Hi guys!
This really is a great place to get inspiration for a project. I would appreciate some thoughts on some potential project bikes. As soon as I get my dads old virago 535 sold, I will get my self a café project. I live in Sweden so I have a whole winter to start building (I am assuming I wont find the time to ride a café racer next year, maybe a rolling project to start with?). This will be my first build so I bet I will run in to tons of problems no matter what bike I choose. I am a really big fan of Dustin Kott and his style. I like the way he keeps the front end low and the flow throughout the whole bike. I also seem to get a very nice vintage feeling with spokes wheel, classy paintwork etc. I know he primarily works on Hondas and as far as I understand Honda is pretty much associated with good quality. Although his latest XS is just perfect! I have ridden motocross and enduro for several years and have never heard much complaint on Honda bikes. So far the only road experience I have is a Yamaha XT 660 -06. Not a very exiting bike if you ask me.
Ok, what am I looking for? I do want decent performance. I have about 50 min drive to work on open roads so I want something that doesn’t scream and revs too much at higher speed. At the same time I have some really nice smaller roads that is just perfect for a smaller, lighter bike. I am assuming that 400-650cc would be good choice. Is 400 to small on open roads you think? Or will a 650 be to bulky on the tight corners? So far I have mostly looked at Honda CB500 pre -78, CB650 78-82-isch. Yamaha XS650 late 70’s early 80’s. The biggest problems with these bikes are that they are too expensive for my budget for the “donor” bike. Most of them are already in mint condition. I don’t want to mess a bike up that doesn’t need some sort of restoration to start with (given my building skills). Hondas seems to be a fairly easy frame to start from to get the look I want but are there any alternatives? Currently there are two Kawasaki Z650 -82 for sale at about 600-700USD nearby. For some reason I can’t find a lot of café racer builds on that particular bike. Any reasons? I seem to have locked in on CB 500 or the XS. Unfortunately 70’s bikes in need of a rebuild seems hard to come by right know unless I break my budget to start with.
Does anyone have any thought on these bikes or can anyone point me in another direction?
/Andreas
This really is a great place to get inspiration for a project. I would appreciate some thoughts on some potential project bikes. As soon as I get my dads old virago 535 sold, I will get my self a café project. I live in Sweden so I have a whole winter to start building (I am assuming I wont find the time to ride a café racer next year, maybe a rolling project to start with?). This will be my first build so I bet I will run in to tons of problems no matter what bike I choose. I am a really big fan of Dustin Kott and his style. I like the way he keeps the front end low and the flow throughout the whole bike. I also seem to get a very nice vintage feeling with spokes wheel, classy paintwork etc. I know he primarily works on Hondas and as far as I understand Honda is pretty much associated with good quality. Although his latest XS is just perfect! I have ridden motocross and enduro for several years and have never heard much complaint on Honda bikes. So far the only road experience I have is a Yamaha XT 660 -06. Not a very exiting bike if you ask me.
Ok, what am I looking for? I do want decent performance. I have about 50 min drive to work on open roads so I want something that doesn’t scream and revs too much at higher speed. At the same time I have some really nice smaller roads that is just perfect for a smaller, lighter bike. I am assuming that 400-650cc would be good choice. Is 400 to small on open roads you think? Or will a 650 be to bulky on the tight corners? So far I have mostly looked at Honda CB500 pre -78, CB650 78-82-isch. Yamaha XS650 late 70’s early 80’s. The biggest problems with these bikes are that they are too expensive for my budget for the “donor” bike. Most of them are already in mint condition. I don’t want to mess a bike up that doesn’t need some sort of restoration to start with (given my building skills). Hondas seems to be a fairly easy frame to start from to get the look I want but are there any alternatives? Currently there are two Kawasaki Z650 -82 for sale at about 600-700USD nearby. For some reason I can’t find a lot of café racer builds on that particular bike. Any reasons? I seem to have locked in on CB 500 or the XS. Unfortunately 70’s bikes in need of a rebuild seems hard to come by right know unless I break my budget to start with.
Does anyone have any thought on these bikes or can anyone point me in another direction?
/Andreas
