Café Revolution Volume 1, Issue 1
April 2011
US $6.00
www.caferev.com
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Nothing but the Best Inside Dime City Cycles
Builder Spotlight: Café Passion 6
Is in his blood.
4 PLUS: 2011 Events Guide
with Life with Speed with Passion
www.triumphmotorcycles.com
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In this issue
Cafe revolution
4
Events Guide
5
Letter from the Editor
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Builder Spotlight
April 2011
Find out about Cafe Racer events going on around the United States.
Find inspiration for a life full of adventure.
A Sarasota builder blends a Yamaha, a Ducati and a lot of creativity to build his passion.
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Feature Story Dime City Cycles Drop in on Dime City Cycles in Clearwater to find out how they’re taking what they love and turning it into a second career.
On the Front Cover: Dime City Cycles, Clearwater, FL. Photo courtesy: AJai Hilton
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Events Guide Illinois
Washington State
Rockers Reunion Motorcycle & Scooter Rally
Cafe Racer Crafts and Curiosities Show
ACE Motorcycle & Scooter, 1042 W. Jackson Blvd, 60607
Every 3rd Saturday from 2-7 pm at Cafe Racer
Saturday May 7th, 2011
5828 Roosevelt Way Seattle on the corner of Ravenna and Roosevelt just south of the Trading Musician
All are welcome! Rockers Reunion Motorcycle & Scooter Rally Vintage Motorcycle & Scooter Show Admission is FREE 1pm - 5pm Motorcycle Show Entree Fee $10. This is if you want to enter your bike in the self judged show. Bring your bike, your friends, and your family! Live Rockabilly by: Three Blue Teardrops BBQ provided by Ace / Beer By Ton Up
Come buy jewelry, handbags, felt toys, prints, buttons, curiosities, etc! This is not your typical pink and wicker craft show. Have some brunch, a beer or some coffee while you shop! 5828 Roosevelt Way, Seattle, WA 98105 For more information contact: caferacercrafts@gmail.com Wisconsin The Slimey Crud CafĂŠ Racer Run Southern Wisconsin on 1st Sunday in May and October at 10 a.m.
Michigan
For more information contact: http://www.slimeycrudrun. com/when/
Grattan Raceway Park
Road America Vintage Motorcycle Classic
Grattan, MI
Elkhart, Lake WI
June 18-19
June 11-12
North Carolina
For more information contact: http://www.ahrma. org/Z-2011/Forms/11_RR_School_4_3_11_R1.pdf
Heavy Rebel Weekender, July 1st to 3rd The Millennium Center, 101w. 5th St. Winston-Salem, NC For more information go to: http://www.heavyrebel.net/ Virginia Virginia International Raceway August 12-14 Alton, VA For more information go to: http://www.ahrma.org/Z-2011/ Forms/11_RR_School_4_3_11_R1.pdf
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To have your event listed, send us an email with all event information included to : www.caferev@netscape.net
Cafe revolution
Letter from the Editor Dear Reader,
Editor AJai Hilton
As motorcycle enthusiasts all over the world know, riding is all about freedom, adventure and a strong need for evolution and revolution. And that need is especially strong in the Cafe world.
Columnist AJai Hilton Publisher AJai Hilton
Advertising and Marketing AJai Hilton
Photographers Alana Bilotti John Campbell AJai Hilton
Graphic Design and Layout AJai Hilton
Two-Wheels, One Brain Publising, Inc.
Inside, you’ll find stories of people who weren’t content with the normal day-today grind. You’ll meet Jason Michaels, who along with Herm Narcisso opened Dime City Cycles in Clearwater, FL. Michaels has a unique perspective on Cafe culture that is both thoughtful and insighful. He’s also a really nice guy. You’ll also meet Brandon Nieuwkoop. He’s a transplanted New Englander living the life in Sarasota, FL. Just few words from him and you’ll know what passion really is. Thanks to Nieuwkoop, this year’s Thunder By the Bay included, for the first time, a class just for Cafe Racers. Now that’s change! And so, in this, the first issue of Cafe Revolution, I hope you’ll be inspired by the stories you’ll find here. Let them be your guide to build, create and rebuild in your own life, whatever makes your spirit feel free. So grab your favorite drink, sit back, put your feet up and get inspired to start your own revolution.
