moto Guzzi—but the familiar ‘SFC Orange’ has yet to reappear in showrooms. To my eyes, that lovely color has always looked best on a Jota, and this is one of the most immaculate Jotas I’ve ever seen. It’s another bike from the remarkable garage of English enthusiast Peter Bullard, a Laverda fan for over thirty years. ‘As a 17-year-old in the summer of ’77, I worked part time at Hyde Motorcycles in West Sussex,’ he recalls. ‘Much of my taste in motorcycles was shaped that summer, and I got to ride my first Jota—along with a Jarama, Mirage, Le Mans and bevel Ducatis.’

‘I also learned the true meaning of fear when a Jota went into a tank slapper at 100mph on the Horsham by-pass. The accepted “cure” at the time was to fit the front Dunlop TT100 the wrong way round, ignoring the directional arrows on the sidewall.’ Yamaha Scorpio cafe racer. The Yamaha Scorpio has been derided as a hopped-up farm bike, but in Asia it’s the perfect commuter machine. It’s also a bike that Deus Bali has put on the operating table more than once. This is Deus’ latest cafe racer, the Café Scorpio, and once again, it’s a remarkable transformation. The 225cc Scorpio is now a light and elegant machine (and reminds me of the amazing 50cc motorcycles popular in Europe forty years ago, like the Malanca). Everything unnecessary has been stripped away, from bodywork to frame tabs, and a sleek new tank fitted. The brake and clutch controls are now polished aluminum alloy, set off with stylish new grips and instrumentation. Classic Firestone tires add a retro touch, with Daytona rear shocks tightening up the handling and a custom exhaust giving a performance boost.

A perfect case of less is more. [Thanks to Tom Hawkins for the images.] Rat bike: Honda CD250U. There are some custom motorcycles that are almost too scary to ride—either from rarity value, or the number of hours a skilled builder has put into them. So there’s something to be said for rat bikes and ‘beaters’ that have a charm of their own. Like this 1989 Honda CD250U, which strangely appeals to me. It’s owned by photographer Richard Baybutt, and he simply says, “I chose it because it was cheap.” It took him from the UK to the Alps in 2008 with his snowboard on the side, but when he got home he wanted to make it more exciting. “Kengo from Heiwa MC emailed some photos of his CD250U and I set to work chopping bits off. “The amount of weight I’ve saved is ridiculous,” says Baybutt. [Follow Baybutt's two-wheeled adventures on Corpses From Hell.] Canon PowerShot G12 | 1/400 sec | f/4 | ISO 100.

Triumph Bonneville cafe racer. How’s this for a mission statement: “We wanted the style and panache of what the Rockers and Ton-Up Boys used to ride back in England, but with the power, reliability and push-button starting of a modern motorcycle. We think we’ve struck the perfect balance between heritage and haul-ass.”

The speaker is Richard Varner, the American collector and riding enthusiast who started Streetmaster, a small shop dealing with the new Triumph Bonneville. In the tradition of coachbuilt car companies from the last century, Streetmaster rebodies the Bonnie into something slicker and sleeker. In fact, the company goes even farther and has spec’d a whole new twin-shock chassis. Alongside the Miler in the Streetmaster booth was another Bonneville-based special, the “Brighton,” a café-racer named after the posh British seaside town that was favorite burn-up destination for the Rockers.

Signature item is the brand-new, old-style Grimeca front drum brake (below), a potent four-leading-shoe job. Honda CB750. Steve ‘Carpy’ Carpenter is a household name in cafe racer circles. Mostly because he’s a traditionalist and a perfectionist. When you order a custom motorcycle from Carpy, you’ll get a bike in better condition than the day it rolled off the factory floor. The latest bike to leave Carpy’s workshop in Anaheim, CA, is ‘Cyclone’ and it’s a 1970 K0 model—one of the earliest CB750s, with the SOHC motor.

I’m guessing that this particular bike is also one of the 7,000 that had ‘sandcast’ engine cases—Honda hedged its bets on setting up diecast tooling before it realized it had a hit on its hands. Carpy stripped this CB750 down and reconditioned or replaced every single part. He fitted one of his proprietary boxed swingarms (with a two-inch extension) and a complete new electrical system. [Images courtesy of Jared Schoenemann.] Harley Ironhead by DP Customs. Arizona-based DP Custom Cycles is making a name for itself with classy Ironhead Harleys. The latest build from the Del Prado brothers is this very clean 1985 XL. It’s one of the last of the Ironheads, so the motor is 1000cc in capacity, and mounted directly to the frame.

“We love classic bobbers and cafes,” says Justin Del Prado. “Sure, we could’ve taken this build further with shaved fork legs, more performance mods, and so on—but then our budget would get out of hand.” This custom was built from a solid and strong running donor, so DP didn’t have to dismantle the Ironhead. However, they detailed it to death and replaced all the seals and gaskets.

(“You could eat off any inch of this bike.”) The color choice comes from the Del Prado’s passion for old hot rods and muscle cars. [Images by Jed Strahm.] Canon EOS-1D Mk II | 1/80 sec | f/5.0 | ISO 400 | Focal length 43mm. Triumph Bonneville custom by CRD. A lot of custom motorcycles are capricious creatures: pretty but impractical. Others are bikes that you can jump on and ride to the shops, and this Triumph Bonneville is one of them. It’s the latest build from the Spanish workshop CRD, and follows the current European trend towards pared-down, blacked-out machines. The base is a 2004 Bonneville, and it shows how Hinckley’s modern classic can be transformed by relatively subtle modifications. CRD have left the engine alone, but improved the breathing with an Arrow exhaust. The biggest changes are at the back, with a new seat, modified subframe and new fender. CRD also repositioned the tank slightly to enhance the new lines of the bike, simplified the wiring, and moved the ignition key to the chassis.

