Café Racer Magazine | Issue 56 by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc.

IN THIS ISSUE: NORTON COMMANDO BUILD • HONDA CX500 PROJECT • SEAL BEACH SHOW

APRIL/MAY 2018 • Issue 56

U.S. $6.99 CANADA $7.99

www.caferacermag.com

SUZUKI SAVAGE GOES TON UP GREG HAGEMAN TAKES ON YAMAHA’S 920 BOLT TRIUMPH BOBBER CUSTOM

C ONTENTS Café Racer Magazine APRIL/MAY 2018 • Issue #56

www.caferacermag.com Brought to You by The Following Contributors and Their Doppleganger Classic Hollywood Film Stars Mike Seate, Editor and Publisher: Ossie Davis

On the Cover: Chief shooter Simon Everett points his all-seeing lens at a rare and unusual bike: a fully customized Suzuki Savage cruiser turned into a modern ton-up classic. Find out how this unlikely low-buck commuter became a sleek road-burner on page 40.

Kim Love, Managing Editor: Barbara Stanwyck Blake Kelly, Editor at Large: Chuck Connors Matt Wiley, Tech Editor: George Kennedy Simon Everett, Chief Photographer: Oliver Reed Linda Wilsmore, London Desk: Greer Garson Contributors Working As Underpaid Extras Aaron Seate Brett Smith Erik Runyon Tim Morrowfield J. Ken Conte Alex Martino DeMarcus Elliott Blair Powell Nick Coumos Paul D. Stanstead

FEATURES Nuts and Bolts 32 Greg Hageman’s Yamaha Scramblers

Outliers Guild Show 58 L.A’s Newest Indoor Gathering

What’s in a Name 40 Suzuki Savage Goes Ton-Up

Ten Years of Cafe Racer Magazine 74 A Look Back – and Forward

Must-Ride Bikes 48 Ducati’s Sport Classic

Capetown Custom Bobber 78 From South Africa to Chi-town

Cindy Segrest, Graphic Design: Vivien Leigh

From Steel to Gold 50 Dazzling Honda 400 Four

New Harley Sportsters 84 XL Makeovers for 2018

Advertising Sales adsales@caferacermag.com or (412) 463-5559

COLUMNS

Though in each and every issue we print a reminder asking that readers refrain from phoning our advertising department with questions about matters other than, well, advertising, the calls continue to roll in. To clarify matters, please consider the following: our advertising representatives do not work in the same state, town or zip code as the editorial staff and are therefore unable to address calls about which tires to use next summer, why we don’t stock XXXL T-shirts or to take your credit card numbers for phone orders, which we do not offer anyway. If you need to contact us, please e-mail rockersrule@caferacermag.com for editorial concerns; subs@caferacermag.com for missing or damaged issues and changes of addresses, and talk to Hal, the lonely guy down at the end of the bar, near the unplugged jukebox, if you just want to chat. Cafe Racer Magazine is published every sixty days from the bucolic village of Sewickley, Pennsylvania. This, being our 10th Anniversary issue, leaves us, like Narcissus, in a deeply reflective mood. A decade in this crazy, unpredictable but ultimately satisfying field of journalistic endeavor finds us with some clear impressions, among them: motorcycles may not be popular anymore, but they’re still the most fun you can have this side of a roller-coaster with street tires; despite the long hours, crappy pay and rare days off, working in a field you love is the ultimate revenge; and lastly, when we are very old people, fully expect us to be the overbearing old farts at the pub telling the disinterested youngsters that we, for a time, managed to make a living riding fast and tearing up perfectly fine motorcycles with hacksaws just for the hell of it. Thanks for your support and roll on ten more years!

On Instagram? Follow editor Mike Seate @mikeseate and the members of our team as they fettle custom bike projects, preview upcoming feature stories, weigh in on the latest trends in retro streetbikes and generally offer updates on this, the print edition. Follow Kim Love @love2ride650.

Open Mike 4 A Dizzying Decade

Random Ramblings 6 Have Some Faith!

Street Scene 98 A Market for Bargain Builds

REGULAR SECTIONS

Road Scholars 86 Practical Riding Tips

Legacy 8 60 Years of Hagon Shocks

Stylin’ 88 Biker Movies Revised

Paddock 12 Custom Bike News and Views

CR Tech 90 Garage Wisdom

Curbside Customs 16 Readers’ Rides

Honda CX500 Build 91 Blair Powell’s Brake Upgrades

Top Gear 20 New Products

Honda CB450 92 Race-Ing Ahead

Destinations 24 Seal Beach Bike Show

1967 Norton Atlas 93 Long Island Barn Find Gets New Wheels

Custom Scene 26 Introducing Motoauct,com

2016 Triumph Thruxton 94 Preparing for the Paint Booth

The Market 28 Kawasaki Triples Rising

Nick’s Norton 95 Coumos’ Commando

Scrapbook 66 A Day at the Races

Workshop Files 96 Tech Conundrums Solved

Open Mike

Our First Dizzying Decade By Editor and Publisher Mike Seate

he magazine business is a hectic one and in addition to the occasional deadline, other important calendar dates can sneak up on us just like an unmarked patrol car in the fast lane. So when one of our contributing writers called to ask what our plans were for celebrating Café Racer’s tenth year in business, the idea took me by surprise. When busy juggling story ideas, editing duties and payroll issues, a publisher doesn’t often have the opportunity to reflect. However, publishing a custom motorcycle magazine for ten years is no small feat in today’s fragmented mediasphere, and it would be bogus to deny that the accomplishment feels, well, bloody awesome.

Café Racer’s tenth birthday falls at a chaotic time for the motorcycle magazine industry; some of the genre’s longest-standing titles are beginning to disappear into cyberspace while the selection of twowheeled printed matter at your local newsstand and bookstore seems to shrink on a monthly basis. Given the country’s obsession with smartphones and the Internet in general, that’s perhaps an inevitable development, but it’s deeply satisfying to know that you, our readers, have helped this publication to buck the prevailing trend. Pausing to look back on the first ten years – a total of 58 issues, all counted – it’s amazing to recall some of the developments that even Nostradamus armed with a polished alloy crystal ball couldn’t have seen coming. For instance, back then, who would have believed we’d still be in business ten years hence? We had no industry experts on staff when Managing Editor Kim Love and I dreamt up this title during a beer-fueled front porch meeting. We simply saw a gaping hole in the motorcycle magazine market and set out to fill it. To have persevered, making our way into Wal-Mart stores, selling out many issues and continuing to grow is testament to how much you, our readers dig what we’ve been putting down. Who knew the custom motorcycle world, dominated by overwrought, nearly un-rideable choppers in 2008, would give way to today’s multifaceted, youth-driven custom scene? Back then, TV air-

www.caferacermag.com

waves were chock-a-block with shows heralding the creation of stretched, rigid frame custom V-Twins, as were the magazines and parts aftermarket. The Great Recession put paid to that trend, and from the ensuing economic insecurity came today’s custom market, a place where emphasis is placed more on craftsmanship and creativity than on dollar signs. The domestic motorcycle market has never recovered to the pre-Recession sales levels, but used streetbike sales continue to rise year-by-year. In these ten years, who could have predicted that previously disposable 1970s Japanese bikes would become sought-after collector’s items and globally recognized as machines of refinement, pedigree and beauty? At the moment, we’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of Royal Enfield’s new 650cc twins, a pair of promising, cool-looking retros sure to further change the status quo. If someone had told us during our very first editorial meeting that India would become a global leader in the streetbike industry, I don’t think we would have believed them. Back in our founding year, dealership showrooms were quite different places than they are today. Triumph’s air-cooled Bonneville, Harley-Davidson’s Sportster and Enfield’s single-cylinder Bullet were among the small plate of classic-styled machines then on offer. Cruisers and big horsepower sportbikes were the motorcycles of choice, as they had been for decades. Stroll into your local multi-line dealership today, however, and retros are definitely the favored mount of choice for riders both young and not-so-young. Nearly every major twowheeled manufacturer, including Japan’s Big Four, is now churning out motorcycles aimed at the café racer/modern classic/bobber enthusiast, and these aren’t anemic, parts-bin specials, but captivating, high-performance machines that combine timeless styling with fully modern capabilities. In the past ten years, it’s another positive development to see how many youthful riders – the one demographic the experts say have abandoned motorcycling – are embracing the DIY café racer aesthetic. From California’s Lucky Wheels to Atlanta’s Brother Moto, small, collective workshops where everyday riders and fledgling custom builders gather to wrench in a collective and cooperative atmosphere, have actually become commonplace with new garages opening all the time. Looking forward, well, we still haven’t located that polished aluminum crystal ball, but we’re encouraged by all the growth in the custom bike world and hope that Café Racer will still be around for another ten years to bring it all your way. It’s been one hell of a fun ride and the road ahead looks smooth and fast. Thanks for joining us. CR

Random Ramblings

Oh, Ye of Little Faith by Kim Love, Managing Editor

ears ago, on a sunny summer Saturday, my husband and I rode our bikes to Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District to do some shopping. No sooner had we squeezed into a parking spot than a man walked over to us, a man we recognized as Reverend Philip Long, the unorthodox Lutheran minister and social activist who had officiated at our wedding several years before. Phil, as everyone called him (including his wife and his live-in girlfriend; Phil really was unorthodox), was looking at us with the most quizzical expression. A long-time Harley rider and AMA member, Phil made some small talk about motorcycles, but then he cocked his head, the curious expression returning to his face. He said, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. I’m just so surprised that you two are still together.” Ouch. You know you’re a long shot when the guy who married you didn’t think you’ll make it. Now, as we celebrate Café Racer Magazine’s tenth anniversary I can better understand Phil’s reaction. When I talk about, or write about, the debut of this magazine at 2008’s Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio racetrack my official story always highlights how many of you eagerly handed over your cash for a year’s subscription, trusting that we would deliver at least three more of those little quarterly issues. Bless your trusting souls. But truth be told, and this is just between us, during that first weekend far more people questioned our sanity for launching a print magazine at a time when the magazine industry was in steady decline. And when I suggested they purchase a subscription, well, those folks looked at me with very Reverend Long-like dubious expressions, and then either walked away without a word, or said something along the lines of, “Uh, let’s see if you’re here next year.” I hate to admit that there were times when we were less than sure that we would be. But we were. And the next year, and the year after that too. I’m no

www.caferacermag.com

longer surprised as another anniversary rolls around, because it looks like we – and our readers – are in it for the long run. How have we flourished as so many magazines have fallen by the wayside? I’m convinced it’s because our content speaks to our wildly divergent demographic. Join us for our annual Readers’ Ride-In Bike Show and you’ll see bearded hipsters and lovely young tattooed ladies mixing with retirees, even guys who enjoyed café racers the first time around. You’ll see custom bikes worth more than my house parked beside garage-built specials created from little more than a cheap donor bike – and inspiration and ingenuity. And this magazine has to speak to all of the above. So we feature new bike tests, like most other motorcycle magazines. But we also feature great how-to columns and sometimes very corny jokes. And we also build custom bikes in-house. Who does that? We’ve found here’s nothing better for staff morale than when we publish the “reveal” of a bike our staff built. Proud doesn’t even begin to describe it. But sometimes we make costly blunders, bad choices, and we tell you about those, too, so you don’t waste the time and money we did. Occasionally we’re lucky enough to get high ticket parts from our advertisers – free! – but we always tell you what works and what doesn’t. And when we find ways to save you money – think Blair Powell’s at-home powdercoating tips – we share those as well. And let’s not for a minute forget you, our readers. Year after year you build bikes that amaze and inspire us. And like proud parents you share your photos, which fill our Curbside Customs feature each issue. And in August, year after year, rain or shine, you bring those amazing bikes to our tidy little town to help make our annual bike show a roaring – sometimes literally - success. In trying times – as these are for the publishing industry, the motorcycle industry – pessimism is so very easy. It takes effort and energy and enthusiasm to keep working at something you believe in, be it a magazine or a marriage. As we celebrate ten years of Café Racer Magazine my husband and I are also getting shockingly close to our 25th year of marriage. Sad to say Reverend Phil Long is long gone, because I would love to see the expression on his face if he saw us now, still together. Truth be told, and this is just between us, there were times when we were less than sure we would be. CR

Story by Paul D. Stanstead Photos Courtesy Hagon Archive

ike many talented road riders of the post-WWII era, Alf Hagon eventually found his way to the track. As a youthful grasstrack (an English version of U.S. flattrack competition) racer, Hagon switched disciplines during the late 1950s and took up the balls-out challenge of speedway racing, then Great Britain’s most popular twowheeled motorsport. Riding on the oval dirt speedway tracks before huge, passionate crowds proved enough of a buzz to occupy Hagon for 11 years. Riding for top speedway team the Wimbledon Dons, Hagon helped the team claim a National League title in 1955 and ’56, riding J.A.P.- engined 500cc singles with rigid rear suspension and, more unbelievably, no front brakes.

