Just found this

That I wanted to share, by a Japanese builder.
Considering that Cafe Racers are not in their culture, they do seem to be awfully good at it.

That is soooooooooooooo nice!!!

Love it..
Cheers
Col.

devonrider wrote:

Considering that Cafe Racers are not in their culture,

Now hold the hosses here, didn't I see a post a day or two back sating Japan has a thriving cafe culture? BTW, has anyone noticed the majority of posts on here occur after midnight, are we all bloody insomniacs..........?

pauliexjr wrote:

Now hold the hosses here, didn't I see a post a day or two back sating Japan has a thriving cafe culture? .....?

Oh yes they're into them now, just like the Americans are but it's not part of their culture in the true sense.
I mean they don't have Cafe Racer culture in their history at all.
It came from the UK rocker scene.
The Japanese, like the Americans have just latched onto it.
I mean martial arts enjoy a huge following in the west, and we are very good at it but in cultural terms, it has nothing to do with us.

devonrider wrote:

Oh yes they're into them now, just like the Americans are but it's not part of their culture in the true sense.
I mean they don't have Cafe Racer culture in their history at all.
It came from the UK rocker scene.
The Japanese, like the Americans have just latched onto it.
I mean martial arts enjoy a huge following in the west, and we are very good at it but in cultural terms, it has nothing to do with us.

Ahhh so, me unnerstan now!

The Americans are embracing the style of bike, but in their own usual way (and slightly missing the home-grown point)!

Anyone seen the show Cafe Racer on Discovery? The majority of bikes they feature seem to come from professional chop-shops with a lot of the bikes being made from brand-new frames with out-of-the-box motors, not exactly a garden-shed approach, but hey-ho, at least they are doing something about cafe racers!

I'm afraid my own bike fall under that category

That is to say, it is a brand new factory produced Cafe Racer STYLE bike but I love it and one day, when I do decide to take the plunge and build my own, it will have been this bike that has given me the motivation.

devonrider wrote:

I'm afraid my own bike fall under that category

That is to say, it is a brand new factory produced Cafe Racer STYLE bike but I love it and one day, when I do decide to take the plunge and build my own, it will have been this bike that has given me the motivation.

No issues with that whatsoever, I think it's great people like Buell, Triumph. Moto Guzzi et al are building tradional style bikes. I don't even have an issue with the Americans building cafe racers in workshops that look like operating theatres and are better equipped than most major car manufacturers, I admit, I'm jealous! What I was saying is they don't show many 'home grown' bits of kit on that programme.

And on the subject of "Just found this"...... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/very-finest-Norton-Commando-Cafe-Racer-Stunning-/250846418501?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item3a679c9645

That's a lot of dosh in anyone's money!

The great thing about Guzzi's is that the Tonti framed bikes are basically ready to go as Cafe Racers with very little work.
That bike I posted a picture of for example.
The engine / frame / etc. is all from the original bike.
It's only had a few cosmetic items added, the battery re-located and a custom exhaust made.
For me personally, this is the holy grail.
I call it the accidental Cafe Racer.



You can see what Guzzi were trying to re-create with my bike