AJai Hilton, President and CEO
Rev It Up! Published by: Two-Wheels, One Brain Publishing
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Builder Sarasota bike builder bringing back “Hooligan� style with a passion. By AJai Hilton
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Spotlight
Left: Builder Brandon Nieuwkoop with his newest build, “My Girl.” Top photo: Nieuwkoop in his Sarasota garage.
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A
fter just a few minutes of talking to Brandon Nieuwkoop, you’ll sense instantly that this is a person who knows what he likes. “I moved to Florida because of motorcycles,” he says. Nieuwkoop (pronounced new-coop), who’s from New England, talks with pride about the time he decided he had enough of the cold New England winters and wanted to live in a place where he could ride his motorcycle year-round. “Living in New England, we only had two or three months riding time and the rest of the year was crap,” he laughs. “I lived up there for years in the mountains and the snow but I still wanted to do this (ride motorcycles). This is what my passion was. So I packed it all up, loaded it all up and moved down here … no job, nowhere to work, nowhere to live,” he says. “I took a U-Haul trailer and I found a place the next day in Venice … a little trailer with my dog.” “I wanted to be somewhere warm. I found a job the next few weeks and I was working in electronics for 25 years now -
Nieuwkoop spends quality time in his Sarasota garage working his latest build.
making good money too.” But something changed and Brandon decided making money wasn’t enough. That’s when he decided to work on bikes. “All the motorcycle mechanics I was working with would say, ‘How much did you make an hour? What’s the matter with you? Why do you want to work on bikes and make crap money when
you could be in the electronics industry making what you made?’ I said because this is what I desire.” Though his co-workers questioned his sanity, he says doing what he loves is more valuable to him than money. “I want to go to work every day. If I’m going to go to do something every day and enjoy it … then this is what I enjoy.” Standing in his garage next a hand-
Brandon works to make adjustments to his motorcycle. He says he spent more than 12 hours fabricating the bike’s cowl and tail piece. 8
Nieuwkoop’s creation “My Girl” up close.
Nieuwkoop works on his bike in his Sarasota garage. He combined parts from a Yamaha and a Ducati in his build. Right photo: A front view of the left fork, gas tank and engine.
built, yellow Café Racer, Nieuwkoop is really at ease. He says he has lots of names for his new creation but on a good day he calls her, “My Girl.” “This is a moped on steroids,” he laughs. Brandon says it took about 12 hours alone to fabricate the tailpiece. “Everything is pretty much from the ground up on this because of the age, even all the way down to the wiring,” he says. “This cowl is actually off of a Ducati and I fabricated that and mounted that. All hand fabrication with the bottom plate … all hand fabricated metal.” He calls the garage his sanctuary and from the look of it he’s telling the truth. A comfy-looking Florida style loveseat sits near the back facing a 28” television. A large Texas flag hangs vertically on the wall. The room is peppered with things that all seem to say this is Brandon’s place; a dart board, fishing poles, and a bright yellow motorcycle helmet. In the front part sits his other baby, a 2-stroke ride-on lawn mower. In the driveway sits a boat he’s also been working on. His parents came to America from The Netherlands. On the back wall of his garage, hang two old, black and white photos of his grandparents sitting on an
old, pre-World War II Café Racer. “See? This is in his DNA,” Brandon’s stepdad, Vince Vasconcellas says. Vasconcellas goes on to tell the story of Brandon’s grandfather. “He died during WWII in Rotterdam
“I just like the style. My body contours with the bike.”
where his family is from,” Vasconcellas said. “He died when the Germans were shelling the city. He worked for the Ford motor company and they needed to move a vehicle to a safer area and his grandfather volunteered.” As he was moving the vehicle, a mortar shell struck and killed him. “Just like that,” Vasconcellas said. Vasconcellas says his son’s passion for just about anything with a motor didn’t come without some concern from his family. “I raised this man,” he laughs. He says Brandon’s medical record could rival Evel Knievel’s in a lot of ways. He’s broken his back once. “He was riding a snowmobile that time,” Vince said. Nieukoop also has two torn rotator cups, bone spurs, has pulled both arms out of their sockets and torn his shoulders. But don’t get the wrong idea. He wasn’t doing stunts, he was just follow-
ing a passion. The 45-year-old mechanic says he’s not going to let anything stop him for doing the things he loves. “I’m not going to stop riding because I’m getting old … I know I’m getting old. That’s life.” “I’m bringing back the Café Racer. In Europe, they were called Hooligans. They all rode Café Racers and they all wore black leather jackets,” he says. “I just like the style. I like the way it feels. My body contours with the bike. When I get out on it, it’s a peace of mind. You start to feel one with the bike. You clear your mind while you ride.” ”It’s such an enjoyment and fulfillment.”
