Rear sets, when did they "arrive"
- Thread starter Bellicose
- Start date
Rearsets have def. been there for decades and are - as has already been pointed out - an ergonomic necessity. Drop teh bars and the pegs have to be moved back slightly to be in a sensible position.
I may feel like I've been here since the thirties, but I had rearsets and clip ons on my first cafe racer back in the mid sixties.
And Brad, no that is not a cafe racer. It's a street rod. If it wasn't made in Britain it can't be a cafe racer.......And besides - it's a bloody two smoke. What is the world coming to?
Let's not go around those loops again so soon as to what labels people and bikes should wear.
There is a real question as to why so many old rusty bikes are being changed to clubmans bars, chopped pipes, naked middles and pods - just to look like every other "made it my own" cafe racer facsimile. What happened to real originality and the original idea BTW was to improve the performance of teh bike to make it easier and more fun to run fast.
Very few actually raced anything or anyone, but we all used to invest time with hot cams, stacks and suspension upgrades to improve the bikes and to make them as effective as we could with our chosen bike.
if I could make my 500 into a faster better bike than my mate's 650, that was all good. The fact that I could have had even more performance from a different bike was never the issue. It's not about absolutes - it's about relative changes and making the bike better ie lighter & better handling and faster than stock.
Making a Honda 750 rider sweat trying to keep up with my 350 is always fun. That's what it's about. It's never been JUST a fashion show IMHO.
I may feel like I've been here since the thirties, but I had rearsets and clip ons on my first cafe racer back in the mid sixties.
And Brad, no that is not a cafe racer. It's a street rod. If it wasn't made in Britain it can't be a cafe racer.......And besides - it's a bloody two smoke. What is the world coming to?
Let's not go around those loops again so soon as to what labels people and bikes should wear.
There is a real question as to why so many old rusty bikes are being changed to clubmans bars, chopped pipes, naked middles and pods - just to look like every other "made it my own" cafe racer facsimile. What happened to real originality and the original idea BTW was to improve the performance of teh bike to make it easier and more fun to run fast.
Very few actually raced anything or anyone, but we all used to invest time with hot cams, stacks and suspension upgrades to improve the bikes and to make them as effective as we could with our chosen bike.
if I could make my 500 into a faster better bike than my mate's 650, that was all good. The fact that I could have had even more performance from a different bike was never the issue. It's not about absolutes - it's about relative changes and making the bike better ie lighter & better handling and faster than stock.
Making a Honda 750 rider sweat trying to keep up with my 350 is always fun. That's what it's about. It's never been JUST a fashion show IMHO.
teazer said:
"our chosen bike". For me that's the key. As I said earlier if all out performance was the only criteria we'd all be on turboed 'Busas. Some of us like to take a bike and see if we can improve it and throw in a bit of style as well.
But go back to the British isles of the late 50s and into the 60s. At that time once you were out of a town or as the Brits put it, "built up areas" there was no speed limit. So you had an incentive to build a bike to go as fast as you could and handle better. The rocket ships of today didn't exist. If you wanted a four you either settled for an Ariel square four plodder or built one yourself. Building a "race replica" made sense in the fact that any performance increase could be used.
With today's laws and speed limits today's cafe is a hint of past times. No matter what you do to a bike today it seems there is a pidgeonhole for that particular style. But that's OK. Its all good.
Like Teazer I feel like I've been here forever. I got my motorcycle license in 1961. Before that, an uncle in Ireland sent me a subscription to an English weekly "The Motor Cycle". I saw and lusted after some of the bikes in that mag. and in particular a Moto Parilla at a local dealers. Fire engine red, clip ons and rear sets. Never did get it. But the taste for cafes was ingrained. I realize a 20 year old today embarking on a cafe build is copying without an intimate knowledge of why. It doesn't matter. So long as someone thinks they want a cafe it good by me.
Cafes, for me, will always be cool. My favorite was my Manx on the road. It did double duty as a street bike and a racer. Shame I broke the engine when parts were almost unobtainable.
