What is the fascination w/Cafe Racers?

Cafe racer at Bloomsburg

On Sunday morning while I was packing up after the rally, the person in the attached photo rode into the rally site. I believe he said he was from New Jersey so I guess he rode 150 - 200 miles to get there.

His cafe racer airhead looked really sharp. No "bells and whistles" whatsoever, not even a tank bag to hold any rain gear. He certainly had style with his helmet and jacket, even the red on the bike matched the red on his jacket.

I can understand the appeal of the cafe racers.

(I can only attach one photo at a time, I'll submit a second reply with an additional photo).

Cafe racer at Bloomsburg

2nd photo.

Beauty

That is gorgeousness defined. I could fold my old decrepit frame across that refugee from a breakers yard all day long. In that position the bike and myself would be one. The power pulses coursing through my body energizing my adrenal gland, my weight centered on the balls of my feet ready at any moment to blast out of the next corner, poised for a quick flip in the other direction as I work the shifter and clutch pulling maximum torque through the corners.... I have no idea why that thought appeals to me. I should be home tending to the lawn and pruning the shrubbery.

Jota said:

"They're strictly day bikes, but lots of riders don't tour."

Not really I can travel for a week with nothing but a tank bag I don't feel the need to take the kitchen sink with me. as for comfort, that is a personal issue
and depends a lot on physical condition, age and the bikes ergonomics "Cafe Racers" don't need to be torture racks.

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My R100 was my only bike for 100k miles. The vast majority of that time it would be classed as a cafe racer. It sported several different bars with the BMW S bar being the most frequently used, bar end mirrors, rear set pegs along with other items and modifications.

The bike, in that form, also served touring bike going coast to coast several times, a daily commuting bike and for two seasons spent much of the summer replacing a company car when ever I could. I am not quite the minimalist as Jota. I can travel for an indefinite period with a tankbag and a dry bag behind me.

Cafe Racer ergonomics run a wide gambit. For some the cafe gambit trades comfort for jokey like ergonomics to gain handling advantages and style. For many we look for a riding position that helps in sport handling and picks up an added comfort benefit in the process.

On any bike a rider supports their weight at three primary points: the seat, the wrists and the legs. A comfortable bike is adjusted to find the right balance of weight bearing of the rider for each part. A well thought out cafe racer can add a fourth weight bearing point, the chest, to the mix and in the process turn a 'day bike' into a fun and wonderful long distance bike. With the body canted forward the rider's chest begins to act as an air dam, much like a ski jumper, and begins to carry part of the weight of the upper torso. In this position the wind that people complain buffets them on a naked bike turns into something very comfortable. The improvement of full faced helmets and other gear have gone a very long way to eliminate noise and other complaints.

A well rung out BMW cafe racer with a huge tank is a wonderful contradiction in elements. A sporting bike with great handling and great fuel capacity to ride on and on because you're having too much fun to get off the bike.

Off to the garage to check the current Roadster out after yesterdays tweaking, then out for a day of contradictions.

OK. here is how to live out of one tank bag, its easy.

Riding gear, I wear the same gear every day. My leather pants, jacket gloves boots
clean tee shirt, clean underwear ( remember what your mama told you!!)

Tank bag has two tee shirts, two changes of underwear one pair of levis ( for thos fancy dress occasions) one pair of sneaks, and necessary toiletries. Thats it.

Cell phone/ Camera and charger. OEM tools. wire & electrical tape wrapped around a frame rail somewhere.

Wash what you need to when you can.

Oh yea shave your head before you go that way you don't need a comb

Jota said:

clean tea shirt

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. Duh ......spell check is not a substitute for a brain . In my defense I can only offer the latest political insanitys choak hold ........... good catch

I almost picked up an old cafe racer instead of my R80RT. Someone outbid me on Ebay, and I am still happy about it. Love the RT and I always have the option to cafe it at some point. But so far, I like it just the way it is.

If I retire and move to a warm climate, that'd be the time for me to seriously consider a Cafe' 80.

HH

I have a facination for cafe racers, bobbers, choppers, stock original, restored, modified, tourers, rat bikes, dragsters, muscle bikes, little bikes, big bikes, baggers. I like bikes.

I hate to see good bikes bastardized into cafe racrers or bobbed. Ultimately they're worth less than if left alone. Even a non standard paint job is only valuable to the one who has it painted.

At the moment I am making my R80 in to a pretty serious touring bike. Still have the fantasy of getting healthy enough to do one more good long trip. Added a Parabellum sport screen , and my Corbin touring saddle is due for delivery today.