At the front, there are now Renthal Ultra Low bars (fitted with DRC enduro-style switchgear) and a new CRD custom headlight. It’s unpretentious, simple and no doubt very rideable. CONRAD LEACH. Cb350 « I Love Cafe Racers!!! It is no secret that I love, I LOVE!!! Honda 350′s…and I’m not the only one. The CB is by most accounts the biggest selling motorcycle of all time…hell, I have four of them! CB,CL and SL models. A couple run, one’s a parts bike and the other is in boxes, milk crates and hanging from the rafters in my barn.

My love affair with the Honda twin began in 1971 when I was in a ‘one-upmanship’ contest with my friend Eddie. Even though I was riding a BSA 650 most of the time, the contest revolved around smaller bikes. Eddie won a couple of times but when I got my first SL350, his ‘little’ Yamaha DT1 250 was left in the dust…literally. I eventually sold the SL350, after I had slogged it through the deserts of Southern California for a couple of years only to regret it a few years later. Once home, some basic service, a lot of elbow grease and a few (?) Building Cafe Racer out of a Honda 350 nowadays is a pretty easy thing to do. 1973 Honda CL350 Cafe Racer. Honda CL350 cafe racer. Motos: el retorno de las Cafe Racer. El término cafe racer -sin acento- cuya traducción literal sería "corredor de café", nació a finales de los 50 en Londres, estrechamente relacionado con un estilo de música entonces en plena eclosión, cuando los motociclistas querían maquinas rápidas, personalizadas y distintivas para ir de café en café.

La configuración típica es de una moto que se ha modificado para velocidad y facilidad de manejo en lugar de confort. El diseño esta inspirado en las antiguas motos de carrera: tanque de nafta alargado, asiento mínimo instalado en una cola customizada y en lo posible sin guardabarros, manubrio bajo o directamente manillares para permitirle al "piloto" menor resistencia al viento, y los pedalines y controles atrasados, típico de las motos de carrera.

Algunos las preferían con un carenado integral en forma de globo. Norton Commando Norton 350 Triton Royal Enfield Clubman S Triumph T140 Bonneville Yamaha XS650 Yamaha XRS Yamaha SR500 Kawasaki KZ750 Kawasaki KZ400 Suzuki GS 1000 Suzuki GN400 Guzzi. HARLEY CAFE RACER ? The question is: It isposible to build a stunning cafe racer on an HD basis ? And secondly, which would be the best model to start from ? Following some samples .... For me the answer is clear now. YES, it is possible ! Honda CL 350. Visto che a molti interessa questa Cafe Racer su base Honda CL 350 aggiungo di seguito la breve scheda che mi ha scritto il suo creatore ;-)It’s a 1973 CL350 sporting a 1969 CB350 tank. I had the fenders, fork lowers, headlight bracket and triple-trees all powdercoated black. I swapped out the CL pipes for standard CB headers mated to NOS MC Motorcycles shorty bell-mouth mufflers.

The seat is custom shaped foam and custom covered on a stock CB seat pan, so it uses stock mounting points. My favorite part, and the part that gets the most attention from fellow riders, is the custom headlight bracket. I fabbed the pieces myself and had a shop weld it for me. The headlight is a CEV scooter headlight, which houses a 2.25″ tach. The 1 7/8″ speedo is mounted to TTR400 CNC’d clip-ons. The paint is Corvette Victory Red and a GM maroon done by Josh Ferry of The Autobody Complex in Wichita, Kansas. The pinstriping was done by Josh Christy of VanChase Studio (vanchase.com). Tires are Avon RoadRiders. HONDA. Search. Showing 1-15 of 393 results for honda cb350 Friday 17th January, 2014 Saturday 5th October, 2013 Thursday 3rd January, 2013 Saturday 15th September, 2012 Wednesday 14th September, 2011 Thursday 25th November, 2010 Thursday 20th March, 2014 Tuesday 3rd December, 2013 Thursday 3rd October, 2013 Saturday 25th January, 2014 Sunday 27th October, 2013 Thursday 29th August, 2013 Thursday 20th August, 2009 Saturday 7th September, 2013 Not what you're looking for?

Try a new search: Search. Showing 1-15 of 532 results for cafe racer Thursday 27th March, 2014 Saturday 22nd March, 2014 Wednesday 5th March, 2014 Sunday 19th January, 2014 Tuesday 4th February, 2014 Tuesday 3rd December, 2013 Tuesday 19th November, 2013 Thursday 19th September, 2013 Thursday 25th April, 2013 Tuesday 5th February, 2013 Thursday 21st March, 2013 Tuesday 2nd October, 2012 Not what you're looking for? Try a new search: Wrenchmonkees Moto Guzzi. Motorcyclenerd's "cafe racer" favorite pictures on VisualizeUs.

KTM 525 EXC | Roland Sands Design. HONDA CB 350 FOUR "SMOOTH CRIMINAL" by THE TARANTULAS. Motographite. The New Blood | Deus Customs America. Blue Swingbob | Deus Customs America. The Bikes | Deus Customs America. Deus Customs America. How To Build a Honda CB350 Vintage Road Racer | Motorcycle Shopper. The Engine | Motorcycle Shopper. Carb Rebuild. Honda cb350 - Pictures, tips and links - ben miranda . com. 3865279311_2b87fe971e_b.jpg (680×1024) 1970 CB350.

HondaTwins.Net - Vintage Honda Twins.