Legacy Hagon Suspension Celebrates 60 Years of Smoothing Your Ride 8

www.caferacermag.com

However, after piloting a Norton International to a 28th Place finish in the Clubman’s Isle of Man TT in 1953 and generating much industry acclaim for his tuning work, Alf’s thirst for ever-quicker velocities eventually led the now 86-year-old to drag (or sprint) racing in 1965. The engineering challenges of competing on British quarter-mile circuits helped to make Hagon both a fierce racer and an intellectually curious, naturally gifted motorcycle designer. Frame construction had long been a passion for the tech-cumracer; working from a small shop he’d first launched in a shed near his rural home in the village of Ilford, Hagon had developed a lightweight, all-aluminum motorcycle chassis that was lighter and stronger than the welded steel frame popular at the time. His belief in what became known as the monocoque chassis led Hagon to design the fast and futuristic Honda single-cylinder roadracer featured here. Today, the Hagon suspension concern is still based in Essex where it produces more than 30,000 rear dampers each year. Modern monoshock designs have prompted the firm to expand its line-up to suit over 1,500 different street and racing bikes. The facility is now run by Alf’s son and multi-discipline motorcycle racer Martin, alongside general manager Tony Hutchison, who paused the production line for a few moments to answer a few questions from CRM. Café Racer Magazine: What prompted Alf Hagon to launch a motorcycle suspension business and in what year? Tony Hutchison: Hagon Products was already a successful dealer for Girling motorcycle suspension for a number of years before Girling decided they wanted to sell off this

arm of their business in 1984. Alf could see this would leave a gap in the market, and acquired the remaining stock, manufacturing machinery and tooling, and with this continued making twin shock units and began marketing them using the Hagon brand name. CRM: How were traditional hydraulic dampers different when Hagon started? Tony: In regards to the single tube twin shock unit, the principle pretty much remains the same today but with modern oils and materials now being utilized. Unlike the units from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s that normally offered spring preload only, we can build replacement shocks that are in keeping in appearance with the older machines, but with additional damping adjustment. This is something that certainly the classic bike and café racers of today can enjoy the benefits of when riding. CRM: What were his initial goals for his products? Tony: Starting out with the simple idea of making his hobby a full time job, the portfolio of parts grew as a direct result of Alf winning on Sunday, selling on Monday. With this growing customer base of people wanting to buy parts, accessories or even complete bikes, his expectations were quickly surpassed from the early ideas of simply providing a few parts to a few people. This continues to this day be it on a larger scale... CRM: For what motorcycles were Hagon shocks first available? Tony: The Girling application range was quite comprehensive at the time, and was continued by Hagon, and would have served customers across a number of different British, Japanese and European makes and models. These original listings have been added on year-by-year with now an impressive 1,500-plus number of applications we can provide

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Legacy replacement suspension for, be it twin shocks, monoshocks or fork springs. CRM: What’s the biggest deficiency with OEM suspension components? Tony: Without a doubt, any motorcycle manufacturer builds their bikes with a showroom sales price in mind and some compromises have to be made to meet this target, suspension sometimes being one of these areas. As riders, we come in all shapes and sizes, with differing ideas of what feel we require from the bike, but with the stock suspension set for an average customer set out by the OEM marketing guys, this is not always suitable for some riders. CRM: What makes for good suspension and does it differ in racing and road applications?

does not fit all. This also applies to suspension. So we build our replacement suspension to suit each customer’s requirements using a range of different damper and spring rates and specifications. So the requirements for, say, a Triumph Bonneville with a 150-pound solo rider wanting to canyon carve on a Sunday morning will differ from a 250-pound rider and a 200pound passenger wanting to tour with additional luggage.

Tony: Depending upon what the bike is being used for, the setup for suspension for street riding can differ greatly than that used for competition. However with all suspension (or tires for that matter) what makes good suspension is that it needs to inspire confidence in yourself and the bike when riding. Yes, you can take all the calculations, equations, measurements, etc. But in a lot of cases, the final judge of your investment will be felt with your backside! If you feel confident, the throttle will stay open longer. So try listening to your backside once in a while.

CRM: How did the monocoque racing frame come about and what are its engineering advantages over traditional tubular steel construction motorcycle chassis?

CRM: In the U.S. market, many riders are heavier than their counterparts around the world. What does Hagon offer to address this? Tony: Next time you’re at a motorcycle gathering, take a look around: not everybody wears the same size T-shirt, so one size

Tony: The concept for making the sheet alloy monocoque frame came about one lunchtime break in the Orient Café (an archetypal British greasy spoon ) opposite the Hagon shop in Leyton in 1974. Over a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich, the furtive mind of Alf Hagon explained the idea as a solution to

achieving a light but strong construction for an MX Sidecar outfit to one of his staff who was competing at the time. After showing the design he had in mind by simply folding a paper napkin to shape, Alf headed back to work to turn his idea into reality. Using different grades/thickness of alloy, the strength and flexibility of the frame could be changed easier than that of a tubular construction at the time. This napkinengineered design went on to win the 1975 European MX Sidecar Championship in the hands of Ton van Heugten and Dick Steenbergen. The same alloy frame principle was also used on a variety of MX solo machines using Suzuki RM125 , Yamaha XT500 and Suzuki SP370 engines with various success. It was only the steady improvement of the major manufacturers’ design and performance that ended the production of Alf’s alloy masterpieces. Resource: www.hagonshocks.com

[LEFT]: Hagon shocks are a top choice for custom bike builders; [RIGHT]: Hagon designed a monocoque chassis for this Honda roadracer that's state-of-the-art. 10

www.caferacermag.com

The Paddock

Custom Motorcycling News and Views

African TT We’ve heard of the fast streetbike phenomenon catching on in some unlikely places, but the annual BT (or Biker’s Trophy) Superbike Race in Urhonigbe, Nigeria is something of a cake-taker. Since 2014, dozens of amateur roadracers from the Motorcycle Sports Club of Nigeria have staged an annual competition on a seven-mile stretch of smooth, two-lane blacktop in the governmentowned area of Edo state, involving everything from 250cc singles to full-bore Hayabusas and the odd KTM Super Duke. The passion and grass roots support for the race has grown so in recent years that a state-of-the-art roadrace course in has been built in Evebobanosa where this year’s event will be held on the last weekend of November. Coverage of the mind-blowing, tire-smoking 2016 event can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4roZv4vzWg.

Cafe Racer Bike Show is On! Bust out those wintertime custom builds and dust off those polishing cloths as the 11th Annual Cafe Racer Magazine Readers’ Ride-In Custom Bike Show is on! This year’s date is Saturday, August 11 at War Memorial Park, Blackburn Road in Sewickley, PA, just 13 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh. Last year’s entries proved the custom world is continuing to evolve and our trophied classes reflect the trend with prizes awarded for: Best British Cafe Racer, Best European/American Cafe Racer, Best Japanese Cafe Racer, Best Street-Tracker/Bobber, Best in Show and People’s Choice Award. There’s no need to leave the park all day as we’ve got plenty of riding gear vendors, aftermarket accessories for sale, a parts and used bike swap meet, tasty food trucks from local restaurants and rockabilly music by CRM’s own greaser DJ, Blair Powell. Check out www.caferacermag.com/blog for more details as the show develops and a sneak peek at some of the machines that will be on display. The fun starts at 10 a.m. sharp.

Bikes on the Boob Tube Since the cancellation of both the Esquire TV cable network and its biker build-off program “Wrench Against The Machine,” two-wheelers are truly scarce on TV. Keen Netflix fans, on the other hand, have a chance to catch some cool classic bike imagery in episodes of heir acclaimed series “The Crown.” The show may chronicle the stodgy goings-on within the Queen of England’s palace, but several episodes in the second season featured a vintage Triumph Trophy being ridden around London by actor Matthew Goode. His sleek, black Britbike is a replica of an actual machine ridden by Lord Snowden, a bike-mad royal who married poncy pillion Princess Margaret. Worth a look for sure.

www.caferacermag.com

AMA Vintage Days Dates The weekend of July 6 through 8 has been announced for this year’s AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. The event has rebranded itself in recent years to a more youth-oriented and far hipper gathering with loads of custom bike displays, the always crazy Wall of Death stunt show, three days of on-road and off-road racing, plus demo rides on new streetbikes and a swap meet that has to be seen to be believed. Bring sunscreen and your wallet (and a truck to carry home that future project bike) at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, in, well, Mid Ohio. Learn more at www.amavintagemotorcycledays.com.

Ducks Up Like BMW, Italy’s Ducati closed the 2017 sales year with some positive numbers, selling a solid 55,871 units worldwide which is a 12 percent increase over the previous year. U.S. buyers took home 8,898 new Ducs last year, a 1.3 percent upswing, while in Europe, where a dedicated riding culture and expensive petrol helps the streetbike market remain steady, Ducati rolled more than 31,000 bikes out of showrooms. The retro-flavored Ducati Scrambler continues to grab the riding public’s attention, selling 14,061 units for the new Desert Sled and Café Racer editions and the firm expects that growth to maintain pace as a new 1100cc Scrambler hits the streets this summer.

Canuck Bike Night

Hogs Recalled

Warm weather means events are accelerating in the custom scene, and up in Canada, cafe racer fans can look forward to twice-monthly gatherings at Hamilton, Ontario’s Steeltown Garage. Owner Jeff Campagna operates the vintage bike garage/coffee shop and lifestyle boutique in the Downtown area where every other Thursday, “a couple of hundred bikes line up down the street.” Steeltown, who will be featured in CRM later this year, are savvy enough to offer wintertime bike builder nights and exhibits focused on classic machines of all sorts. Worth a visit if you’re riding north of the border. www.steeltowngarage.com will get you more info.

Under pressure from U.S. safety regulators, Harley-Davidson is recalling nearly 251,000 motorcycles worldwide with 175,000 of those in the U.S. due to a potential braking problem. The recall affects more than 30 different Hogs manufactured between 2008 and 2011 and your local dealer will happily replace your bike’s brake fluid to cure the problem when you make an appointment.

Booming Beemer Bikes While the domestic motorcycle industry threatens to go the way of the Hula Hoop and the Dodo bird, BMW’s American branch has much to boast about. BMW Motorrad reported sales of 13,546 motorcycles for 2017, down just 1.3% from the 13,730 motorcycles sold in 2016. However, despite the slight downturn, BMW outpaced the rest of the motorcycle industry which was down 3.2% and its relevant competition (which was down 6.3%). December proved an unusually strong month for the Bavarian brand that sold 1,270 units, with the R nineT retro line-up comprising a good deal of those numbers.

Our Favorite Jokes In the waiting room of a flying service Sam and Edna, a couple well into their 80s, were arguing about whether or not to spend $80 on a vacation helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. One of the pilots sitting nearby heard the commotion and decided to have some fun: He told the couple if they’d be quiet and not make a sound during a flight it would be free! Sam and Edna jumped at the offer and climbed on board. During the ride the pilot, an expert, made some aerobatic twists and turns he was sure would produce some screams. After a while he decided it was no use, they weren’t going to make a sound. He landed, and without looking back, said “You folks are really tough! I thought sure I could make you scream or shout. Your ride is free!” To which Sam replied, “That’s great. I had a hard time not saying anything when Edna fell out. But hey, 80 bucks is 80 bucks!” Submitted by CRM chief jokester, Harvey Patterson

Mecum’s Return to Las Vegas If you missed the incredible classic bike bargains that were on offer at Mecum’s January Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction, stop beating yourself up about it and makes plans to attend the next event. This one promises to be a whopper as everything from late model retros to rare antiques with unobtanium price tags and everything in between goes under the gavel at the South Point Casino June 2 and 3rd. If you’ve been hankering for a vintage ride or just think you’d enjoy the buzz of seeing just about every dreambike in the universe in one room, this is the place to be. Visit www.mecum.com for details.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

The Paddock

Custom Motorcycling News and Views

Spring, 2018 — Custom Motorcycle Events Whether you’re searching for inspiration for that stalled project build gathering cobwebs in the garage or just looking for a riding or travel destination, this year’s riding season kicks off with enough righteous biking events to fill anyone’s pocket calendar. Zip up that leather jacket and treat the senses to a world of two-wheeled treasures.

ship MotoGP Champion What’s On: Austin When: April 20-22 n, TX. the Americas, Austi MoWhere: Circuit of g spectacle that is lin zz da g, yin zz di e Th : ’s lifect er pe rid y Ex What to ce in ever d heard at least on an that en es se hin be t ac us m m d ee toGP on the hypersp s cu fo to gle az ug am ck is pretty time. You’ll str seems possible. Tra an th r er. te off fas t on s ou zoom ab and Rossi shirt enty of souvenirs ing in itself with pl d binoculars. an s lug it card, earp Must Bring: Cred nces.com www.cotaexperie

What’s On: 2018 Quail Motorcycle Gathering When: Saturday, May 5 Where: Quail Lodge and Golf Club, Carmel, CA. What to Expect: A wealthy person’s version of a bike show with expensive collectors’ bikes displayed for the white wine and penny loafers crowd. Nice machines as cafe racers are featured this year, but way off the Snooty Meter charts. Must Bring: A rich uncle, and a jar of Grey Poupon, naturally. www.quaillodge.com

www.caferacermag.com

What’s On: 2018 British and European Classic Motorcycle Day When: Sunday, May 20 Where: High Point Farm, Clarksburg, MD. What to Expect: A celebration of Norton’s venerable Commando along with a concours show, swap meet, tech talks by biking experts and plenty of vendors. Must Bring: A running 850 MKIII Commando to claim a trophy. www.classicmotorcycleday.org

What’s On: Bike Shed, Londo n Custom Sho w When: May 2527 Where: Tob acco Docks, Lond on What to Expect: Hipster version of th e Ace Cafe par weekend. Lo kads of New School moto ing lot on a tion coffee sh busy rbikes displa op/barbersh yed in comb op/bike han take on curr inagout. Inspirin ent custom scene. g, youthful U Must Bring K : Beard wax. www.thebik eshed.cc

What’s On: Springfield Mile Flat Track Races May 27 Where: Springfield, Illinois What to Expect: With interest in U.S. superbike series waning, this clod-slingin’ eardrum-splitting spectacle is on the upswing with rival manufacturers Indian and Harley-Davidson battling for oval-track supremacy just like the good old days. Must Bring: Clothes you don’t mind getting muddy. www.americanflattrack.com

Compiled by The Staff

Rolling Inspiration from CRM’s Readers Excessive Yamaha Owners have few, if any, complaints about Yamaha’s timeless XS650 twin, but the reliability and fun factor didn’t stop Andrew Fedor from tearing into his 1974 model like a man possessed. The eye-catching result is a bike that goes like stink off a farmer’s shovel thanks to a 750cc big bore kit that’s boasting a 270-degree reshaped crankshaft. To get around the bendy bits that much faster, Andrew chose to house the rebuilt motor in a vintage Trackmaster frame that’s been altered for what the owner calls “street geometry.” Special performance mods abound from the oversized racing oil cooler mounted along the front downtubes to the old school TT pipe exiting beneath the crankcase and, our personal fave, the Italian Ceriani front end fitted with, oddly enough, a drum brake. A fuel cell borrowed from a Honda CB200, steering damper and big bore CR carbs make this one wild, unexpected and truly original.