By weslake at 2012-03-21
Teazer - the latest trend to turn anything into a cafe racer by throwing on some clubmans and cutting off half the sub-frame is simply due to cafe racers being the latest flavour of the month. I've seen it with streetfighters a couple of years ago and like what happened then this fad will pass and the bandwagon douchebags will find something else to ruin.
The only problem is that the stock of unmolested donor bikes is being depleted along the way :
The only problem is that the stock of unmolested donor bikes is being depleted along the way :
xruze56
Been Around the Block
dang heated conversation but I'm have a problem with my rear sets and can't seem to find good ones except for these by joker machine but they are a little pricey.(http://www.jokermachine.com/itemcafe2004.asp?ItemID=843&CategoryID=102&Placeholder=) Id make my own but my grandpa won't let me use his shop anymore so I'm stuck trying to figure out what the hell to do. Im not some hipster kid I've been riding my whole life and this is my first build and its coming piece by piece as I'm figuring it out since an older street bike is a different monster than a dirt bike. Anyways I've been working on my bike to make it preform better as i rebuilt the engine and carbs and also I'm dumping a good portion of $ into the suspension to ride like a new pearl. Later down the road ill focus on looks but i want a bike right now that rides like a champ.
Just wanted to state that so i don't get trolled or blasted lol
Does any one have any suggestions as top notch quality rear sets that are american made for a decent price or are the joker machine ones probably the best deal ill find out there? Swivel said they might be a lil to far back with the club mans i have on and i won't have as much control so I'm not really sure because I'm just a noob and I'm learning as i go but i thought maybe it would be fine because they are adjustable and all.
heres a pic of my bike so y'all can put in your two sense and help a fellow guy out in a learning curve. I also wanted to throw on some clip ons but i can't find any sturdy enough for a big bike like my 750
Just wanted to state that so i don't get trolled or blasted lol
Does any one have any suggestions as top notch quality rear sets that are american made for a decent price or are the joker machine ones probably the best deal ill find out there? Swivel said they might be a lil to far back with the club mans i have on and i won't have as much control so I'm not really sure because I'm just a noob and I'm learning as i go but i thought maybe it would be fine because they are adjustable and all.
heres a pic of my bike so y'all can put in your two sense and help a fellow guy out in a learning curve. I also wanted to throw on some clip ons but i can't find any sturdy enough for a big bike like my 750
WTF is Carpy ? Was he around in the 50's and 60's ?Speedfiend said:
xruze56 said:dang heated conversation but I'm have a problem with my rear sets and can't seem to find good ones except for these by joker machine but they are a little pricey.(http://www.jokermachine.com/itemcafe2004.asp?ItemID=843&CategoryID=102&Placeholder=) Does any one have any suggestions as top notch quality rear sets that are american made for a decent price or are the joker machine ones probably the best deal ill find out there? Swivel said they might be a lil to far back with the club mans i have on and i won't have as much control so I'm not really sure because I'm just a noob and I'm learning as i go but i thought maybe it would be fine because they are adjustable and all.
heres a pic of my bike so y'all can put in your two sense and help a fellow guy out in a learning curve. I also wanted to throw on some clip ons but i can't find any sturdy enough for a big bike like my 750
My edit TJ
I've seen several US manufactured rearsets that look pretty good, failing that try Tomasseli or Tarozzi. RAASK make a set specially for your bike and come complete with all mounting hardware. They look pretty agricultural, but do the job and can be made to look better cosmetically. Here in the UK they're about £130 a complete set. Move the peg position back about 4" and up about 2".
