Newbie to Cafe Racers - where to start?

Hi,
First of all apologies for any ignorance shown.

I recently passed my CBT and have started looking at what bike to get. A couple have caught my eye but not sure where to start. Always liked Cafe Racers and so want to get one. I know you are really meant to build from scratch and customise them yourself but my thought was to buy one as my run around and get used to how it feels etc and maintain that one and have one on the side that I could learn with. I am very un mechanical so its very much a case of learning even the basics. Sorry i know I sound like a bit of an idiot but have been wanting to get one since seeing my grandad play with one when I was a nipper - unfortunately he passed away before passing on any knowledge to me.

I live in Islington, North London - is it ok to get one from Ebay or gumtree? recommended dealers? anyone here have one to sell?

Hi Vincent
Welcome to the forum.
Buying from E-bay and Gumtree can be OK, but if your knowledge of motorbikes is as limited as you say, you will have to be quite careful or you could end up spending a lot of money on something that could give you problems. Maybe you could enlist the help of someone with some bike savvy to look at potential purchases with you.
Rather than buy a ready made 'cafe racer' as your runaround (and pay a premium for someone else's work) why not decide on what sort of bike you would eventually like and then buy a 'standard' version of that ? Eventually you could convert it, maybe 'a bit at a time'. Say start with the handlebars, progress to the seat / hump etc. and gradually you will complete the transformation, learning all the time. You can ride it during the week and do bits of work at the weekends and have no need to take it off the road.
When you do start you will get plenty of help from folks on here if you need any advice.
Good luck and I hope my comments have been useful.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike, really useful- Are they any particular bikes or brands that you think would provide a good degree of flexibility in terms of modifications/transforming for a beginner.

Hi Vincent
As you are a new rider I assume you will be going for a small capacity bike ?
There are plenty of small capacity bikes that would be suitable.
Japanese would probably be favorite as they tend to be well built, reliable and parts are a reasonable price and easy to source.
Have a look at some of the posts in the build section of the forum, plenty of ideas there.
It's possible to give almost any bike a cafe racer look but some work out better than others !
Choose a bike, get yourself a 'Haynes' manual and get the spanners out !! It's not as hard as you think, just take your time and follow the manual for dis-assembly and putting it back together.
It's also a good idea to take loads of photos as you progress - can be helpful later to remind you how it should go together.
Also when you strip off any parts, bag them up and label them - especially nuts and bolts and fixings - there are lots of different sizes etc and it's a nightmare if you just throw them loose in a box !!
I use see through plastic 'freezer bags' that have a panel that you can write on in biro, really helpful down the line.

Good luck

Cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike - all the info I need will keep you posted and maybe even upload a picture after I'm done.

welcome vince like mike says to start with a Jap bike makes sense as they're pretty reliable (usually  ) If you try and get one with a single head light and without a fairing you wont have too much hassle if you're trying to go down the easy root of the cafe racer look. Set of clip-ons and a single cafe racer seat and your there............. well nearly , but you get the drift