Badass Bandit College professor Dave Schultz wasted no time extolling the technical virtues of his 1997 GSF1200 Suzuki Bandit, a 1,157cc naked performance bruiser with power aplenty. The quartet of carbs received Holeshot stage 2 jetting, K&N pod filters and a GSX-R1100 choke lever while the engine roars via Rob Muzzy stainless steel headers with a custom mid-pipe and a Supertrapp megaphone muffler. The triple clamps are one-offs with the top lowered 1”while above, there are Barracuda handgrips with combined Rizoma/one-off bar-ends and mirrors, a Koso TNT-01 gauge, a rebuilt wiring loom with Motogadget RFID ignition and lightweight lithium ion battery. Dave had the 1992 Suzuki GSX-R750 forks rebuilt with plenty of polished and anodized bits and all the unnecessary brackets removed. Hollow, chromoly axles and a custom subframe with K-Tech shocks and a Kawasaki ZR-X1200 swingarm, mated with Galespeed Type R forged aluminum wheels make for a Bandit weighing just 425 pounds full of petrol and ready for any stoplight challenge.

www.caferacermag.com

Sunrise Supersport From rain-soaked Tacoma, Washington comes this four-cylinder ray ‘o sunshine, thanks to reader Jeff Horton. This 1975 Honda CB750F Supersport has been painted to match the original Sunrise Orange Metallic factory finish which is about as 1970s as a case of Billy beer and striped bell-bottoms. Jeff tells us the bike is bristling with handmade bits from the headlight bucket and battery box to the seat, taillight, and rearset mounts. The foot controls are from a 2008 Suzuki GSX-R sportbike while the stock front end’s dual disc brake setup was made from matching two identical Honda CB750F lower legs and calipers to the stock front wheel. “The tank and badges are from a 1977 F2 and the carbs have been vapor blasted and rebuilt,” said Jeff, who also bolted on a quartet of K&N pod air filters and a Paul Dunstall-style exhaust system. “It runs great and pulls hard,” he assured us.

Krazy Kawi Rick Young, of Brittany Bay, NC, has owned just about every brand of motorcycle over the years, but when the cafe racer bug stung him he went back to his love of Kawasakis. “It did have all the basics for a great cafe racer; an air-cooled vertical twin with a kick-start,” he said. Once the bike was in Rick’s garage he culled the stock fuel tank, seat, fenders exhaust and just about everything else that lends the W650 its distinctly Bonnevillian appearance. In their place came the bits and bobs that resulted in the ride here, which is quicker, cleaner and leaner than before. Omega Racer in Thailand, where there’s a blossoming custom scene, manufactured the new bodywork to fit directly to the stock mounting tabs on the frame, which Rick didn’t want to alter too radically. He even hand polished the alloy tank and seat hump to match the finish on the stainless steel front fender, before enrolling in a leathercrafts class so he could upholster and design his own saddle.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Top Gear

A New Riding Season is at Hand

Spruce up your Ride and Yourself for Maximum Performance and Style FEATURED PRODUCT

Colorado Norton Works Brembo Brakes Whether your Norton Commando slows itself via drum brakes or an early Lockheed disc unit, there’s room for improvement. Bolt on any of Colorado Norton Works’ high-tech braking systems from Brembo, and your classic British twin will be a faster, safer machine. We highly recommend any or all of the following from www.coloradonortonworks.com.

Brembo Front Brake System Add modern stopping power and the world-renowned quality of Italian Brembo brakes with this complete kit including four-piston caliper (in black or polished aluminum), Brembo master cylinder with brake light, 292mm fully-floating drilled rotor, brake line plus all necessary fittings and hardware. Pays for its $1,195 asking price the first time you squeeze that lever during an emergency stop.

Brembo CNW Rear Brake System Add even more sure-footedness under braking and eliminate that uneasy feeling you get with stock British brakes with this bolt-on Brembo rear braking kit. Made in black anodized finish or polished alloy, everything from the 270mm floating drilled rotor to the two-piston caliper to the mounting bits are included for just $1,195.

Tap That Thang When wrenching on your ride, you’ll inevitably come across (or if you’re like us, you’ll accidentally create) stripped threads on bolts and fittings. No need to throw said part or entire project bike away in frustration. Get hold of one of these handy metric tap and die sets from Mikes XS. The estimable purveyor of parts and hardware for Yamaha’s venerable parallel twin has your thread headaches covered with their 44-piece kit created to re-cut threads in just about any standard motorcycle hardware. Just $55.95 from www.mikesxs.com.

Oshmo BMW Rearsets From So Cal’s BMW aftermarket masters Oshmo come these streamlined billet aluminum rearsets. Polished before being coated in slick, black anodizing, they add an aggressive riding position and timeless cafe style to all five-speed BMW Airhead twins made until 1979. From $339.95 from www.oshmo.com.

www.caferacermag.com

Arai Open-Face Helmet Manufacturer and designer of easily the finest full-face helmets ever to protect a fast-moving noggin, Japan’s Arai have just entered the retro lid game with their allnew Classic V open-face model. Made with typical Arai safety engineering concepts including a washable, removable fitted inside liner, impact-resistant outer shell and double-locking safety chinstrap, the Classic V will protect your grape while maintaining your cool Steve McQueen profile. Coming soon from Arai for $469 to $589 depending on finish. See your local Arai dealer for details.

Cafe Racer Hoodie Keeping warm during and after a quick ride is all a matter of planning. Planning to avoid riding when there’s still ice on the roadsides, for instance, or planning to pull over and find a warm coffee shop when shivering makes gripping the bars a problem. Or you could plan to ride in one of these new Cafe Racer Magazine hoodies. These thick, blended torso-warmers are not just functional, but the gi-normous CRM logo on front makes you easily identifiable as a member of the ton-up tribe. Complete with Get On The Throttle sleeve lettering and Real. Fast. Motorcycles on back for $39.95 to $42.95 from www.caferacermag.com or a check or money order to P.O.Box 394, Sewickley, PA. 15143. Mail orders, add $6.99 for S/H; U.S. orders only.

V-Twin Lube Filling your machine’s reservoir with the proper lubricant can make all the difference in its regular performance as well as affecting long-term engine life. Big-displacement V-twins are typical of streetbikes requiring just the right fluids to run properly, a fact capitalized on by Motul, who now offer their own 100% synthetic oil for these thundering rides. Useful in classic and modern parallel twins as well, we’ve been filling our British bikes with this stuff for months for smooth running and no smoky starts. From your local Motul oils dealer just in tike for spring.

Dhoom DVDs From the sexy wet sari scenes to the synchronized dance montages, nobody does cheesy, outright fun entertainment like Bollywood. Best of all, the Indian film industry has cranked out a few biker flicks over the years, our all-time favorite being “Dhoom.” These fast-paced cops and robbers dramas are like Asian ”Fast and Furious” on two wheels and will keep you on the edge of your seat like a spicy curry platter. Meanwhile, the oddball plot and funky musical numbers will have you singing along in your helmet for days. Around $10 each from www.amazon.com.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

DESTINATIONS

The Seal Beach Classic

Story and Photos by Alex Martino

hile Southern Cali offers no shortage of venues a which to check out classic and custom motorcycles, the Seal Beach Show is quickly becoming the mustsee venue for timeless rides in the region. CRM stopped by the recent Third Annual event which was staged by the antique vehicle collective Tankfarm and Co. Stretched along the sundrenched Seal Beach Pier, the bike gathering is run on the same day as 24

www.caferacermag.com

the group’s classic car show that threatens to become the largest of its kind in the state. This isn’t some rich dude’s day to dust off and roll out the Vincent from the rumpus room shindig, but a lively celebration of two-wheeled collectibles – and rideables – from all eras of the spectrum. You like vintage Hondas and Yamahas from the 1960s? Row after row of the sleek, skinny-tire equipped Asian commuters are parked up near enough Italian exotica to fill the Ducati Museum in Bologna.

Nearly 100 bikes were entered in the trophied classes and unlike most indoor custom shows these days, nearly every entry wore a current California license plate, proving that riding, not hiding, is slowly becoming a genuine movement among vintage bike enthusiasts. If you’ve got rugrats in tow, this is the event for families as a crowd of over 25,000 turned up at the most recent staging. No drunken weekend biker bacchanal, Seal Beach is as friendly to cafe racers as it is to folks pushing strollers. For an unforgettable day at the beach pack up that beach blanket and get moving to this year’s event, taking place Saturday, April 28 starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. CR

Motorcycle Show

Cafe Racer â&#x20AC;¢ APRIL/MAY 2018

Custom Scene Motoauct.com: The Future of Vintage Motorcycle Auctions By J. Ken Conte

hen an idea like Motoauct.com comes to fruition, there are inevitably people left shaking their heads with regret, thinking, “I wish I’d come up with that.” In reality, building an online auction site dedicated to vintage motorcycles takes time, patience and working capital. Jason Williams and Jason Delacroix, cofounders of Motoauct.com, both have been immersed in vintage motorcycle for decades. A little bit about the co-founders: Jason Delacroix has been repairing and restoring motorcycles for more than 20 years. Delacroix still remembers his first project motorcycle, a 1963 Baby Dream Honda CA95, affectionately known as Bangkok Betty. Betty was a Craigslist deal with missing parts, and though he had no experience, Delacroix was committed to making Betty work, and he eventually succeeded. Betty became a runner, and she’s what sparked Delacroix’s love for finding, fixing and selling vintage motorcycles.

apart and seeing how they worked. Williams lived in a rural area, so maintenance and repairs were his responsibility. By necessity, he learned how to repair – and even modify – motorcycles early on. When he got older, Williams’s love for working on motorcycles led him to start a group called Midnight Restoration, in Bakersfield, CA, as a place to get together with other like-minded enthusiasts. At Midnight Restoration, Williams and other motorcycle lovers worked on motorcycles, talked with one another, and swapped tips and stories about restoring old motorcycles. Williams completed his first restoration there, on a 1969 Honda CA160, which he was able to restore using all original parts.

Delacroix successfully operated At Your Service Automotive, a 4,000square-foot automotive repair shop in Bakersfield, CA, for eight years, after which he sold his share of the shop to his business partner. Delacroix made sure to mark off a space in his facility to allow him to pursue his true passion: restoring and repairing vintage motorcycles. With each progressive project, Delacroix found that the motorcycle rebuilds got larger and more challenging, and eventually he mastered the full process of tearing down and rebuilding vintage motorcycles. Over the last two decades, Delacroix has bought, repaired, restored and sold dozens of vintage bikes, so he knows the time, effort, and care that goes into finding the right project bike. Co-founder Jason Williams grew up around motorcycles and always owned ATVs, mini bikes and dirt bikes. He loved taking them

www.caferacermag.com

After winning a best-in-show with the CA160 and spending some time within the vintage motorcycle culture, Williams began attending vintage auctions. He discovered an even larger community than the one he’d grown to love in Bakersfield. And, like his home community, the enthusiasts at auctions were talking about restoring, buying and selling vintage motorcycles. Several years ago, the co-founders met in Bakersfield and began attending vintage motorcycle auctions together, to sell their builds and also see

if there was something there they couldn’t live without. Although they liked the exclusive feel of the tent-pole auctions, they quickly realized there was an opportunity for a larger audience by expanding online, but they’d both been burned by eBay bidders who didn’t come through and suffered no repercussions. The idea of doing a tentpole auction came and went, and they started focusing on what they saw as a real opportunity: a dedicated online auction site developed, operated and promoted by true vintage motorcycle enthusiasts. It would be available 24 hours a day online, providing other enthusiasts with the opportunity to find like-minded individuals, share ideas and save the expenses of travel and fees necessitated by attending tent-pole auctions. They had a soft launch in November of 2017 and quickly got to over 700 active members who gave them feedback on what they liked, what could be improved and where they could expand their services and options on the site. In March of 2018, Motoauct.com launched a 2.0 version that included a dedicated parts auction page, better connectivity to bidders and auctioneers – with notifications, tracking auctions and RSS feeds – immediate buying features, a sold bike page, a visual tutorial on how to photograph bikes for best results and reserve notifications so bidders don’t lose that dream bike. “We wanted to get our initial concept out so we could see how it functioned and how well it was received,” said Delacroix. “We found our community and quickly started making lists of all the ways we could improve our initial launch. Motoauct.com 2.0 has made great strides toward enacting numerous requests from our members, which is who we built it for in the first place.” CR

