V2's and Cafes

[Basement rat]

For the third fucking time...


Posting this because of the other thread, Ive been thinking of this for a while.

Ive been having carb issues with my 79 CB. Getting my two wheeled fix, Ive been riding the wifes 83 VT 750 (Honda Shadow) (The one that got Harleys panties all in a bunch). And you know? The lack of pipes on the shadow has me thinking my CB sounds more and more like a lawn mower every time I start it... The Shadow is great for straights on the highway. The acceloration is good, hell it redlines at the CB's highway cruise speed. But the geometry is crap. I'm terrifyed to honk on it around a corner at any decent speed like I would on the CB, But god damn it sounds good to open it after that corner!

So Ive been thinking about a Honda Nighthawk V Twin bike for way down the road. Air or liquid cooled, chain drive and any make is fine. Hell, think I'd get shot for sticking a 1200 Evo in a Nighthawk?

Sure, you can say what you like about V2's but dont say too much till you ride one, any one. I'm sure youl have some kind of grin by the end of it.

 

[Mr.E]

Not sure if its quite related, but I've seen some sweet examples of caf'd viragos. I think their engines look awesome in a cafe package, but I've never ridden one so don't know anythink about power or handling on em. Love the idea tho...

 

[Sonreir]

Motorcycles are like sex, even when they're bad, they're still kinda good.
That's kinda my take on V2s. I'm not sure I'd intentionally seek one out, but one found it's way to me, I wouldn't kick it out of the bed...

 

[t71ford]

<-- That is a twin! ;D

No, V-twins make awesome cafe bikes. That said, check out some of the sport twins, like the Honda VTR or RC51, or Ducati. Cafe bikes were originally centered around performance and handling, and the twins work well for that. They are light, strong, with a ridiculous bottom end. And the framing around them is usually unique, since the engine is usually a structural component of the frame. This means trellis frames and monoshocks come naturally.

I am actually looking for one right now for another winter build! Love my VTR too. Plus, I am getting kind of tired of the image thing on cafe bikes, where they are made to look stripped and fast, but are powered by a weed eater engine and can't even run down the highway. It is cool in a form way, and I can appreciate the effort, but in my opinion, if a road bike can't do 100 mph, there ain't much "racer" to it, no matter how fast it looks. I want to see some truly fast and great handling builds for once, and I think the V-twins are just the thing to pilot it!

 

[Ringo]

^^ Agreed. One ride on Kool-Aid and you'll be a convert. That thing is entirely way too much fun. Instant power any gear any rpm. And it's really pretty small. I'm not sure I caught the point of this thread, but V2s kick ass nonetheless.

 

[biker_reject]

Buell, modern cafe. You won't find a better handling twin in it's price range. Chassis geometry based on 250 gp bikes, modern forks and monoshock (no weird ass linkages). Will out corner I-4's (600, 750, 1ks). Nuff said.

I'm afraid our DOHC carbs just won't work without the fugly air boxes. I am considering the gixxer carb swap, or Cycle X dual carb setup...
http://www.cyclexchange.net/Carb%20System%20Comp%20Page.htm

 

[beachcomber]

After 50+ years of building Cafe Racers and specials - I've finally come to Vee Twins ................... Yes took my time, but I got seduced by a sweet - but completely stock TR1 I owned about 15 years ago. 8) That bike always kept creeping to the fore when I was thinking of "what to do next" - but I couldn't find any inspiration. Until January 2011, when I saw a pic in a Brit Classic Bike magazine of a Vincent / Norton themed Tr1 [ in a featherbed].

That really got my juices flowing and after a few months of research - I'm now well into my project - 2 if you count the one I'm building for a pal!

What finally put the tin hat on it was when my pal fell into fits of laughter when he saw me perched on my XS500 Cafe Racer project - I think the phrase has already been coined here - Gorilla on a Monkey Bike! :-[ :-[

That together with the loss of my spare garage and a lengthy health scare in 2010 meant a cull of ALL my projects - except the BMW Streetfighter [ sooooo nearly finished ] and my NEW project - a TR1 [ XV920 in reality ].

I NEVER owned [ or wanted to ] a Vincent back in the day - but DID get my doors completely blown off by a very rapid Norvin [ see Beachcomber's Tales ].

As with all OEM bikes - I take them as a blank canvas to do my own thing, and the TR1 / XV920 sure has pleanty of potential.