axeugene27
Over 1,000 Posts
hey man beefing up your motor and output is definitely cool just saying You are prob attracted to a 70s bike for the looks of it. If you wanted to get some knuckle busting performance machine you would most likely grab a modern one. If you are such a performance junkie why don't you rebuild something like a v65 magna that will actually make you crap your pants... why not oh yeah because like everyone else you want to look cool.. Who cares man old bikes look cool if you can look cool and go a little faster while doing so more power to ya but i don't understand why anyone needs to get bashed for making a stocker a little more custom if that's what tickles their butt. Hell I want rear sets for my bike but right now i can't afford em so will still roll with my club mans??? hell yes and why club mans and not clip ons because i'm broke man and I think they look better. Have I done any engine mods.... no do i plan to > maybe but honestly if i want to go fast i ride my magna.VonYinzer said:
VonYinzer
Over 10,000 Posts
axeugene27 said:
Ok... First off, chill the fuck out. I wasnt bashing you, so relax.
I am building a bike that performs better. From an XS. And yes Id like it to be "cool" too. The fact is that there are a ton of people out there who build bikes just to stroke their own egos. Not happy unless everyones looking at them. SO, they get an old bike, dump a bunch of money into off the shelf parts and a pretty paint job and declare themselves the coolest fucking kid in school.
Doesnt matter that the bike doesnt handle for shit, has half assed brakes, runs poorly, and is a general mess. Nope, all that matters is that they spent a fucking fortune on making it look like every other bike on Pipeburn/BikeEXIF/etc. so everyone on the internet will digitally blow them.
Build whatever you want, but at least try to (which you say youre doing, awesome) build the bike with something other than "fuck ya bro, this will look sweet" in mind. Or dont. I dont care. Apparently this is no longer a forum primarily for people interested in turning vintage motorcycles into performance (as much as they can be) machines first, and good looking ones second.
My mistake.
Oh, and for the record Im attracted to the vintage bikes I am because they are a challenge. Its not simple (at times) to make a 40 year old commuter bike perform really well outside of the realm of what it was designed for. I like these bikes because the other people who love these things are the best people Ive ever met. I like these bikes because they constantly challenge me to learn more and grow my skills. I like these bikes becasue they arent plastic lumps of soulless modern design.
Sorry if thats wrong. Eh, no Im not...
Not entirely sure why youre throwing such a fit about my opinions... If I personally offended your delicate sensibilities, you need to toughen up man. Id hate to see what happens if someone really gave YOU a hard time personally.
JustinLonghorn
No Purple Hearts, No Blue Ribbons
I like motorcycles.
I ride old 1970's bikes because they're what I can afford, or at least that's how it started.
Even with all the silly money I've poured into my XS650, it's still $1000's less than buying a decent 'new' bike. That has allowed me to expand my collection and hobby to include 4 other bikes.
Sure I could sell the lot, buy a $12,000 BMW F800R and flog the crap out of it, watch it depreciate daily, worry about it getting stolen and never have to turn a wrench on it, but what fun would that be?
All this debate over what makes or doesn't make a 'cafe racer' is kinda pointless. The entire, and I mean entire point of what most of us do is to get 2 wheels on the road, enjoy some riding time, do what work we can ourselves, personalize the bike to our tastes, learn a ton while we do it and meet good people. If you prefer stock footpegs and controls combined with clipons, a stretched tank, lowered riding position etc. then that's 100% totally cool with me.
If you're concerned about the opinions of others and what they think about you and your bike, then deal with that issue first.
Think the guy who built this gave a rat's ass what anyone else on the planet thought about his choice of riding position, components, style, or anything else? Highly unlikely, and that's what makes it one of the coolest bikes on the planet. That's what makes all of our bikes drool-worthy - the "I don't give a fuck what you think about me or my bike" factor.
Yes we're all slaves to fashion in one way or another, we all succumb to trends from time to time and we build on ideas and styles from previous generations. Unless you have decades of experience, decisions you make will always be in someway guided by form over function, until you gain the experience of 'function' and learn what works and what doesn't work for you and your situation. Nothing wrong with that.
Don't let anyone ever tell you your bike isn't a 'insert meaningless descriptor here' because it has or doesn't have one thing or another bolted to it.