The Market TODAY’S BEST RETRO & CLASSIC STREETBIKE BUYS

f there’s one rule you can count on when it comes to valuating classic streetbikes

it’s that the market is truly cyclical. Last decade’s sure-bet twowheeled investments can often devalue into klunkers with only a fraction of their original resale value (West Coast or Orange County Chopper, anyone?) while previously unloved machines can unexpectedly skyrocket in value.

www.caferacermag.com

No 1970s motorcycles have better illustrated the latter than the recent financial acceleration of Kawasaki’s two-stroke streetbikes of the early 1970s. Kawasaki Heavy Industries may have released the W1, a large displacement (for the time) BSA-clone parallel twin 650 in 1968, but the company were content to produce two-strokes to compete in the global streetbike market. The 350cc, 400cc, 500cc and later 750cc H2s were typical of the rolling dichotomies on offer from Japanese manufacturers during the early 1970s; more modern and reliable than any comparable British products, the Kawi triples were equipped with electric starters, oil-tight engine cases and disc front brakes as standard. Flashy and racetrack-inspired styling served up shapely fiberglass tails and bright green paint schemes on mounts offering blistering straight-line acceleration and light curb weights. The downside came whenever owners attempted to force a speeding Kawasaki triple

into a corner at high velocity. Compared to any Triumph or Norton, the handling was, well, interesting in an unnerving sort of way. This was due to cheaply manufactured frames that offered more flex than a Romanian gymnast. The cornering capabilities of Kawasaki’s triples could be improved with all manner of aftermarket suspension upgrades, but the smoky strokers were all but forgotten when Kawasaki’s all-conquering, four-stroke Z1 hit the market in 1973. The Big Daddy Z outperformed even Honda’s benchmark CB750 with its double overhead cam engine, good for a genuine 120 MPH. Neither the Z1 – later upgraded to a full 1,000cc displacement – nor the H series bikes were considered collectible until just recently and both have benefited from an aging motorcycle ridership, many of whom fondly recall the green machines of their speed-crazed youths. Some attribute the recent apprecia-

tion of early 1970s Kawasaki triples to the fact that they remained virtually unloved for most of the 45 years since their release. Many of these bikes were ridden hard and, when developing engine problems as many abused two-strokes tended to do, were simply tossed aside in favor of a bigger four-stroke ride. That means clean, restored H1s and H2s emerging on the market these days are rare bikes indeed. Not exactly Vincent Black Shadow rare, but during the most recent Mecum Antique Motorcycle Auction in Las Vegas, the prices demanded by Kawasaki triples were purely astonishing. For example, a KH400 triple in unrestored condition sold for an impressive $5,060 while a stunner of a rebuilt 1975 H2 750 with 6,380 miles enticed one collector to part with an astronomical $20,350. If that number doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t impress consider that the Kelly Blue Book price range for an immaculate 1975 H2 is a paltry $10,280. As further proof of the Kawi strokerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ascendancy, a pristine 1972 Honda CB750 sold just a few moments later for just $7,150. Does this

mean you should invest immediately in a restored H2? Not exactly. Prices like these may be attributed to a particularly besotted bidder who refused to return home without his or

her dream machine. More accurately, prices like these suggest that the lowly two-stroke streetbikes of yore may finally be entering their much-deserved golden age. CR

Cafe Racer â&#x20AC;˘ APRIL/MAY 2018

Café Racer TV Season I DVD

All 13 episodes of the first groundbreaking season of the high Discovery networks series on two DVDs. Builders include Jay LaRossa, Loaded Gun Customs, Dime City Cycles, plus others. Test rides of new Norton Commando 961, plus music by Cigar Store Indians. Region O - plays everywhere. $19.95 (plus $3 shipping; overseas orders add $9 shipping.)

Café Racer TV Season II DVD

Sixteen rockin’ episodes on three DVDs with custom café racer builds from J&B Moto Co., Santiago Choppers, Greg Hageman, Sixth Street Specials, and more; Test riders Blake Kelly, and Ben and Eric Bostrom plus pulseratcheting roots rock from the Psycho Devilles plus more fast motorcycles than you can shake a radar gun at. Region O plays everywhere. $19.95 (plus $3 shipping; overseas orders add $9 shipping.)

Café Society DVD

The original, 2009 documentary film that launched the global resurgence in the ton-up era. Interviews with original rockers, specials builders and leaders in today’s retro café scene. Rockin’ soundtrack by Highway 13, Wildfire Willie and the Ramblers. 65 minutes, color. Region O – plays everywhere. $14.95 (plus $3 shipping; overseas orders add $9 shipping.)

Café Racer TV Enamel Badge

Get on the throttle just like the theme song says! Super-cool art of masked ton-up rider heading down the road in gold and black finish. Stunning! $8.95 plus $3 postage (sorry, ships only to the U.S.)

Café Racer TV Season III DVD 13 full episodes of season three of the high def Discovery Network’s series on two DVDs. Region O - plays everywhere. $19.95 (plus $3 shipping; overseas orders add $9 shipping.)

Café Racer TV Embroidered Patch

Fly the patch for the world’s coolest motorcycles and the series that celebrates the world of fast, custom streetbikes. Black with gold detailing, 3” diameter and sews onto most everything wearable in minutes. $5.95 plus $3 shipping (overseas orders add $6 shipping.)

Café Racer TV Season IV DVD All 5 expanded one-hour episodes of season four of the high def Discovery Network’s series on two DVDs. Region O - plays everywhere. $19.95 (plus $3 shipping; overseas orders add $9 shipping.)

Naked Speed Season I DVD

Naked Speed, the worthy successor to Velocity's Cafe Racer series is here! Six complete, onehour episodes featuring Mike Seate, Bryan Fuller and some of the world's best café racer builders. Region O—plays anywhere. Two DVD set for just $19.95 (plus $5 shipping; overseas orders add $9 shipping.)

All Five Seasons on DVD!

All four seasons of Café Racer TV, plus Naked Speed. More than 50 episodes of blistering speed and wild custom rides in these worldwide hit series, all for just $59.95. (Plus $13 shipping U.S. Other countries add $65 shipping.)

Send check or money order (in US funds drawn on US banks only please) payable to Café Racer magazine. P.O. Box 394, Sewickley, PA. 15143 30

www.caferacermag.com

Mens Long-Sleeved Tee

We’ve also got some funky new long sleeved shirts tastefully adorned with the Cafe Racer TV logo, with sleeves long enough to cover both of your arms at once! Better yet, these have text down one arm and across the back so everybody knows you’re a disciple of the low bars church. Sizes M-XXL. Either can be had for just $25 plus $5 S/H US, $21.95 S/H for Canada, and $26.95 S/H overseas from www.caferacermag.com/swag or by mailing a check or money order to Cafe Racer P.O. Box 394 Sewickley, PA. 15143.

Fast Girls Have More Fun!

This new ring-spun cotton ladies tee was the hit of this year’s Cafe Racer Bike Show. Featuring a stunning gal in a pudding basin on the front, and "Fast Girls Have More Fun!" on the back. Sizes from S thru XXL available. Just $22 plus $6 S/H US, $21.95 S/H for Canada, and $26.95 S/H overseas.

And One for the Chaps

This brand new mens tee was the uniform of choice for all the guys working at our bike show this year. On the front - a cool cat on a cool machine. On the rear - Real. Fast. Motorcycles. This soft ring spun cotton tee was cool and comfy in the summer heat. Sizes M through XXL available for $22 plus $6 S/H US, $21.95 S/H for Canada, and $26.95 S/H overseas.

Café Racer Checkerboard Tee

Show ‘em that you plan to come in first in everything you do with this new, checkerboard stripe black tee. The words “Low Bars…High Performance” on back. Available in M-XXL. $22 plus $6 S/H US, $21.95 S/H for Canada, and $26.95 S/H overseas.

Ton-Up Rider Tee

One rider. One machine. One insatiable thirst for speed. That about sums up our latest short-sleeved shirt in dazzling white. On the back: “Real. Fast. Motorcycles,” naturally. Sizes M-XXL. $22 plus $6 S/H US, $21.95 S/H for Canada, and $26.95 S/H overseas.

Later Back Issues

Just joining the fun at Cafe Racer magazine? Get caught up with all the custom bikes, tech articles and fun with this later back issues package including issues 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39. Just $24.95, plus $13 shipping US.

Keep Calm Tee

Our latest black Tee captures the plucky spirit of Britain and features the Queen's favorite advice phrase and our logo in orange on back. Groovy? We tend to think so! Sizes M-L-XXL. $22 plus $6 S/H US, $21.95 S/H for Canada, and $26.95 S/H overseas.

Early Back Issues

Includes the seminal issues 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23 and 24. Soon to be sold out, yours, for a limited time, $24.95 plus $13 shipping US. Send check or money order (in US funds drawn on US banks only please) payable to Café Racer magazine. P.O. Box 394, Sewickley, PA. 15143 Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

www.caferacermag.com

Story by Brett Smith Photos by Eric Runyon

reg Hageman has been wanting a Yamaha DT400 for over 40 years now. Back in 1976, the 12-year-old Greg drooled over the 400s that his cousins had. Meanwhile, he ripped around on a Honda CB100 in a 40-acre parcel of timber that was adjacent to the family’s Iowa farm. Later that year he got a DT250 but never got to experience the insane power of that 400cc two stroke. Today, every time he comes across one, it’s always in really bad shape. “So, I keep building bikes that look like it instead,” he said, laughing.

So, this explains the candy gold colored fuel tank of the Yamaha Star Bolt that Hageman brought to the AIM Expo in October 2013 as his entry in Yamaha’s Bolt Build-off competition; his build was based on a DT400. Hageman was one of a group of builders and he won first prize against well-known names such as Roland Sands and Jesse Rooke. Instead of chopping it into pieces in a glorified festival of grinding sparks, Hageman stripped it down and studied the attachment points that came with the machine from the factory. He tried hard to figure out how to convert it from a drop seat cruiser style bike to something more classic like the enduro bike he always pined after. And he wanted to finish with something that anyone with a few wrenches could build at home. He decided to keep the original welds intact (as well as the factory warranty) and develop a kit that could be bolted on yet still make drastic looking changes to the bike. First, however, he had to do something about the original cast wheels. In order to stay true to his DT inspiration he knew he wanted dual sport tires on the bike. With a 16-in. rear and 19-in. front for stock wheels, he had no chance of finding the right tires for them. He found aftermarket hubs from Ridewright and rims from Buchanan. He went with a 17-in. rear and a 19-in. x 2.5-in. front. Once he had the look of the tires and wheels down, he moved on to the subframe, fabricating a bolt-on unit. “I had to eye-modify the bike without cutting the frame,” he said. “I made a bolt-on unit but getting the dimensions took a few tries.” Outside of the fabricated rear fender and

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Greg loves to throw up the odd rooster tail when taking his Yamaha off-road.

the Hageman/Cone Engineering hybrid exhaust, the rest of the modifications are also bolt-on; it has Works Performance suspension, Continental Twinduro TKC80 tires, fork gaiters from BellaCorse and the seat is hand-formed by Lance’s Tops. After the Bolt debuted at the AIM Expo, Hageman started putting the kits into production and he was selling several a month. For just over $1,000, Bolt owners got the subframe, seat, fender, number plates and raw aluminum skid plate. One hurdle he ran into, however, was the rims, which were not part of his kit. To get the full effect, owners had to order the hubs from one company, rims from another and then find someone to lace them if they couldn’t do it on their own; it was a $3,000 add on. After getting the original Bolt back from Yamaha, Greg rode it for a while and then sold it to a man in Costa Rica. He received three orders for copies and those are now meandering down roads in New Zealand, Miami and Pennsylvania. The copies had different color schemes and headlights that tucked into a front number plate. Those versions were based on Yamaha’s popular four stroke off-road bikes, the TT series (70s versions). Then, in the summer of 2016, Yamaha announced the release of the 2017 SCR950, a scrambler that looked very similar to his original Star Bolt from three years earlier. Hageman learned about the bike’s launch from seeing a photo in a press release. The

www.caferacermag.com

Cafe Racer â&#x20AC;¢ APRIL/MAY 2018

journalists who wrote reviews of the SCR even mentioned the resemblance and posted photos of Hageman’s bike next to the SCR they were reviewing. Hageman discontinued his Bolt kit when the SCR was released but he’s still working with the fork and tuner brand. At the 2017 AIM Expo, he had a 1972 Yamaha XS650 (XS2) on display at the Yamaha booth and he’s working on a top secret build with the company that is due out in November. In the summer of 2017, after six years of living in Tampa, Hageman and his family moved back to Iowa. They’re living near the Quad Cities and within a short drive of the woods where he grew up riding his CB100 and DT250. Hageman Cycles is currently in the garage of the family home while Greg tries to find the right space for his business, but that doesn’t mean he’s not busy. His build list is six months out but if you have a DT400 he might bump you up. And if you have clean DT400 you’re trying to sell, he probably wants to talk to you. CR

www.caferacermag.com

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

www.caferacermag.com

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s In A Name?

