Too slow for Cafe ? Choosing a first cafe converson bike. (beginner question)

[crazypj]

Nothing changes. 8)
We NEVER raced. (it's not legal on public roads in Britain : )
We always said 'keep speeds down, it legal for at least a couple of miles', then, when we got going, someone would 'take off' and everyone would try to catch them ;D
Things could get 'quite interesting' with 15~20 bikes

 

[KrashManhatten]

Build whatever you like. Don't worry about the rest. For all the "performance" talk surrounding cafe's...few of them are actually fast by any sort of current standard. Cafe's were originally about building a faster bike. Today's cafe's are about building a cool looking retro bike. If performance was the primary goal, you'd just buy a sport bike and be done with it.

totally agree with this guy, some cafes are fast, but if instant speed is what you want, get a modern sport bike.

 

[teazer]

Beachcomber,

That's not to say that no one rode a little faster than they should, but the myth of life on the line racing between caffs and oil spewing out were mainly myths. Sure a lot of old bikes dripped the odd spot to mark their territory, but they didn't usually spray the guy behind with oil.

But back to today's cafe racers. Most of them would not reach 100 and many that would, would not be safe. To most cafe riders today, speed is not part of the equation. The look of speed is, but actually riding flat out is not so much what it's about.