Cafe racers = rat rods of the bike world

In reply to Cotton:

that is spectacular!

Older Ducati's and their riders are VERY inspiring:

planning on my build very soon, as soon as all this legal stuff is passed. Oh, and Cafe Racers on HDTV is the best show on TV right now (until the new season of Top Gear UK comes on...)

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: planning on my build very soon, as soon as all this legal stuff is passed. Oh, and Cafe Racers on HDTV is the best show on TV right now (until the new season of Top Gear UK comes on...)

Yeah it's a good show. Doesn't hurt that I was at the Ace Cafe just a couple of months ago. They had some cool bikes there (and good beer).

In reply to Cotton:

Thats the restaurant in Chicago... Correct?

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: In reply to Cotton: Thats the restaurant in Chicago... Correct?

It's the one in London. The first Cafe Racer show had a lot of footage on it.
It's a cool place.

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: Oh, and Cafe Racers on HDTV is the best show on TV right now (until the new season of Top Gear UK comes on...)

I'd never even heard of a Cafe Racer before a few months ago. Bike scare me and I was sure I'd never have one.

Now I want one sooooo baaaaddd!!!! These bikes are everything the bikes I don't like aren't. They're awesome! I saw two guys last night on my way home from work playing on their Hondas. They were having a blast!

Yea, its bitten me bad too. Id watch it with my dad and he (being from London, riding bikes in the 70s) would say "I had a BSA, I raced a Triumph, ect..., its pretty friggin cool. Hes got a Laverda Modtjuic 500 sitting in our garage! Oh how i want to rebuild it...

In reply to Lugnut: came close to grabbing that exact bike, motorized peice of art.....

ddavidv wrote: ...kind of like putting ape hangers on your Harley. "Look at me! I'm cool!...but I can only stand riding it for 15 minutes." And maybe I'm wrong on that.

Don't knock them until you try them. I've got modest (14") ape hangers on mine. My hands are justabout as high as my shoulders and it's very comfortable - much more than the stock (6½"?) bars were. I've done 1800+ mile weekends and an Iron Butt, so I can certainly stand riding more than 15 minutes.

4eyes wrote: The cafe' riding position is easier on my lower back than the position with foreward controls on a cruiser.

That's easy to believe. I've kept the mid controls on my Super Glide and added highway pegs, after hearing about guys swapping their forward controls back to mid, because of the lower back pain they cause.

I wish I could find that cheap jap bike. Had one but that was 15yrs ago.

BTW, CafeRacer on HD Theater is prolly my #1 show I can't get enough of.

Brian

In 88 or 89, I bought an 82 Yam 650 Special for $500. I sold it a year later, for the same amount. I then bought a Kaw Kx650 for $500. A couple years later, I sold it for $400. Today, I couldn't find a running one for less than a grand.

And yes, Cafe Racer on HDT is cool.

914Driver wrote:

please tell me the throttle butterflies on the tank are functional

With all due respect here's my 2 cents. I think rat bikes are the rot rod of the bike world.

The bike in your picture isn't too far off from stock. Sure handle bars, seat, intake and mufflers are changed but the suspensions looks like most Honda bikes of that time.

I don't think your spine would hurt as much as if it were a rigid/hard tail. Cafe racers may be impractical to you but that's not to say it's impractical to the owner.

What defines impractical is how much a bike is actually being used compared to how much the owner wants to use the bike.

If everyone had your opinions we'd all be riding the same bikes going to the same places, and doesn't that defeat the demand for bikes which is to go where you want, when you want and how you want?

ddavidv wrote: Am I the only one who doesn't grasp the appeal of cafe racers? I mean, yeah, they're cool looking, but I can't think of a more impractical motorcycle. They remind me of the bike equivalent of this: Looks cool, but you couldn't stand to drive it for more than 30 minutes. The history of cafe bikes is for short high speed jaunts. Who rides that way? Is having a motorcycle more about looking cool or enjoying the ride? I'm not trying to slam cafe bikes; any guy with a pulse will admit they look great. But are they mostly pointless art instead of useful machine? My spine hurts just looking at this thing.

ddavidv wrote: They remind me of the bike equivalent of this: Looks cool, but you couldn't stand to drive it for more than 30 minutes.

I like rats (bike and car)

I'm what a lot of people call a 'ratbiker.' It means my bike has every bit of money and effort put into making it work properly, and absolutely none put into making it look cool/pretty/stylish/purple

dogbreath wrote: I'm what a lot of people call a 'ratbiker.' It means my bike has every bit of money and effort put into making it work properly, and absolutely none put into making it look cool/pretty/stylish/purple

Oh so you own a KLR?

Osterkraut wrote:

dogbreath wrote: I'm what a lot of people call a 'ratbiker.' It means my bike has every bit of money and effort put into making it work properly, and absolutely none put into making it look cool/pretty/stylish/purple

Oh so you own a KLR?

I would, if I had the money for one.

dogbreath wrote: I'm what a lot of people call a 'ratbiker.' It means my bike has every bit of money and effort put into making it work properly, and absolutely none put into making it look cool/pretty/stylish/purple

Yeah, to me, that's not "rat". To me things are only "rat" when you put a lot of money and effort into making the project look as crappy and poorly-built as possible. Once, back before there were electricity and individual phone lines, rat rods might have been like you describe. Now they are over-budget money tubs with 2,000 hours spent on bad welds and fake patina instead of 2,000 hours spent on machined-billet hood latches and hand-rubbed lacquer.

that's a Rat

Osterkraut wrote:

dogbreath wrote: I'm what a lot of people call a 'ratbiker.' It means my bike has every bit of money and effort put into making it work properly, and absolutely none put into making it look cool/pretty/stylish/purple

Oh so you own a KLR?

Yes I do, LOL. Holy let's-bring-a-thread-back-from-the-dead, Batman. I agree with this, also:

Yeah, to me, that's not "rat". To me things are only "rat" when you put a lot of money and effort into making the project look as crappy and poorly-built as possible. Once, back before there were electricity and individual phone lines, rat rods might have been like you describe. Now they are over-budget money tubs with 2,000 hours spent on bad welds and fake patina instead of 2,000 hours spent on machined-billet hood latches and hand-rubbed lacquer.

In my mind, a Cafe Racer is most equal to a Fixed Gear Bicycle. As minimal as possible, inspired by short fast trips without any real thought to comfort, and with a ton of thought put into aesthetics.

Can they be cool? Sure.

But like anything pushed to an extreme, these bikes can be downright awful when placed in the wrong hands...