www.caferacermag.com

Story by Paul D. Stanstead • Photos by Simon Everett

n the annals of motorcycle model names, some truly misguided monikers have graced a few remarkable machines. Nobody ever bragged about riding a Scott Flying Squirrel and woe be to the rocker who strides into his local caff to extol the road-burning capabilities of a Honda Super Cub. A poorly-chosen label was just one of the challenges facing Brit Jim Evans who decided to turn – now wait for it, folks – a Suzuki Tempter into a custom cafe racer. Besides the decidedly soft core porn flick name, the nondescript Japanese single was designed with anything but aggressive road-holding in mind. “Granted, she started out as an ordinary cruiser, a lazy-man’s ride made for sit-up-and-beg slowpaced riding along quiet country lanes,” admitted the owner with a laugh.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Being the sort who enjoys an engineering puzzle of sorts, Jim gradually became determined to wrest the most from what, beneath a surface of chrome bits and overly-voluptuous bodywork, was basically a lightweight, 400cc single. Stripped of all the excess garbage that Suzuki felt a need to tack on were the same basic formulas that made other legendary singles so beloved. The unfortunately named Tempter did, after all, come equipped with a slick-shifting fivespeed gearbox. The cogs were so perfectly spaced that revving the two-valve-per-cylinder motor towards its 7,000RPM redline proved a rewarding experience, Jim said. “The top speed is just under the ton as is, and I’ve learned that the bigger, 650cc engine from Suzuki’s Savage (talk about cheesy names- Ed) would be a direct bolt-up if I changed the final drive sprocket and converted it from a belt to a chain drive,” he said. Despite the much lighter, sleeker and quicker motorcycle that Jim saw hidden inside the now twenty-year-old cruiser, the Suzuki’s reworking was anything but a simple bolt-on custom project. Like Honda’s CX500 transverse twin before becoming a darling of neo cafe enthusiasts, the Tempter is bereft the benefits of a custom parts aftermarket. Besides the usual Flea Bay fodder of bar-end mirrors, slip-on mufflers and universal Chinese-made vinyl seats, any major components on a bike like this will have to be either hand-fabricated or adapted from other, more popular motorbikes. Jim’s brief involved maintaining the factory-installed wire spokes and, unexpectedly, the stock shouldered alloy rims that somehow fit the cafe racer tradition. How Suzuki chose to equip a commuter bike with such costly, strong wheels is anyone’s guess but proved an undeniable boon to Jim. Both wheels have been stripped of their heavy, chrome mudguards and fitting a pair of modern, grippy tires proved a breeze. With the new Continental Go! bias-ply hoops in place, Jim said they’re perfect for aggressive cornering even in the wet. Up front, the two-piston disc set-up has been replaced with a lovely, highly polished four leading-shoe drum brake, reminiscent of Italian racing stoppers from the 1960s. The

www.caferacermag.com

What’s In A Name?

Specs Owner’s Name: Jim Evans Year, Make and Model: 1998 Suzuki ST400 (Tempter) Engine Type and Displacement: 399 cc – single cylinder OHC – 4 valves Transmission: 5-speed Fueling: Single Mikuni Carb (Original Equipment) Engine Modifications: None Exhaust: Reverse cone megaphone Chassis: Original Equipment - delugged Front Suspension: Original Equipment Rear Suspension: JBS Piggy back gas type Wheel and Tire Make/Sizes: Standard wheels – Continental Tyres Brakes: Front four leading-shoe drum, rear single leading shoe drum Bodywork–Gas Tank, Fenders: Original Equipment tank – alloy front fender Handlebars: Clip-ons Lighting Equipe: Rear light bulb into seat Special Parts and/or Modifications: Seat made by owner, paint by Tony at Cycle Sprays Top Speed: 95 mph

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

rear wheel sports a single-shoe drum of its own, but Jim says it’s just an afterthought when the massive front unit is set up properly. New fabricated bits include the shorty front mudguard made from alloy, hangers for the aftermarket reverse megaphone silencer and an entirely new two-tone humpback seat fashioned from the steel pan of the original. Jim said working the tiny single-bulb taillight into the leather upholstery proved a tough job, but the results elicit the most compliments from onlookers. Tiny aftermarket gauges were installed with the speedometer being a very ambitious 160 MPH unit, while a set of adjustable JBS piggy-back rear shocks smooth out whatever irregularities the roads throw Jim’s way. Look closely and you’ll spot what must be the world’s smallest functioning indicators, the rear LED’s mounted just above the rear shock mounting bracket and the front – neither are exactly legal, Jim admitted – mounted inconspicuously in the chromed headlamp ears. The clip-on bars, a far change from the Tempter’s buckhorns, were unearthed at the regular Kempton Park Autojumble, along with the chromed, 7” headlamp. “If you’re a fan of building your own bikes in the UK, you’ll need to go there quite often as you won’t believe the rare bits on offer,” said Jim, who also rides a homebrewed 750cc Triumph Bonneville bobber and a 1966 BSA Rocket 3 which he describes as a “great big revvy thing.” Compared to the BSA triple, the Suzuki single is satisfying to ride in its own special way, the owner said. “It handles really well and it’s nice to ride hard because its so light you can sort of throw it about and throw it right over without worrying that you’re using too much power. I could have spent all sorts of money on this build, but the most dear part was the paint. At the end of the day it’s only a little 400 single so what’s the point of overdoing it when, as is, it gets lots of looks when I park it up and most punters spend all afternoon wondering what type of “British classic single” it is because they’ve never seen one before.” CR

www.caferacermag.com

What’s In A Name?

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Suzuki’s Surprisingly Adaptable Savage This first- year, 1 9 8 6 Sav age 6 50 found its motor housed in a 1 9 8 1 Suzuki G S6 50 frame. Forks are G SX - R7 50 upside- down units complete with G ixxer brakes and front mag wheel.

he 400cc single that served as the basis for Jim Evans’ cafe custom is actually a smaller version of a Suzuki streetbike with more than 20 years of continuous production to its credit. Though the S40 Savage – and later, the Boulevard 650, as it’s known in the North American market – isn’t renowned for its performance, the belt-drive middleweight thumper has proven infinitely adaptable over the years. In its favor is a light weight of just under 400 pounds and, despite its lazy, 30 degree rake, the air-cooled single handles predictably when the road turns curvy.

Revved hard through its five constant-mesh gears, the Savage will eventually unfurl 30 brake horses your way with a respectable 37 foot-pounds of torque. You don’t buy a motorcycle like this to challenge sportbikes on backroads but to revel in its bicycle-like ability to change direction in an instant. Well, that and the exceptionally low resale price of these machines – coupled with the fact that the Savage has long been considered a beginner’s bike that’s seldom abused – makes them a solid used buy.

Ryca’ s CS- 1 cafe racer kit is a popular bolt- on modifications package that transforms the single- cylinder cruiser into a much more sv elte and rideable machine.

Though Royal Enfield’s Bullet and Continental GT models and Yamaha’s SR400 benefit from factory warranties and extensive aftermarket catalogs to aid in customizing, the Savage can be radically modified if you have the patience, skills and space in your bank account. Some of the most popular bolt-on cafe racer upgrades for the Savage come from California’s Ryca Motors, a firm offering up everything from chain final drive conversion kits to complete cafe makeovers. The Ryca kit manages to knock some 50 pounds from the Savage’s weight, while improving its fuel efficiency to nearly 60MPG and also upping the pedestrian horsepower-to-weight ratio significantly.

I n stock form as a cruiser, the Sav age 6 50 doesn' t exactly look like a potential road- burner.

www.caferacermag.com

If you don’t go the Ryca route – which runs around three grand and includes everything from modded bodywork to clip-ons and resrsets – DIY specials builders have had success altering the steering head angle by cutting and re-welding the chassis neck, adding beefier front ends with improved brakes and ditching the 15” stock wheels in favor of 17” items that turn faster and benefit from all sorts of tire options. Not a bad start for a donor bike that can easily be found in clean, running condition for $1,600 to $3,700. CR

Must Ride Bikes

#25 in A Series

Ducati Sport Classic

s one of the generation of quick, European roadsters introduced in the period before complex electronic rider aids became standard, Ducati’s 1,000cc Sport Classic is a true, must-ride motorcycle. Why? CRM pal and well-known custom builder Alex Puls of New York’s 20th Century Cycles once summed up the dual-spark, two-valve Italian’s virtues as thus: “Motorcycles, to be desirable, have to be impractical, fast and amazingly good-looking all at once. The minute they start to make room for luggage or comfort, they start to lose some of their sex-appeal.” That captures the short-lived air-cooled twin perfectly; try and bring along an extra pair of gloves or a sandwich for a ride on one of these sought-after factory specials, and you’ll find yourself with little more than bulging pockets to show for your efforts. And yes, it will require a measure of effort to wring the best out of this 400-pound beauty, as its free-revving Desmodue (twovalve-per-cylinder) motor is no town-friendly commuter hack. Instead, the SC is lurching and unhappy trundling through con-

www.caferacermag.com

gestion. But point that thick, 17” spoked front wheel towards a snaky stretch of tarmac, and the ridiculously low clip-on bars, the superbike-high rearsets and that bum-high, shoulders Olympic luge-low riding position starts to seems less torturous. Light, agile and surefooted as Ducatis have always been, you’ll barely notice the oddball monoshock rear suspension that’s offset to the bike’s right side. Though twin shock versions were popular, they never handled as well as the monoshock versions somehow.

Who Is Paul Smart?

That the Sport Classics became renowned as the most sought-after modern factory cafe racer is an incredible story in itself. Though dazzling on rotating plinths during the pre2005 show season, the bikes were unloved by a public who found their ergonomics too unforgiving and their $14,000 showroom asking price a tad dear.

Legendary Ducati Roadracer Inspired Limited Edition Retro

Ducati’s full-fat, Desmoquattro 749 superbikes were available for similar money, while the Sport Classics – with their bargain-basement non-adjustable front forks (excepting the Ohlins-shod, $17,000 Paul Smart edition) – weren’t exactly racetrack ready. The 992cc air-cooled fuel-injected engine was rightly considered a bit past its sell-by date even before the Sport Classics were conceived by South African designer Pierre Terblanche. A direct descendant of the original bevel-drive 750 Sport from the 1970s, the engine was granted twin spark plug heads for a boost to a capable if not earth-shattering 86 rear wheel horses.

Honda’s success with the CB750 Four was partly to blame for Ducati’s radical engineering move, as bigger, faster machines were becoming market leaders worldwide. The experiment paid off, resulting in Ducati’s first Supersport 900, a unique and lovely 90-degree L-Twin that was as quick and nimble as it was desirable. To make the world sit up and listen to this new rumble from Italy, Ducati entered the silver and turquoise 900 into Europe’s prestigious Imola 200 endurance race. In 1972, Ducati claimed both first place with British Rider Paul Smart behind the bars, and second with teammate Bruno Spaggiari riding. The die was than cast for Ducati’s exotic twins to become roadracing and cafe racing legends, while the L-twin engine layout with its acclaimed Desmodronic valve actuation system became as synonymous with the brand as Smart’s name, costly maintenance bills and a certain Mediterranean flair.

The somewhat clunky gearbox has a halfdozen widely-spaced ratios (not to mention a tiny, thimble-sized rear sprocket) to help the SC reach a purported 140-ish MPH. Like many Italian bikes it suffers from the occasional electrical gremlin and is tough to work on without specialists’ tools and training. So even with the “new” four-plug motor, some dealerships struggled to unload them at drastically reduced prices some three years after their brief production run. Ah, but that was before the retro streetbike craze became globally contagious. The ascendant popularity of streetbikes resembling cafe racers of yore has made all the difference in the Sport Classics’ fortunes and today, clean, low-mileage bikes can easily fetch their original asking price. Even lessthan-pristine models showing evidence of trackday abuse and 20,000 miles on the round, analog clocks can demand over $10,000. That may seem downright absurd when a

Back in the early 1970s, Ducati was considered the ultimate European boutique motorcycle. U.S. importers Berliner Brothers brought only a few hundred of the Bologna firm’s bevel-drive singles into the country, where many were sold as urban commuter bikes alongside the tens of thousands of lightweight, small-displacement Japanese bikes then being sold. Ducati’s long history of racing their 250, 350 and 450cc singles prompted their engineers to imagine a revolutionary formula: what would result, they surmised, if we mounted two 450cc cylinders atop a single, prototype crankcase?

