I like this one:

 

heres joe knapps build

 

somemore...

 

I love the dual carb set up on this one and where'd the exhaust go?

And you gotta love a sporty in a Norton featherbed frame (Nortster?)

 

The duel carb engine is a XR1000 engine and the exhaust are on the other side of the heads, opposite from the carbs.

 

call me ignint' but what exactly constitutes a "cafe racer"?

first time i ever came across the term was on this forum and it seems to be popping up more frequently...

i can obviously see a certain style associated with the bikes pictured as cafe racers but is it the seat style? tank? exhaust? bar setup?

just curious is all, forgive me for being green

aloha,
toastman

 

The phrase “Café Racer” originated back in the 1960s in England and referred to both the customized motorcycles that were ridden by the Rock and Roll and Rock-a-Billy music loving “Rocker” crowd and to the riders themselves. The idea was to produce a motorcycle that could go “Ton up”, that is, go 100 MPH and still to be able to handle as well as possible. The Ace Café in London was just one of the gathering places for the “Rocker” counter-culture crowd. The idea was to play a record on the Jukebox, run and start up your bike and race to a predetermined point and then race back to the Café, all before the record that you picked to play had finished playing. Hence the name Café Racer! As for the configuration of the bikes, since this was part of a counter-culture crowd, the stock, anyone can have one of those, they all look the same, cookie cutter production motorcycles of the day did not appeal to the typical “Rocker” so they used whatever they had laying around, just as the Chopper Jockey of today will do. The Norton Feather Bed Frame had a reputation of being a great handling frame in its day. To this frame you would attach a Triumph 750 Bonneville engine, creating what was called a Triton. If you had the money, you might attach a Vincent engine to the Norton frame and create a Vinton. You get the idea. The Fairing was used to help streamline the airflow and the clip-on bars and the Clubman bars were short bars to help the rider stay tucked in behind the Fairing and out of the air flow and because your were stretched out over the tank, leaning forward, the use of rear set foot pegs and controls helped make that riding position more comfortable. The long stretched out tanks held much more fuel than the stock tanks did and again helped to make the motorcycle a more personal statement and reflection of the rider/owner and it also aligned the bikes with the GP racing circuit which was a big influence of the day as well. So, in this case, form followed function. I hope that this information helps to answer your questions. Take care and ride safe out there

 

holy detailed answer batman!

thanks xlcr, i really appreciate the information.

don't feel quite as left in the dark now

aloha,
toastman

 

I love the look of Cafe's. Its not an HD but here's the project bike I picked up this summer. Something cool and cheap.

 

I have to say I did not like the looks of hardley any of the pix posted, but I love the bike in the wheelie pic and that guy was rockin it out cig in mouth and all LOL! I'm not ******* anyone's work or style, but I like more of the chopped bar hopper bikes myself.