Even with all the silly money I've poured into my XS650, it's still $1000's less than buying a decent 'new' bike. That has allowed me to expand my collection and hobby to include 4 other bikes.
Sure I could sell the lot, buy a $12,000 BMW F800R and flog the crap out of it, watch it depreciate daily, worry about it getting stolen and never have to turn a wrench on it, but what fun would that be?
All this debate over what makes or doesn't make a 'cafe racer' is kinda pointless. The entire, and I mean entire point of what most of us do is to get 2 wheels on the road, enjoy some riding time, do what work we can ourselves, personalize the bike to our tastes, learn a ton while we do it and meet good people. If you prefer stock footpegs and controls combined with clipons, a stretched tank, lowered riding position etc. then that's 100% totally cool with me.
If you're concerned about the opinions of others and what they think about you and your bike, then deal with that issue first.
Think the guy who built this gave a rat's ass what anyone else on the planet thought about his choice of riding position, components, style, or anything else? Highly unlikely, and that's what makes it one of the coolest bikes on the planet. That's what makes all of our bikes drool-worthy - the "I don't give a fuck what you think about me or my bike" factor.
Yes we're all slaves to fashion in one way or another, we all succumb to trends from time to time and we build on ideas and styles from previous generations. Unless you have decades of experience, decisions you make will always be in someway guided by form over function, until you gain the experience of 'function' and learn what works and what doesn't work for you and your situation. Nothing wrong with that.
Don't let anyone ever tell you your bike isn't a 'insert meaningless descriptor here' because it has or doesn't have one thing or another bolted to it.
Attachments
axeugene27
Over 1,000 Posts
yeah i like motorcyles too. And rear sets.
Hoofhearted said:
This, this, and this again.
The 360 in the build thread in my signature line is my first bike. I sort of fell into it and I was honestly pleased when I found out they had a bit of a reputation of being inferior to other offerings of the day and age. The reason being is that most people's definition of "inferior" is my definition of "potential".
I'm not gonna say it's about the look, but the look comes from doing things for performance reasons. You need to understand the reasons why things are/were modified and I can tell you right now, "Because it looks cool", isn't going to be on the list.
axeugene27
Over 1,000 Posts
I've been lusting after those loaded gun rear sets on dcc for a while but not sure about the quality anybody use them? Those joker ones look really nice man. I think they are a bit pricey but anything cheaper seems to be a more basic design.
hillsy said:Teazer - the latest trend to turn anything into a cafe racer by throwing on some clubmans and cutting off half the sub-frame is simply due to cafe racers being the latest flavour of the month. I've seen it with streetfighters a couple of years ago and like what happened then this fad will pass and the bandwagon douchebags will find something else to ruin.
The only problem is that the stock of unmolested donor bikes is being depleted along the way :
The question was rhetorical, but thanks for the answer. It probably needed to be spelled out again.
Cheers M8
BTW, managed to find VB in China recently. That was a surprise.
Sonreir said:I have a friend turning out some rearsets. He designed them himself and he's having a local machinist make them. They're adjustable for every 20° or something like that. Price is $130 + shipping and I can put you in contact with him, if you'd like.
Absolute bargain - similar items from Tarozzi are around $200.
Used rocket part every time i dont like universals they cost twenty bucks to make and they sell for 100 plus and then you still end up cutting and welding seems like a waste of money. Why use one solid part besigned by a motorcycle company when four cnc genaric parts can be bolted together and do the job half as well haha o yea and all thread for linkage makes them extra shitty. gsxr is my wepon of choice.
Mr.E
Got to keep the loonies on the path...
beachcomber said:
Its a joke man! Carpy is a brit who's been in California for white a few years turning cb750s into cafes. His style is a tad gaudy as far as style of paint and such but I gotta say, he's been at it a lot longer than most of us and he knows how to build a bike from the inside out. And he's helpful on the phone too. He was doing cafe way before cafe was cool in america.
