Past 10 days , relocate speedo, make seat base, make aluminum rear fender, install tail light, paint fenders,seat base and fuse cover, building a cafe is fun.

 

^^^This^^^

Except I do like chopping and fabbing and making it your own.

 

To the OP, are you going with bobber or cafe.
Bobber is a less cost build.

 

So I have decided a direction. I found a fairing/body kit from Airtech. I am leaning towards the HARLEY XR750 TT ROAD RACER clone. Roughly$1200 for the tank, fairing and seat pan. Need to get some other parts together as well. Shocks and clip on or clubman bars and an exhaust. Any thoughts?

 

Cafe reminds me too much of a race bike and I'm a putter. A bobber is ok but not when riding down wet roads or through puddles. I would rather have the bike mainly stock as far as body style and just cruise around (putter around).

 

Great news - that is after all where the cafe racer was born - based on racers! Looking forward to seeing how your project works out. This photo was taken yesterday Saturday at a local classic vehicles meeting, a Manx Norton straight from the era of the cafe racers, with a BSA Gold Star in the background:

 

And from the same era, your very own expat Lance Weil, who raced here in the UK for several years:



These days I would recommend a 2-into-1 exhaust such as a SuperTrapp, which is tunable for both sound and performance.

 

Cafe Racer , for the most part were just standard bikes, at the time BSA, Triumph, Norton etc, to me getting a cafe racer correct is to recreate the line of the bikes as they were then (flat seat line, rake, wheel size, slim tires, FENDERS, etc), most guys could not afford race bike inspired parts, but the ones that could got the aluminum tank and rear sets and cowl seat, most guys went with Clubman or Clip-on bars and played with carb settings, keeping the stock seat (flat seat at the time).
So, again, for me it's about getting the line of the bike as per the period, so many I see look to me nothing more than a bobber with a cowl seat (no fenders, hunched up in the middle etc).

Anyway, exhaust, I just installed the Bassani 2 into 1, as far as this type of exhaust go the price is O.K. ($580), also made some mods to some Girling shocks and put them on.

 

That's why I have my street glide. Just looking to do something different.

 

Off to a great start. There's tons of cafe parts out there and a sportster is a great base I have an 883 R and HD should have evolved it. So its up to you to carry the tradition.


Gets some twin discs up front, look to Triumph Thruxton's for styling cues