Not sure how this forum section is supposed to work, it's titled "The Collections", so you might think it's for photos of bike collections, then there's a "before and after" thread, so you might think it's for composites, then there seen to be some project/build threads, so you might think it's for those (although there is also a dedicated Project section"). Anyway, what the heck, this will work...
It must have started with the klunky old AMF single-speed bicycle with worn out heavy-duty tires and a broken handlebar that my older brother passed on to me in '67 when he got his first motorcycle. It had already been a few years that I was allowed to read the older bike mags that my brothers tossed out, and I started thinking about how cool some of the bikes were. Anyway, it was weird riding that bicycle around with one 4" stub and the other handlebar out in the breeze; I started riding it with both hands together at the stem, then finally tweaked the handlebar in a hole in a block fence and folded it back and forth till it broke off. My first "clip ons".
Although I built my first cafe racer in 1979, and then another a few years later, a big chunk of my life has been spent restoring classic Britbikes (Triumph, Norton & BSA). But, the cafe racer thing has come and gone on a regular basis, and it seems I've built my fair share over the years, and they represent a fair percentage of my current collection of 30 bikes. So, I'm going to do my best to chronicle my cafe racer builds from '79 till now.
This was my '75 Honda CB550 Four that I bought from a guy that was shipping out from NAS Corpus Christi, TX back in early '79.
Over the years, I rebuilt it twice, then totally revamped it.
"Pops" Yoshimura 590 kit
S&W valve spring kit
Megacycle cam
Martek electronic ignition
Barnett clutch plates & springs
750 smooth bore carbs w/ K&N filters, AND PROPER JETTING!
Hurst Airhart front master cylinder & aircraft grade hose
Kerker header
Thomaselli clip-on handlebars
Home-made oil cooler (from a Mercury power steering cooler)
Accell coils
Dupont Imron Antique Silver Metallic paint
Tail from a Kawasaki 350 triple (seat that came with the bike fit perfectly inside)
Emgo quarter fairing with bullet mirrors
Sadly, this was the best photo I ever took of it. Totalled it badly, injuring my wrist.
It must have started with the klunky old AMF single-speed bicycle with worn out heavy-duty tires and a broken handlebar that my older brother passed on to me in '67 when he got his first motorcycle. It had already been a few years that I was allowed to read the older bike mags that my brothers tossed out, and I started thinking about how cool some of the bikes were. Anyway, it was weird riding that bicycle around with one 4" stub and the other handlebar out in the breeze; I started riding it with both hands together at the stem, then finally tweaked the handlebar in a hole in a block fence and folded it back and forth till it broke off. My first "clip ons".
Although I built my first cafe racer in 1979, and then another a few years later, a big chunk of my life has been spent restoring classic Britbikes (Triumph, Norton & BSA). But, the cafe racer thing has come and gone on a regular basis, and it seems I've built my fair share over the years, and they represent a fair percentage of my current collection of 30 bikes. So, I'm going to do my best to chronicle my cafe racer builds from '79 till now.
This was my '75 Honda CB550 Four that I bought from a guy that was shipping out from NAS Corpus Christi, TX back in early '79.
Over the years, I rebuilt it twice, then totally revamped it.
"Pops" Yoshimura 590 kit
S&W valve spring kit
Megacycle cam
Martek electronic ignition
Barnett clutch plates & springs
750 smooth bore carbs w/ K&N filters, AND PROPER JETTING!
Hurst Airhart front master cylinder & aircraft grade hose
Kerker header
Thomaselli clip-on handlebars
Home-made oil cooler (from a Mercury power steering cooler)
Accell coils
Dupont Imron Antique Silver Metallic paint
Tail from a Kawasaki 350 triple (seat that came with the bike fit perfectly inside)
Emgo quarter fairing with bullet mirrors
Sadly, this was the best photo I ever took of it. Totalled it badly, injuring my wrist.