Nieuwkoop enjoys a cold drink while working on his bike. 9
Deus Ex Machina
I
(god out of the machine)
By AJai Hilton
magine for just a moment, you atop a classic machine that fills the air with a unique exhaust note. The throttle is cracked wide open and the air pushes against your body. You and your motorcycle dive into a sweeper, you
hit your mark dead on and as you approach the apex. You open the throttle just a touch more. The front end of the motorcycle becomes a little lighter as it puts power down to the road. There is a rush that goes over your body as you exit the turn and hit the straight. Now you’ve experienced CafÊ Racer style. 10
“
We never really fit into any one of the other motorcycle segments. We’re not chopper guys, we’re not Harley guys ... We’re unique.
”
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“I just like the style. I like the way it feels. My body contours with the bike, “Brandon Nieuwkoop, a Sarasota motorcycle builder and mechanic. He is one of a handful of folks in Southwest Florida who are members of a growing movement to bring back this classic bike. The history of the Café Racer in many ways parallels the history of America; born out of rebellion and the need for freedom but with its roots firmly planted in the United Kingdom. The style itself was started in London shortly after World War II. “The Café bike and the entire history and the movement behind it were guys that just wanted to ride fast and have a good time and it was none of this bureaucracy and bullshit you know. It was all about the man and the machine,” said Jason Michaels, co-owner of Dime City Cycles in Clearwater. By day Michaels and business partner Herm Narcisso, are mildmannered, suit-and-tie, information technology guys. By evening however,
the suits are exchanged for jeans and t-shirts and the tie becomes a bandana. The two opened Dime City Cycles to help do-it-yourself Café builders realize their dreams of restoring vintage Cafés on a budget. They also built their own bike from the ground up. Michaels and Narcisso were recently featured on HD Theater’s Café Racer TV. The show followed the build and eventual unveiling of their two-wheeled creation called, “The Brass Café”. “We don’t like to spend a lot of money on stuff. We like to keep things practical so that you can enjoy
Top photo: A Dime City Cycles sign hangs on the back wall of the garage. Middle photo: close up of Dime City logo as it appears on custom cycles. Bottom left: Jason Michaels attends Quaker Steak and Lube bike show in Pinellas Park. Bottom right: Close up of finished custom bike. 12
Top photo: Michaels works on a bobber at the Dime City garage. Above: Another view of the bobber.
it more and do more with it. You build a 90 thousand dollar motorcycle and you’re scared to even take it outside and what’s the point in that? Michaels asks. “I mean if you’re going to build a motorcycle you should be able to ride it every day.” Unlike other styles the Café is easily recognizable with its aggressive stance, sleek trim and powerful engine that’s
been modified to be ready to take to the "ton" (100 miles-per-hour). It has low-lying handlebars with a gas tank that stretches out in front the seat creating a long, linear line. But the bike’s looks are one thing; the culture that goes along with it is something else. The 1950s and 60s saw the heyday of traditional Café popularity but by the 70s the style began to evolve with the introduction of Japanese born bikes called “Streetfighters.” However, classic Café Racers are experiencing a resurgence of their former glory. It’s this type of growing passion that’s helping to bring about the genesis of the Café style. Michaels says having a Café is as much about a person’s personality as the clothes they wear or the car they drive. “We never really fit into any one of the other motorcycle segments. We’re not chopper guys, we’re not Harley guys¸ we’re not touring guys,
we’re not big BMW Enduro guys and Café’s are kind of like us,” Michaels said. “We like to think of ourselves as different. We’re unique,” Michaels said. “It’s a very visceral relationship when you’re flying down the road at 110 miles an hour on a 35-year-old motorcycle. It shakes your soul.”
One of Dime City’s custom builds nears completion inside the garage.
For more information about Dime City Cycles go to: www.dimecitycycles.com. Freelance writer John Campbell contributed to this story. 13
The road is ready. Are you? www.ducati.com 14
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