The Sport Classic Paul Smart edition was designed to mimic the aggressive looks, silver and blue livery and racy lines of the original bike Smart rode into the record books at Imola, and it did so in spades. Highly collectible today, expect to pay over $20,000. That price may seem unreasonable, but consider that even a replica of a 1970s Ducati Supersport will set your bank balance back three times that or more. new 1200cc Triumph Thruxton, festooned with 96 horsepower and all manner of traction control and anti-lock brakes, costs less. But for manly, ton-up purists seeking an Italian motorcycle imbued with all the raw allure and startling performance of a true Italian thoroughbred, only the Sport Classic will do. Rev it hard at idle and revel in the dramatic sweep of the tachometer’s needle and the spine-tingling roar from the V-

twin’s exhaust. The SC ticks all the boxes that Italian bike fans demand, from the sculpted plastic bodywork to the rattling dry clutch and sturdy trellis frame, to the way it makes you feel like Agostini at the TT, even when blatting down the boulevard for a Sunday morning espresso. Refined? Not hardly. Desirable? Just try buying one. CR

www.caferacermag.com

FROM STEEL TO GOLD Story by Linda Wilsmore Photos by Simon Everett

s a young lad, Paul Craft loved getting his

hands greasy around old motorbikes. He built his first bike at twelve years old and is still building them at 65. The intervening years taught him everything he knows today – a vast knowledge of mechanics, welding, general “filing and fettling” and paint spraying which he used to do, much to their dismay, in his parents’ garden shed. In the recent past, much of his time has been spent building and racing drag bikes. Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

This 1975 Honda 400F had been languishing in the back of his shed, dismantled many years ago with all good intentions to restore it…one day. “It was as rusty as hell, so I took the bike to the workshop and the project began. Although I knew the engine only had 10,000 miles on the clock, it had sat idle for the best part of forty years and all manner of wildlife could have set up camp anywhere on or in it. Probably using the bores as a latrine. But yes, I was lucky. I stripped the engine down to inspect it. The barrels and bores looked good with no evidence of rodent skeletons or pee stains, though the clutch looked decidedly dodgy. The plates had become more attached to each other than an elderly couple celebrating 60 years of marriage. With a new clutch fitted, the engine was cleaned and repainted using high temperature stove paint that gives a cool ironstone look,” said Paul. With his trusty angle-grinder, the rear of the frame was cut off and welded on a loop, which Paul thinks looks much nicer. The brackets on the frame were removed and then the frame was given over to a friend who works at a sand blasting company to get it spic and span ready for paintwork. And being a friend, it was done for a bargain price, which is always appreciated. Whilst waiting for the frame to be returned from the blasters, Paul stripped the wheels, which were not original equipment, but a pair of UK made alloys that had been fitted, probably in the 1970s while the bike was still fairly new. The bearings were replaced, and the wheels painted satin black. Some new Avon rubber on the wheels made them look brand new. The fuel tank and side panels were stripped and etch primed along with the frame ready for the paint shop. Then the search was started for parts that were either missing or just not quite right for what he had in mind. After scouring the wonderful World Wide Web, the perfect exhaust was found. A full system made by Delkelvic, which looks stunning and gives the bike a lovely slightly raucous sound. The headlight and rear tail light were an easy eBay find and the seat was sourced from Café Racer UK. New Tomaselli fork stanchions, seals and rear shock absorbers with progressive springs were bought from a local supplier. A front calliper and master cylinder rebuild along with replacement braided lines, new brake pads, and the brakes were good to go – or rather, stop. The carburettors were overhauled with the main jets being replaced using oversized main jets to give a higher rev range and, K&N filters which allowed the engine to breathe better and for Paul to utilise the current air box as a handy toolbox. The purchase of a set of Renthal bars and a 5” headlight meant that after bit of ‘spit and polish’ the front end could be assembled and ready. 52

www.caferacermag.com

Cafe Racer â&#x20AC;¢ APRIL/MAY 2018

Paul said, “Once the frame had been returned it was time to decide on a colour scheme. Every colour of the spectrum went through my head before I decided on a Peugeot gold. The workshop has its own integral paint room and as I’ve earned a living as a paint sprayer in the past, so it was convenient and of course cost effective. So after a couple of days applying the base coat, the striping on the tank using Volkswagen red, and a good amount of lacquer to give the paintworks some depth, it was all hands on deck to lift the engine back into the frame – very carefully. “Now what quite happened, I’m not sure. Maybe somebody pushed instead of pulled, or vice-versa, but it happened. That awful grating noise. The scratch wasn’t very big or even that noticeable, but I knew it was there. So back into the paint room it went. The second attempt was fortunately a lot more successful. It was now a rolling chassis with the engine in place. It was beginning to take shape. We very carefully (after the frame scratching incident) fitted the tank and side covers, shocks, a new gold coloured chain and sprocket kit with two teeth less than standard on the rear sprocket to give more top end speed, though I doubt that it would exceed the quoted 105mph that the manufacturer claims as its top speed. We then stood back and admired the handiwork. “A tank full of fresh fuel and she was ready for a test ride. Up and down the road I went. It’s about a mile and a half between roundabouts at the top and the bottom of the road that runs in front of the workshop. Much to my relief, all seemed well.” The entire restoration took a little less than eight months in all. Boring commitments like having to work for a living and family commitments frequently obstructed a planned weekend on the project. Remembering that his first proper ride and test was down to Brighton the following weekend, and it being only about fifteen miles or so away, it was considered an ideal journey to give the bike a full shakedown, and also not too far away to get recovered if something went horribly wrong. “It just so happened that weekend Brighton was hosting a big bike event called ‘Brightona’. The south coast town was heaving with all manner of two wheeled bikes from the smallest scooters many of which were adorned with multiple mirrors reminiscent of the film “Quadrophenia”, to race replica sports bikes through to the biggest Harleys. “My little Honda was a hit judging by the amount of admiring looks and comments I received as she sat gleaming in the sunshine. I rode back to the workshop wearing a grin as wide as Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat in the Alice in Wonderland story. And dreaming about the next project.” CR 54

www.caferacermag.com

The Outlier’s Guild Motorcycle Show L.A.’s Newest Bike Bash Takes Off

www.caferacermag.com

Story by Mike Seate • Photos by Alex Martino

ifelong Southern Cali resident Jay LaRossa has attended new school custom motorcycle shows for years, and the veteran builder usually comes away impressed. After visiting Austin, Texas’ Handbuilt Show and Portland’s annual One Moto Show, he returned home with a burning question in mind. “I couldn’t understand why there weren’t any big custom bike shows in Los Angeles where we have the most shops, bikes and builders in the country,” said LaRossa from his Long Beach shop, Lossa Engineering. Not content to let that query simply go unanswered Jay did what any self-motivated enthusiast would: he and a team of three fellow bike buffs launched the Outlier’s Guild Motorcycle Show, providing an indoor forum for folks who truly dig handcrafted streetbikes. We asked Jay where the very exclusive-sounding name for the event came from, and he gave a chuckle and explained easily. “We wanted something that sounded old school, like some secret society of bike makers from way back when.”

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

The formula has proven successful – more so than the quartet of organizers including Jay, Ralph Holguin, John Pangilinan and Stan Chen could have imagined. During the first Outlier’s Guild gathering last fall (where these images were taken) the team figured they’d have enough floor space to accommodate around 60 motorcycles, tops and maybe a few hundred folks in attendance. “We made it an invitational show because that’s what all the great shows I’d been to were doing, and it limits the number of good professionalbuilt bikes we’d get,” said Jay, who was so concerned about a poor turnout, he rolled seven of his own custom builds into the hall to make the room look more full. However, with the nation’s largest percapita streetbike registrations, California and its biking community do nothing the small way. Instead, the event drew in well over the anticipated five dozen rides, filling the warehouse space nicely. And the crowd soon swelled to a whopping 3,500 people as word spread of the show, which was free to the public. For the 2018 edition, taking place March 31 (just as this issue goes to press) LaRossa sent out 25 invitations to pro bike shops and independent builders, but expects the show may max out at near 100 machines before the day is finished. Though the concept of an invitational, indoor custom motorcycle show is far from original these days, the Outlier’s Guild event does take a unique approach to recognizing talent. First off, there are no classes to separate bikes by purpose or genre, and at the days end, no one is competing for a show trophy as there’s no judging involved whatsoever. “We just wanted this to be like an art gallery for custom bikes, a place where people can appreciate the craftsmanship, and not worry about who’s best,” Jay said. Instead of builders stressing over who rides away with props for the best bike in a category, Jay said the event is proof that defining today’s custom streetbikes by genres is itself becoming an

www.caferacermag.com

The Outlier’s Guild Motorcycle Show

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

outdated concept. “The day is like a mashup of bikes that don’t really fit into any categories. A lot of the bikes will have elements of cafe racers or bobbers or even choppers in them, but we’re seeing people build bikes that you can take for a fast ride in the dirt or on the street, whether it’s a new Harley or Triumph or an older bike,” he said. The collection of invitees hail from across the country with most being youthful, twenty- and thirty-somethings, though Jay pointed out that some veteran shops are on the guest list as well. Among the latter is former GP racer Roland Sands who will again bring Architects of Inspiration, a motorcycle-themed, multimedia art display along with a few of the mind-blowing rides he’s perfected at RSD Designs. Some of the attractions, like the bikes on display, tend to defy categorization. At last year’s OGMS, a team of guys dressed in white hazmat overalls used a revving Indian Scout’s rear tire to spatter paint Jackson Pollock-style onto canvases, creating high-performance abstract paintings. This being the very image-conscious 21st century, several of the country’s best motorcycle lifestyle photographers will exhibit their works in a two-wheeled art gallery where punters can purchase limited-edition prints of riders and bikes. Add to the mix plenty of gear vendors, microbeers and a parking lot that promises to be a bike show in itself and there’s no wonder LaRossa is expecting even bigger crowds than before. “We’ve been wanting to do something like this for years and from the response we’ve got, I’m glad the four of us decided to take the jump and just make it happen. We’ve found the perfect location and lots of sponsor support which is cool,” LaRossa said. The 2018 Outlier’s Guild Moto Show Takes Place Saturday, March 31 in downtown Los Angeles. Cover charge is $5 for advance purchase tickets online; $10 at the door. www.ogmotoshow.com. CR

www.caferacermag.com

The Outlierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guild Motorcycle Show

www.caferacermag.com

The Outlier’s Guild Motorcycle Show

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Scrapbook A Day at the Races 66

www.caferacermag.com

Story and Photos by DeMarcus Elliott Though the stripped-down cafe racer motorcycle can trace its origins to mid-century England, the U.S. cafe bike movement has more exotic and varied roots. The advent of big-displacement Japanese fours during the 1970s prompted a stateside cafe craze to blossom, with British tuning giants like Paul Dunstall relocating to California to serve the new generation of Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki street racers. These hot rods were a different cup of brew from the Triumphs and BSAs that preceeded them in many ways: not exactly featherweight bikes designed for handling more than outright power, the Japanese Cafe Racer â&#x20AC;˘ APRIL/MAY 2018

www.caferacermag.com

cafe racers found they could really get their shine on and the rubber down at the quartermile dragstrip, a place purpose designed for horsepower, not handling. The multiracial, all-genders welcome dragstrip scene has its roots in urban street racing in cities like Atlanta, Myrtle Beach, Chicago and Compton, places where slamming down a week’s pay on a “who’s fastest” bet, kickin’ it with the fellow speed freaks and comparing the Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

www.caferacermag.com

latest high-tech racing goodies is all in a days work – or play, depending on your style. It’s a place where the smells of high-octane race fuel and burnt rubber mix with barbecue smoke from open pit kitchens and where anybody with a quick bike and a matching throttle hand is welcome to test their mettle – and metal. These shots from a meet at South Georgia Motorsports Park show just how much the quarter-mile game has changed while remaining the same. Dig on the futuristic trellis-frame Ducati twin-powered dragster smoking its rear slick down the strip, staged next to a slammed, stretched and lowered 1973 Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Kawasaki 900. Past and future challenging each other in a ten second roar of pure balls and adrenaline. It’s a testament to how well the first generation Japanese superbike fours were built that, even today, a dragbike meet will be at least partially dominated by early Z-1 Kawasakis, CB Honda Fours, Yamaha XS11s and Suzuki’s all-conquering GS ‘ Thou. Fast, as they say, never goes out of style. 72

www.caferacermag.com

CAFE RACER MAGAZINE’S FIRST DECADE Compiled By The Staff

ow time flies when you’re having your central nervous system, bank account and creativity challenged by the magazine publishing industry. Cafe Racer is proud to have survived far longer than most industry insiders predicted, proving that ideas, even business plans, formulated on the backs of pub napkins can indeed prove fruitful. On this anniversary, at risk of waxing all self-reverential, we’ve chosen to share with you some of the hiccups, forgot-

ten features and just plain goofy moments of revving through a decade of high-performance publishing. Vroom, indeed! May, 2008: We dig up an old black and white rocker photo as a cover shot for our first tiny 5”x7” tabloid-sized issue. Unimaginable today, the tabloid format magazines were considered quite hip in those days, though other digest-sized mags have disappeared from view. Lesson learned. June, 2008: Or so we thought. A West Coast custom builder goes online to claim we’d

stolen the idea from his laptop and cheekily enough, posts a cover remarkably similar to ours. Cease-and-desist letters from our bloodthirsty attorney somehow manage to quell the nonsense. Always brilliant London Desk Editor Linda Wilsmore joins the team. July, 2008: Introducing the first issue in a tent at Mid-Ohio during the AMA’s Vintage Days event, several custom cafe racers turn up asking for a place to park. We agree, and faster than you can say, “Anybody got a spare trophy?” our first annual Readers’ Ride-In Bike Show is formed. January, 2009: We convince a TV production company to finance a journey to England to interview originators of the Ton-Up motorcycle. Two very cold, wet months yield enough riveting footage to create the “Cafe Society” documentary. Meeting heroes like Dave Degens and Mick Hemmings and original 59 Clubbers helps convince Discovery Channel to use footage as series pilot. May, 2009: After four adorable digest-sized issues, an International magazine distributor phones to suggest we grow-up. They mean this quite literally, advising we increase to standard size format which will place us in newsstands, bookstores and firmly in the sight of advertisers. We gladly abide. “My Name Is Earl” star Jason Lee appears on cover

