Sort of want...

http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/20 ... racer.html





It's just a concept bike but it's pretty well designed. Much better than some of the stuff I've seen out of India. I wonder who designed it.

A brand new frame which should be pretty nice. They could sell the shit out of them.

+1 on the sortawant. When I first saw the "NEW" RE's I thought hey an old bike modernized but not changed. It still looks old with modern convienence. ES and EFI

I don't know if the relatively low power output is commensurate with the pricetag relative to, say, a basic Thruxton...

Its a secret plot , by the Chiropractors , to increase Buisness . :lol:

swooshdave said:

http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/2012/01/royal-enfield-cafe-racer.html

It's just a concept bike but it's pretty well designed. Much better than some of the stuff I've seen out of India. I wonder who designed it.

A brand new frame which should be pretty nice. They could sell the shit out of them.

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barring a miracle in indian enfield quality control (should it actually reach production), your better off getting a new retro triumph or even a meridan one and doing all the typical upgrades

your better off getting a new retro triumph or even a meridan one and doing all the typical upgrades

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Got one of those and would rather lose an arm than the Thrux.



+1 to Dave on the post.

Always room for another cafe' bike.

remember low bars and rear sets do not a cafe make!

remember low bars and rear sets do not a cafe make!

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Can I get an amen to that please?

Amen !! I recently stumbled across the Ryca cafe kit which takes a Suzuki 650 Savage / S-40 Boulevard (depending on the year) and turns it from a single cylinder chopper looking cruiser into a cafe looking little ride. It's interesting , however reality sets in and I realize my 200lb butt is gonna kill it's performance, but it's still an eye catcher, like the Enfield.

Sub- 30 HP.

No thanx.

mikegray660 said:

remember low bars and rear sets do not a cafe make!

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Oh, and what is your definition?

Oh, and what is your definition?

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To me, it's a lifestyle. It's as much or more about the person/builder/rider as it is about the bike. It's about making the most out of what you have.

Just my humble opinion...

Only God can make a tree.

Anyone can make a cafe racer.

The last two posts make my head hurt.

A cafe racer styled bike is just that. Something that emulates the cafe racer bikes of yore. There are many interpretations of that but the general theme is well known.

And that, my friend with the hurting head, is what makes them/us all unique.

I suppose there could technically be only TWO types of cafe racers:

1. Bikes that were built in the 50s and 60s that were specifically raced to and from roadside cafes,

and

2. Bikes that are cafe styled and have actually raced to or from a cafe.

There, if you want to get all technical.

Otherwise, anything goes; as in tires & oil.

If its not English base made then all the other brands are WANNABE's! IMHO

Foxy

Foxy said:

If its not English base made then all the other brands are WANNABE's! IMHOFoxy

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Funny, there is a photo taken of the 59 club taken around 61' and one of the bikes in front is a Honda Hawk.

Also, in that same photo, which has been widely distributed and printed in various books etc. covering the cafe phenomenon, all the two dozen or so bikes in it are in standard or near-standard trim.

This can only mean that the term "Cafe Racer" has nothing to do with type and style of motorcycle at all and everything to do with what some people do with motorcycles.

A Cafe Racer is a person, no matter what they ride, who rides for fun and sport between cafes and other meeting places for like-minded riders.

True, there were some classic Tritons and ex-road-race bikes here and there in use in the 1950's, but they were a rare exception and not the rule at all.



The Ace Cafe around 1962, notice all bikes are in fairly standard trim...



The Classic era for the Cafe phenomenon was also the classic era for British bikes, 1963 and earlier. Once BSA and Triumph adopted unit-construction, the factory singles racers were gone and the original Norton works was shut down the bikes and industry lost a lot of soul.

Also after 1963 instead of building a cafe bike with ingenuity, a hacksaw and maybe some cast-off genuine racing parts, a "builder" could simply go to Dunstall, Dresda or Tickle and buy the parts to bolt one together in not buy a complete bike ready to go. Quite a bit different than earlier.

The Neo-Cafe look, where everyone strives to make their bike look like a Manx Norton with polished alloy tanks to me is ridiculous and has no credibility and no history before the 1980's when British bikes became collector's items and commodities.

The most historically correct cafe bike is going to be a 1963 or earlier European bike in near factory trim with maybe the additions of some type of low handlebars and modified footrests and exhaust. If there is an authentic cafe bike with the look of a road racer, then it is actually made with parts from an obsolete, crashed or parted out period road-race bike, not some stuff someone purposely manufactured and labeled as "cafe".

Well, there you have it, the whole truth backed up by two, count them, two pictures... I'm flabbergasted :roll:

Jean

Jeandr said:

Well, there you have it, the whole truth backed up by two, count them, two pictures... I'm flabbergasted :roll:

Jean

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Don’t know why your flabber is gasted :?

As for a lot of the British Movies at the time that had motorcycle scenes with the ubiquitous :!: :!:
café racer in it, it was the exception rather than the rule.
Most of the teenage kids in the 50s &60s were on low paid wages and could only just afford a cheap secondhand bike and the expense of keeping it on the road.