After I get over that madness, the bike will be transformed into a cafe' style and be ridden frequently but for shorter distances like day trips.

I have always been in love with cafe' styled bikes from my many years living in Europe.
Got some neat old photo's of a trip up to the Moto GP at Assen one year.
My German buddy Edwin was on a Ducati with the largest tank bag I have ever seen , plus the lowest clip on bars he could find. Brings back great memories of thundering down the Autobahn at warp speed in the rain all day and loving every minute of it.

jbarneshb said:

I hate to see good bikes bastardized into cafe racrers or bobbed. Ultimately they're worth less than if left alone. Even a non standard paint job is only valuable to the one who has it painted.

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Value is an interesting argument and depends on what you mean by value and how you manage that value. What you seem to be describing is the value at time of sale and you may well be correct in your assessment.

The value for many during the time of ownership is increased by heading down the cafe route with add ons and modifications. In the case of my R100 they replaced stock parts and when the bike was sold it had been returned to original form and the cafe parts sold. I was able to maximize my ownership value and get a reasonable return on the sale.

two cents R90S

BAck in about 1990 put on a pair of Rassk rearsets, a two into one exhaust and a Corbin saddle thinking a move to full cafe with clipons. A bike for a little track time. Never made the move.

Didn't like the long levers to trans, the goofy sound of the 2 to 1 exhaust, and the notch on the saddle. Much more comfy to fold down passenger peg either side when a break is needed in posture, sliding around on the big flat standard saddle, and loving the drilled out baffles in the standard mufflers when opened up, and the head into the wind with the S-bar bend has always been perfect.

Takes all to make world go round. This morning, coincidently, I was next to a very cafe'd old Duc painted chartroose, with shorty loud slip-ons, and a rider seemingly not very well acquainted with what he/she was riding/doing. I thought, good luck buddy, see you later, it's not for me. Whatever turns yer crank, and works, keeps the rubber down, and gits you home.

Cafe' style , like the choppers that have been so popular over the last few years are really a matter of personal preference. I have owned and ridden both and from my own perch the cafe' is way more practical than a chopper.

In this country , bikes for the most part are just a hobby , not really necessary for transportation . Sure some only travel by bike and I salute them, but for the most part motorcycles like hot rods, or street rods are a hobby.

Making it your own in what ever style suits you is cool with me. Just don't cast aspersions on the style of others who do not enjoy your current desires.

Cafe Racers

Jota said:

. Duh ......spell check is not a substitute for a brain . In my defense I can only offer the latest political insanitys choak hold ........... good catch

Click to expand...

I'm getting all choaked-up! Pass the Kleenex.

Nothing wrong with your brain though, Jota (nothing that a spel checker won't fix!)

Orbitangel

Cafe Racer?

Mika said:

My R100 was my only bike for 100k miles. The vast majority of that time it would be classed as a cafe racer. It sported several different bars with the BMW S bar being the most frequently used, bar end mirrors, rear set pegs along with other items and modifications.

The bike, in that form, also served touring bike going coast to coast several times, a daily commuting bike and for two seasons spent much of the summer replacing a company car when ever I could. I am not quite the minimalist as Jota. I can travel for an indefinite period with a tankbag and a dry bag behind me.

Cafe Racer ergonomics run a wide gambit. For some the cafe gambit trades comfort for jokey like ergonomics to gain handling advantages and style. For many we look for a riding position that helps in sport handling and picks up an added comfort benefit in the process.

On any bike a rider supports their weight at three primary points: the seat, the wrists and the legs. A comfortable bike is adjusted to find the right balance of weight bearing of the rider for each part. A well thought out cafe racer can add a fourth weight bearing point, the chest, to the mix and in the process turn a 'day bike' into a fun and wonderful long distance bike. With the body canted forward the rider's chest begins to act as an air dam, much like a ski jumper, and begins to carry part of the weight of the upper torso. In this position the wind that people complain buffets them on a naked bike turns into something very comfortable. The improvement of full faced helmets and other gear have gone a very long way to eliminate noise and other complaints.

A well rung out BMW cafe racer with a huge tank is a wonderful contradiction in elements. A sporting bike with great handling and great fuel capacity to ride on and on because you're having too much fun to get off the bike.

Off to the garage to check the current Roadster out after yesterdays tweaking, then out for a day of contradictions.

Click to expand...