www.caferacermag.com

while motorcycling tech MacGyver Matt Wiley’s “Workshop Files” launches. June, 2009: Unexpectedly, Piano Man Billy Joel calls to chat and compliment us on the magazine. He invites us to see his cafe racer collection and appears on cover of issue #6. It quickly sells out. Cover depicting him with his pet pug on a Royal Enfield fails to make final cut for some reason. February, 2010: Extended visit to UK permits first ride aboard Egli Vincent, still a career high point. Also extended exposure to battered sausages creates staff heartburn problems that persist even today. First episodes of “Cafe Racer TV” taped while staff learns to write magazine articles while jet-lagged in airports. October, 2010: TV series premieres and magazine’s circulation booms. We’re repeatedly told by industry types that without active Facebook presence Cafe Racer is doomed to failure within weeks. Still waiting for the inevitable demise – without a Facebook account. Talented chief shooter Simon Everett begins selecting feature bikes and hasn’t laid a shutter wrong since. March, 2011: Unusually large amount of nude and near-nude photos of wives, girlfriends and baby-mamas astride custom bikes pour into our offices. A non-nudity policy generates much hate mail. Still suspect Larry Flynt was behind this. February, 2012: Builder Greg Hageman’s stunning orange Yamaha Virago on cover. Issue sells out in weeks. 1973 Norton Commando project bike nears completion...only to have Editor Seate grenade newly rebuilt engine a few months later. September, 2012: We realize Cafe Racer is making rest of magazine publishers nervous as England’s “Classic Bike Guide” runs cover blurb stating “Caff racers...A truly British phenomenon.” Not to be outdone in the how dare they department, France’s “Cafe Racer” decides to distinguish itself from our version by imprinting “The Original” on covers, as if the fact that we aren’t, well, French isn’t enough to differentiate the two publications. August, 2013: We finally test Norton’s 961 Commando against Triumph’s exceedingly popular Thruxton. The feisty Norton spanks the lackluster Triumph like a red-haired stepchild in every area except, uh, price, dealer network, parts back-up, etc. December, 2013: Royal Enfield’s Continental GT factory cafe racers on cover and a [CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT] Clockwise from top right: Filming on location in E ngland for Cafe Racer TV ; B lake K elly races our Royal E nfield B ullet against the Ducati 9 9 9 superbike; Comedian A lonzo B odden hav ing a laugh on Triumph' s B obber; K im L ov e and B illy J oel discuss their shared lov e of K awasaki' s W 6 50; O ur first, digest- sized issue.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

track test pitting heavily-modded Enfield Bullet against Ducati 999 superbike reveals shocking results. January, 2014: Honda CB1100 project bike’s speed governor removed and picks up 42 additional MPH, proving that shadetree tuning is alive and well. Cafe Custom Show coverage from Sturgis, of all places, is featured alongside not one, but three Blake Kelly in-house builds. Our parts bill threatens to bankrupt us. July, 2014: Blake Kelly’s first attempt at Triton building proves groundbreaking as modified chassis T120 Triumph-powered special easily tops the ton. He somehow finds time and energy to remake Suzuki GSX-R sportbike into a badass Max Max streetfighter. Kid with van full of what he describes as “old, rusty junk” appears at our Mid-Ohio tent show offering 1959 Norton Dominator for $600. They aren’t making kids any smarter these days, are they?

bikes. In jeans.

ebrate with extra weekend shift...Local Norton expert Nick Coumos joins team as Britbike Guru. His advice proves Godlike. Despite a “no letters” policy, we run two pages of correspondence, most of which is inquiring about Managing Editor Kim Love’s feet and desires to see her and other female staffers mud-wrestle. “No letters” policy continues. April, 2016: Not to be outdone in the fearless road tester game, Blake Kelly bolts antique dustbin fairing onto Yamaha SR400 single and tops the ton. Riding fully prone Rollie Free-style on a busy public road, Blake wins Nutter of The Year award hands down.

July, 2015: Ever-stodgy mainstream mag “Cycle World” covers Austin’s Handbuilt custom bike show much to the irritation of their readers. Imitation being flattery and all, we’re chuffed...first female cover model, and the issue sells briskly, whether due to beauty of the female or of the Honda CB360, a product of the talented crew of California’s Charlie’s Place, we’ll never know.

February, 2017: BSA Golden Flash, our first bobber, is featured as custom bike scene demands more inclusivity...Greg Hageman builds custom Virago for us while Race of Gentleman pictorial proves fashion never goes out of style...$600 Norton Dominator completed; looks and rides better than new, Nick says.

October, 2014: All-Star issue with a visit to the always keen Jay Leno’s amazing So Cal garage and a Honda CB750 test with disgraced bicycle racer Lance Armstrong. Our Mid-Ohio bike show outgrows tent with nearly 100 entries. BMW’s R nineT retro tested to universal acclaim as modern classics scene heats up in showrooms.

August, 2015: We relocate Readers’ Ride-In Bike Show to our offices near Pittsburgh and the response is nothing short of grand. Harley/Manx Norton hybrid project bike tested and while beautiful and sharp-handling, bike vibrates like a lady porn star’s luggage.

June, 2017: Comedian and dedicated rider Alonzo Bodden tests Triumph’s awesome Bonneville Bobber while the retro wars escalate with Honda’s two new Rebels, BMW’s R nineT Racer, Ducati’s Scrambler and new Triumph 1200cc Bonnevilles. Free test ride junket trip to Europe? Why yes, thank you.

February, 2015: The suits at Discovery’s Velocity motorsports network stupidly change name of “Cafe Racer” series to “Naked Speed.” Ratings plummet and show is cancelled after one season as viewers mistakenly believe show to focus on nude women’s cross-country team. Pro roadracer and fearless road tester Keith Reed joins briefly as test rider, proving knee-downs are possible on antique

March, 2016: We buy back Triton we first built in 1995 and begin rebuild...ace builder Garry Lawrence featured on immaculate Norton/Ducati special and Cafe Racer tops sales charts among motorcycle magazine at Barnes and Noble stores nationwide, this despite our being told by industry insiders that no one – no one – would buy a motorcycle magazine penned by a black person. We cel-

www.caferacermag.com

October, 2017: Bike Show entries continue to outshine each other while Harley-Davidson’s Sportster celebrates 60th Birthday... December, 2017: Royal Enfield 650 twins revealed while we feature not one, not two, but three female custom builders on cover...Customized 1970s Hondas continue to rule cafe racer roost. And we press on. CR

Get Ahead Of the Curve— Subscribe To Café Racer Magazine!

Cafes. Bobbers. Modern Nakeds. Classics. Café Racer Has You Covered. Six issues of The Country’s Top-Selling Custom Motorcycle Magazine for Just $29.99—Save $12 Over Newsstand Price. Digital Subscriptions Available at www.caferacermag.com for just $19.95/year! Just follow these easy directions! Clip or copy the form below, and send it, along with your payment of $29.99 (U.S. subscriptions only) for a full year of six bi-monthly issues to Café Racer Magazine, PO Box 394, Sewickley, PA 15143 OR: Subscribe online at www.caferacermag.com for delivery to US, Canada and all other countries. European and UK subscribers may also visit www.themagazineman.co.uk. Note: Subscriptions begin with the next published issue.

CAFÉ RACER MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION P.O. Box 394 • Sewickley, PA 15143 Name __________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________ City _________________________________________________________ State ____________ Zip (or Post) Code ____________________ Country ___________________________________ E-Mail _________________________________________________________________________ CR56

www.caferacermag.com

Story and Photos by Mike Seate

hough known to few Americans, South Africa’s largest city has a vibrant custom motorcycle scene. With the country’s cultural and political links to England, British bikes have long been commonplace in Johannesburg where fledgling builder Schalk van der Walt lived back in 2005. After contacting his biking buddy Kobus Coerzen, the pair started talking about how they could team up to build a motorcycle together. They had previously built a few custom cars, but were inspired by the cafe racers filling their favorite websites, Shank said. “We both liked the versatility we saw, all based around the XS650 Yamaha, but these motorcycles were never really imported much into South Africa so we had to find an alternative,” he said with a thick accent. Their search for a donor machine soon led them to research British classics and Schalk’s personal favorites were the pre-unit Triumph twins. “I love the look of the timing side cover and the motor just has so much character. I ended up at the Vintage Motorcycle Club of South Africa where members Mike Cox, Peter Moody and Hendry Keneer helped me buy a basket case engine and Slickshift gearbox. I tracked the serial number to 1953 cases, but everything else was replaced with components from other years or models to make this and engine with all the best parts,” he said. Determined to create a top-echelon antique custom, Schalk delved into the many Triumph parts suppliers around the world for the best performance bits. The pre-unit 650cc Triumph cylinders were swapped to a nine-stud configuration so that later style heads, with improved combustion chambers could be used. The frame was found a while later at the back of a local garage, but being a rigid chassis from a 1947 Triumph Speed Twin, the bike would have to be a bobber, not a cafe racer. As the frame had been damaged in a long-ago accident, Schalk opted to stretch the front headstock section a good 4” for a classic bobber/chopper look. After doing some research, he realized the Speed Twin frame and preunit engine combo didn’t allow a single carb and air filter setup, so he switched to twin Amal concentric carbs along with hotter Bonneville cams for more grunt.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Curved girder forks are equipped with a monoshock damper and twin leading-shoe front brake; it works better than it looks.

Ridden, not hidden away at bike shows, this South African bobber is a true piece of rolling art.

The project, like most, was beginning to take on a direction and budget all its own, but that was part of the plan, Schalk said. “The goal was to build my vision of a bobber combining ideas from pictures and visions from my mind. I wanted this to display my building skills and make a motorcycle I can be proud off,” he said proudly. He soon contacted American bobber ace Dave Cook and made a journey to his workshop seeking advice. Impressed by one of Cook’s custom front ends designed and fabbed on a CNC machine from a solid piece of metal, Schalk, being short of this sort of high-tech equipment, pressed on. “I had to come up with a different way of construction for my forks, so my rendition was constructed from DOM tubing rolled at different radius. In my opinion this was my most difficult part to construct, but it is the best feature of the bike,” he said of the curved, girder-style front end with its single damping shock.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Twin bicycle dampers serve well as shock absorbers for the Triumph bobberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solo saddle.

Yes, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an old crystal doorknob utilized as a gear shifter.

The forks were certainly challenging but other parts were just difficult to find. Because the frame is from a Speed Twin the primary cover and back plate are extremely rare and the pre-unit engine utilizes capless rings so there’s a vacuum system in place of the standard breather. These are also virtually unobtainable parts, so Schalk fabricated a replacement system from scratch. “It had to look like part of the original engine so I made an oil separator that looks like an original generator on the front side of the engine. There is also a distributor on the rear - I hope to upgrade that as soon as I have a housing for the electronic ignition I built,” he said. The Triumph’s chain primary drive was swapped for a newer belt drive system and a dry clutch that required modifying the cover to ensure a snug fit. The clutch rollers were swapped for newer bearing setup while the engine cases were upgraded with an oil seal on the primary side to keep the 40-weight off the pavement. While many expect bobbers to be more about show than outright go, Schalk’s perfectionism resulted in a bike that can hold its own in the fast lane with much more modern machines. “I don’t think it rides much worse than riding an early 50s bike off the floor. She performs great and is pretty quick for a 60 year old machine,” he said. But what initially drew our eyes to the wild, brassy bobber was the insane level of custom detailing, from the wacky red, white and blue paint to the mini-shocks supporting the brown leather seat and those crazy copper accents. Schalk says the navy blue color came about from just mixing different paints with a metalflake that helps the sheen pop in direct sunlight. Not being a huge fan of chrome, but realizing the Triumph needed some extra pizzazz, he opted for copper which holds a nice antique patina over time while not demanding hours of weekly polishing. With bike completed and fully roadworthy, the first-time custom builder now calls Chicago home and appreciates the attention and constant compliments his bobber generates. “This was my first attempt to build a custom motorcycle from a box of parts. I had motorcycles when I was younger, and always tinkered on them, paint and so on, but never this scale of modification. I had to keep in mind the capabilities I had to my disposal and I think it came out better than expected for the limited amount of experience I had,” he said. CR

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

The high-bars and solo seat on Harley-Davidson's new Forty Eight Special are pure street custom

Fitted with optional drag bars and 1970s-inspired graphics, the mean, blacked-out Iron 1200 could star in "Sons of Anarchy."

www.caferacermag.com

isit any popular West Coast biker hang-out and you’ll see evidence of the style: late-model HarleyDavidsons outfitted with tall, flat drag handlebars, tiny, fork-mounted bikini fairings and sinister-looking blacked-out paint jobs. The style was popularized by bikes built for the long-running cable TV series “Sons of Anarchy” though outlaw biker gangs have worked this dragbike-inspired custom vein for years. Now, as they have in the past, the Bar and Shield have embraced street customizing by offering a factory version of bikes once deemed too edgy and weird for OEMs. The new-for-2018 HarleyDavidson Iron 1200 Sportster follows in the clever footprint of bikes like the original 1971 Super Glide Shovelhead, which combined parts from the XL Sportster range with an oddball boat tail rear fender and the 74 cubic inch Shovelhead engine and chassis from the FL touring range.