The Viragos also have plenty of potential, the ONLY drawback for me is the shaft drive - for no other reason that looks - the Sixties look. That said I've seen some stunning Viragos on the various forums - our Dutch and German cousins seem to have a stranglehold on them .................

 

[MNBikerPup]

<-- That is a twin! ;D

No, V-twins make awesome cafe bikes. That said, check out some of the sport twins, like the Honda VTR or RC51, or Ducati. Cafe bikes were originally centered around performance and handling, and the twins work well for that. They are light, strong, with a ridiculous bottom end. And the framing around them is usually unique, since the engine is usually a structural component of the frame. This means trellis frames and monoshocks come naturally.

I am actually looking for one right now for another winter build! Love my VTR too. Plus, I am getting kind of tired of the image thing on cafe bikes, where they are made to look stripped and fast, but are powered by a weed eater engine and can't even run down the highway. It is cool in a form way, and I can appreciate the effort, but in my opinion, if a road bike can't do 100 mph, there ain't much "racer" to it, no matter how fast it looks. I want to see some truly fast and great handling builds for once, and I think the V-twins are just the thing to pilot it!

Isn't the term "Do the Ton" meant to mean reaching 100mph? And wasn't that the goal of cafe racers back in the day? Yes, I agree that cafe racers need more than those weed wacker 350cc engines. 650cc or better in my book.

 

[MNBikerPup]

Since everyone is talking V Twins, what's the take on the Honda Superhawk 996 1998-2005?

 

[VonYinzer]

Isn't the term "Do the Ton" meant to mean reaching 100mph? And wasn't that the goal of cafe racers back in the day? Yes, I agree that cafe racers need more than those weed wacker 350cc engines. 650cc or better in my book.

Anybody can hit 100+ on a 650 or bigger. The real fun is building one of those "weed whacker" engines that will do it.

 

[HK_Sailor]

<3 V twins!
And just for the record I do have a Virago Bobber that WAS going to be turned Cafe if the gear box didn't die. All I had left to do was fabricate rear sets and linkage and the seat with a cowl. I love the low end stuff that the V Twins gets you.

 

[t71ford]

MNbiker-- The bike in my avatar (Project Kool-Aid) is a 996 Superhawk. It is a terrific engine, and makes really good power. If you have a line on one, GET IT!

I have to agree with Mike as well. I didn't really mean to exlude small cc bikes from cafe/ performance building. I built a small cc cafe bike myself. Like Mike, I just think there is a coolness factor to small cc performance builds, but that has kind of been missing in the builds that are termed cafe, but in reality are just a seat swap. It seems more prevalent on small cc bikes, probably because they are still cheap. I am in favor of the V-twins because they intrinsically embody the racer movement, since they were performance built. Sorry to kind of take this off track...

 

[beachcomber]

<-- That is a twin! ;D


Plus, I am getting kind of tired of the image thing on cafe bikes, where they are made to look stripped and fast, but are powered by a weed eater engine and can't even run down the highway. It is cool in a form way, and I can appreciate the effort, but in my opinion, if a road bike can't do 100 mph, there ain't much "racer" to it, no matter how fast it looks. I want to see some truly fast and great handling builds for once, and I think the V-twins are just the thing to pilot it!

Well Ford, as much as I like speed - I have to disagree with your hypothosis that to be a Cafe Racer a bike has to do the ton !! [ Agree about V Twins though ! ]

You can jump on just about any factory stock 250 these days and "do the ton" - that's not the point.

We'll agree about the effort put in, but ask Hoof about piloting a 50cc Itom / Whatever around the Isle of Man at 80mph /90mph - and you might want to think again before dismissing the efforts of the tiddlers.

There were MANY 500's and 650's in the day that wouldn't reach a true ton. The fun is taking what you have and improving it to the best of your ability. It's also [ Cafe Racers ] about creating an image - and sooooo many people get that image wrong.

The ton, ton twenty or 150 on a modern rocketship is nothing - commonplace - easy - requires NO owner input.
So take a Busa, strip fairing off, lower clip -ons and its a Cafe Racer - right? Not in my book.

I'd rather have my "weed eater" 350 Enfield Bullet I had in the 60's and tune it to the bollox, lighten it and attempt to achieve that Ton.

After all if it was that easy - what's the point?

 

[J.P.]

My V twin baby...

 

[bryanjnkns]

v2's are dead sexy! I don't care what its in, hondas, suzukis, ducs, guzzis, buells and especially Vincents ;D