I believe it can be argued that the R100RS, at least in its early history, was a "Factory Cafe Racer." Purists will counter that it was too cushy, too heavy, too clumsy, too slow, too "mass produced."

All these points are correct. And all of them are incorrect as well.

By modern handling standards, the machine is a rubber cow, the brakes are a joke and the power is anemic.

On the other hand, in the thirty plus years I've been riding one, I've seen a LOT of lesser motorcycles vanish in the rearview mirrors (if I could see anything at all in them) and the next cafe might have been 150 miles up the road. I've seen it/done it while riding solo, two-up or two-up with full tankbag and bags.

Even if it had the same performance as a Cushman Eagle (it did not) it certainly had (and still has) the looks, in my humble opinion. I love the S-model bikes as well but the RS shelters its rider in a little space capsule which makes the rider feel invincible - in rain, in brutal, stiff headwinds, gusty crosswinds, insect onslaughts and general mayhem of every kind.

It isn't for everyone but works exceedingly well for some of us and looks great.

Mine (three of them, in succession) have saved my bacon many, many times!

If you live to ride another day you get older, so maybe it's an "old man's cafe racer." I'm OK with that.

Cheers! / Orbitangel

Why a cafe racer...

Several riders have hit the nail on the head: Cafe racers are light...they are distinctive looking and cool...and most importantly...they are FUN to ride.

Here is my 1983 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans-III. I changed the stock clip-ons to set of superbike low bars - - because honestly speaking - they were a little hard on the wrists at my age! Still, a blast to ride!

JJ Cerilli
Scottsdale, AZ
www.vintagemotorcyclesonline.com

P.S. Just for the record, I also ride a 1978 BMW R100RS Motorsport Edition and a 2011 Triumph Sprint GT

JOHNCERIILLI said:

Several riders have hit the nail on the head: Cafe racers are light...they are distinctive looking and cool...and most importantly...they are FUN to ride.

Here is my 1983 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans-III. I changed the stock clip-ons to set of superbike low bars - - because honestly speaking - they were a little hard on the wrists at my age! Still, a blast to ride!

JJ Cerilli
Scottsdale, AZ
www.vintagemotorcyclesonline.com

P.S. Just for the record, I also ride a 1978 BMW R100RS Motorsport Edition and a 2011 Triumph Sprint GT

Click to expand...

We have similar tastes. Nice Guzzi.

Wayne

Cafe....

ItÔÇÖs the human scale of a motorcycle that makes it such a fascinating and tempting target for the inspired biker/builders among us. A person needs a garage, tools, industrial equipment and a V-8 size bank account to play around with creating a custom car. But one can build a beautiful custom motorcycle by taking parts to machine shop, the welder and painter and bringing them home to be assembled in the comfort of ones own living room and that makes it possible for anyone to have a go at building a Caf?® bike.

There is an old argument in design school. It is the yin and yang of form and function. ÔÇ£Do you want it to look great OR go fastÔÇØ? ÔÇ£Well, personally I would like as much as I can get of bothÔÇØ, Motorcycles are already ALL about form and function right off the production line. It is up to the builders to take what the factory gives them and ÔÇÿcompleteÔÇÖ the exercise. The customs like the Caf?® bike takes form and function to a more personal, individual, anthropomorphic state of being. Sometimes these custom cafe bikes will simply take your breath away they are so cool. They are meant to be more than just motorcycles. The ones that succeed are a perfect extension of the owners personality.

I build an American version of the Caf?® Racer I call a ÔÇ£Bar BikeÔÇØ. (What else you gonna call it over here?). I make them simple, small, light, flickable and FUN. I use short frames and small tanks, big motors, solo seats, spoke wheels and I modify the steel and plastic to expose the motorcycles functions making them a part of the form thus blending form and function into one. That in Design school is the pan-ultimate success and that in the motorcycle world is a Caf?® racer by definition. BMW has given me a great collection of basic parts to re-arrange any way I want to. If I could have only one motorcycle, it would be a caf?® machine.

Reading list:
The Perfect Vehicle ~ what is it about motorcycles? by Melissa Holbrook Pierson.
Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design ~ the art and science (yin / yang thing) by Tony Foale (and originally with Vic Willoughby)
The Art of the Motorcycle ~ A publication of the Smithsonian Institute, Catalog of the show.

Nice Cafe, Bobber, Bar Hopper, TT Tavern to Tavern, Yin to Yang go fast Bike. Nice 'Bike' s09rwmb.