The $9,999 Iron 1200 has attitude to spare, from its rehash of the flowing blue stripe tank logo from AMF-era Sportsters to the all-black finish and the mean, lean stance. Now in its 61st year of continuous production, the Sportster enjoys the longest manufacturing run of any motorcycle and the

rich heritage to draw inspiration that comes with such a lineage. The Sportster, in our opinion, has long been the most nimble, sporty and handsome of all Milwaukee’s motorcycles, and the torquey, 1200cc Evolution powerplant has proven a winner for decades. The new Iron 1200 is about as outlaw as factory bikes get, with baby apehanger handlebars arching a full 8.75 inch rise, a 3.3-gallon classic Sportster tank and all black nine-spoke aluminum wheels. Though aimed at the type of riders who like a head start on creating a custom ride, the Iron 1200 is offered in not just S.O.A.-approved black, but in Twisted Cherry red and Billiard white paint schemes. Drawing on the post-WWII bobber movement that’s also in the throes of a global resurgence, the Iron 1200 has shorty, cut-off fenders over its 18” rear and 19” front wheels, though the new bike is fully 21st century high tech with anti-lock brakes and a security system alarm installed as standard. Those features are also included in the base, $11,299 asking price of the 2018 Forty-Eight Special, one of Harley-Davidson’s most popular Sportster models of recent years. This is the bike clearly touching a nerve with With 73 foot-pounds of torque on offer, doing this on the new 1200cc Sportsters should be a twist-and-grin affair.

youthful riders seeking an old school bike with new school tech. A 130mm front tire that’s fatter than a Waffle House breakfast has always characterized the bobber-inspired Forty-Eight, a bike that receives similar AMF-era rainbow graphics on its short-range 2.2-gallon peanut tank. As on the Iron 1200 Tallboy handlebars are standard, topping a set of Sequoia-like 49mm forks with a tiny, chopper-style black headlight. Both front and rear wheels are 16” rolling via nine-spoke aluminum rims while Harley has wisely chosen to seriously upgrade the Sportsters’ suspension with cartridge front ends equipped with fork braces for improved cornering and stability. Oddly, the front brakes remain single-sided affairs, with single, front rotor and caliper deemed up to the job of stopping a pair of 545pound motorcycles. On both the Iron 1200 and Forty-Eight models for this year the twin rear shocks are emulsion type units with screw-in preload adjusters. Solo seats are standard so unless you have a bike-averse partner, a bolt-on pillion pad is in your future. The 1200cc air-cooled engine is fuel injected and throws out a considerable 73 foot-pounds of torque at low revs, a powertrain characteristic that makes Sportsters so much fun to blat around from stoplight to stoplight. The original, flat-barred FortyEight is still available this year for around the same sticker price. For our money, we’d buy the far moodier-looking Special and replace the apehangers with a set of clubman or drag bars and then the fun would really start. It’s a marvel of modern engineering that HD can continue refining what are basically 60-year-old engine designs in an age of fanatically stringent EPA regulations. The fact that we can ride air-cooled 1202cc motorcycles when nearly every other manufacturer has either seen their air-cooled models refused U.S. entry (Kawasaki W800, anyone?) or given in to water-cooling proves that Harley-Davidson is determined to maintain their heritage, even as it modernizes in many other ways. Look for a full riding impression next issue. CR Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

ROAD SCHOLARS – PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR RIDING

Make The Most of That First Spring Ride By Tim Morrowfield

ven in warmer climes, winter means at least a brief layoff from day-to-day motorcycling. Eventually the sun will come bursting through the clouds again and the mercury will rise, though it’s imperative that you, the rider, be able to rise to the occasion. Both you and your machine will require some careful setting up and prep work before hitting the road for a new season, as an ounce of prevention, where rapid riding is concerned, is worth a pound of road-rash. Follow these five tips for a seamless return to the road for 2018.

Work That Body Unless you’re already faithful to a regular workout regimen, it’s best to rev up the old bones and ligaments before embarking on a new season of two-wheeled adventure. Starting gradually, spend at least 10 minutes each morning performing a few basic stretching exercises. We’re not talking advanced yoga positions that tie your body up like a beer hall pretzel; instead, try briefly touching your toes ten times followed by a few sit-ups to develop the sort of core strength needed to pick up a fallen motorcycle. A brisk, 15-minute walk helps build stamina while the sort of calisthenics you dreaded during gym class are always a good jump-start for both body and mind. Just look at a professional motorcycle racer’s fitness level for proof that a strong body is a proficient one in the saddle.

Pressure Is Good Whatever you do, check your tire pressures. That vague, mushy feeling that presents itself every time you turn the handlebars or apply the front brakes at low speed? That’s caused by a loss of air pressure in your tires. This tends to occur over time, especially if your bike has been parked for a few weeks or months. Parked outside under a tarp or inside an unheated storage space? Cold weather also affects tire pressure, but you knew that already, didn’t you?

Ease on Down the Road Planning to ride a very, very long way on that inaugural ride of spring? Unless you’ve been

www.caferacermag.com

training for the Paris to Dakar all winter this is quite possibly the worst course of action for a rider who’s been out of the saddle for several months. Forcing yourself to push both your body and your machine to the limit, even though both of you would benefit from easing yourselves back into the saddle a few miles at a time, is an accident waiting to happen. Instead, gradually increase your riding distances over a period of several weeks. This will help your muscles acclimate themselves to the rigors of riding and, if yours is a classic or antique machine, easing back into daylong journeys gives the old girl time to sort out any mechanical gremlins that always seem to surface early on.

Go Nuts Whatever you do, spend a few moments in the shed carefully tightening the nuts and bolts on your bike before setting out. Those annoying, high-pitched rattles you hear are just nuts and bolts loosening themselves with vibration. As any tenth grade physics student

can tell you, those noises will eventually rise to a crescendo just before they mercifully stop. And a rattle followed by silence means the loose fender, mirror or major component is no longer attached to your bike.

Don’t Be a Fool; Add New Fuel Today’s ethanol-enriched commercial gasoline is, well, absolute crap as far as motorcycles are concerned. Ethanol can corrode plastic carburetor floats, cause needle valves to grow sticky and generally break down into a watery sludge in a few months. Did you run stabilizer through your bike’s fueling system for at least ten minutes before storing it for winter? Even if you did, it’s best to drain all that months-old petrol from the tank and start anew. Battery-powered fuel pumps are excellent for emptying gas tanks and cost just a few bucks. Your buddy who owns the pick-up truck that will ferry you home during a fuel-based breakdown will thank you. CR

Stylin’ BIKER MOVIES REVISITED The Times they are indeed a’changin’, as Bob Dylan once so aptly observed, and today that lyric rings even more true than ever. What with the ever-present forces of a runaway consumer culture, political correctness, cultural polarization and Internet-obsessed youth, CRM wondered what some classic biker movies might be like were they filmed today.

“Born Losers” Cut to: Vigilante Billy Jack kicks in the door of a run-down house where a local outlaw biker gang has abducted a young girl who rides a Yamaha. The scene unfolds: Billy Jack: “Step aside you monsters and leave that innocent girl be!” Biker Gang Leader: “Give it a break, John Wayne. Missy here is nearly done with her complete makeover. We’ll be just a sec, doll. Animal, how’s it coming with her pedicure and getting rid of that helmet hair?” Burly, Bearded Biker: “Almost done, sugar, and to think she rolled in here with those tired bangs and wearing last year’s biker boots! What a crime!” Billy Jack: “You mean she’s OK and you’ve been holding her here all weekend for a complete makeover? What the...” Abducted Girl: “I’m not just OK, Charles Bronson, I’m bloody fabulous! Just look at this dress; it’s the latest from Paris Fashion Week.” Billy Jack: “Wait a minute, what’s with the manicured beards...and who are these guys with the video cameras?” Biker Gang Leader: “This makeover is for the new season of Queer Eye for the Straight Girl. And if Missy here plays her cards right, she gets booked on the Ellen Degeneres Show and our whole gang gets a shot at selling our biker cosmetics and hair care line on Shark Tank. Now, let’s have a look at what’s hiding under that terrible cowboy hat! How utterly Rio Lobo.”

“World’s Fastest Indian” Cut To: A weird, torpedo-shaped streamlined motorcycle hurtling across a deserted road at top speed. The wail of a police siren blares in the foreground. Patrolman pulls over motorcycle and strides forward. Highway Patrolman: “Any idea how fast you were going back there, my friend?” Burt Munro: “About 150, I’d guess?” Patrolman: “That’s pretty accurate.” Munro: “Of course it is. I’ve been monitoring my velocity thanks to this new satellitebased Garmin GPS unit that also doubles as a speedometer, tachometer, air-speed velocity indicator and thermometer with both Fahrenheit and Celsius settings. In fact, this baby has a memory of over a trillion kilobytes and offers instant messaging on several platforms at once, full, 360-degree high-res, vibrationresistant video and feeds directly into my YouTube channel with Bluetooth included!” Patrolman: “Well, um, I gotta go answer another emergency call. Just take it easy.” Munro: “That’s not all! This baby can link live to Facebook where I can chat live with my followers who are also snapchatting my race results and creating a new software start-up to market my latest inventions to Silicon Valley.” Cut To: Panicked Highway Patrolman speeding away from Munro who is still describing his new GPS.

www.caferacermag.com

“Easy Rider” Fade To: Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” blares as two long-haired hippy bikers roar across a picturesque Arizona landscape. Cut to: The bikers unroll their sleeping bags and set up camp outside a small rural farming community. Dennis Hopper’s Billy: “Hey man, like, dig on the cosmic consciousness of us out looking for the real America on our righteous choppers. Trippy, huh?” Peter Fonda’s Captain America: “Yeah, dude, it’s totally cool doing our own thing.” Cut To: A rustling in the bushes reveals several angry-looking villagers come to confront the strangers. Man in Coveralls and Straw Hat: “Where you fellows from? You ain’t illegal Mexicans, is ya?” Billy: “Whoa, dudes, you are, like totally messing with my trip, man.” Captain America: “Yeah, man, we’re Americans just like you.” Man in Coveralls: “That’s good, ‘cause were a havin’ us a Trump rally here tomorrow and we’ve been rounding up Mexicans. They ain’t welcome here no more.” Billy: “That’s a total bummer, dude. Almost as much of a bummer as Hillary Clinton kidnapping those little kids and torturing them beneath that pizza restaurant.” Townspeople: “You know about that too? I’ll be danged, you longhairs are OK with us.” Captain America: “Here’s sit down and smoke some of this and we’ll tell you all about all the wild conspiracies going on in greater the cosmic consciousness.” Man in Coveralls: “Groovy, dude. And stop bogartin’ that joint.”

“The Wild One” Fade To: A leather-clad biker gang drinking beer and causing commotion in a small, Southern California farming town. The brooding gang leader Johnny steps from a tavern to address the guys. Brando: “I say we blow this pop-stand and head on back to Carbonville. This place is too square.” Fellow Biker: “What’s the matter, Johnny? Is it that crazy dame in the tavern you got eyes for? Is it her Dad, that itchy cop?” Brando: “No, man, There’s no Starbucks in this one-horse burgh and I only need one more hole in my punch card to earn a free, half-caf non-fat mocha latte with extra foam, whipped cream and gluten-free hot caramel sauce.” Cut To: Far end of town where the roar of dozens of loud motorcycles can be heard. A rival biker gang, headed by the scruffy, bearded Chino rolls through. Chino: “Hey, good lookin’- whatcha doin’ later? Hey, everybody, Johnny’s gang is here!” Brando’s Gang Members: “Whaddya say, Johnny, do we stick around and let Chino and the Beetles have it?” Gang Member: “Yeah, we can’t let those losers run us outta town.” Brando: Naw, Daddy-O. When Chino realizes there no free wi-fi anywhere near this town, he’ll panic when he realizes he can’t stream the brawl to his 54,000 Instagram followers. Let’s split before they do.” Fade To: Brando and Chino, sitting at Starbucks, days later, sipping venti coffees and typing contentedly on their tablets. What is It? ANSWER: The tool in question is a special, thin-walled box wrench necessary for fettling classic British motorcycle engines.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

CR Tech BLAIR’S GARAGE Shop Talk and Workbench Wisdom from the CRM Team Say No to Winter Seals After experiencing several unpleasant and potentially costly fuel tank leaks on both steel and alloy gas tanks, we’re sworn proponents of liquid tank sealants like POR 15. Fairly cheap at around $39 for a 16oz can, these plastic polymers are just the ticket for coating tank interiors to ward off both rust and pinhole leaks. However, as we recently learned, be sure to apply POR 15 only in warmer weather as the liquid takes far longer than the label’s suggested 48 hours to dry when cold. The CRM garage is maintained at a comfortable 64 degrees through the dead of winter, but even the roar of a furnace wasn’t enough to dry the sealant, which was still runny after more than a week. In previous applications the tanks have been fuel-ready in as little as 36 hours, albeit during summer when temperatures inside the garage hover in the high 70s. And while you’re at it be sure to thread a bolt into the petcock aperture in the fuel tank bottom as POR 15 dries to such a thickness your petcock hole will require a re-tapping before use.

Wrapper’s Delight If you, like us, have struggled to wrap your exhaust headers in trick-looking fiberglass heat wrap, your days of worry are over. We’ve found that soaking the wrap in warm water for five or ten minutes before binding it around an exhaust pipe makes the task far less of a wrestling match, so to speak. Be careful not to get the wrap too wet as it will start to unravel. The fiberglass should dry on its own in a couple of days time.

are possibly the most neglected maintenance item rolling. Yes, we said maintenance item, as fork oil is actually recommended to be replaced every two years by manufacturers and aftermarket suspension firms alike. Of course, we tend to change our fork oil less often than we do fuel filters – that is, we only tend to notice it when something’s gone very wrong. Tech Editor Matt Wiley, who knows a thing or 90 about suspension maintenance, says fork oil can and does suffer viscosity breakdown which affects the way your front end han-

Hit the Sheets

Threading a same-sized bolt into a petcock hole will help save your threads when using liquid tank sealants.

What is It? This oddball tool was an absolute necessity for building three of the last project bike engines in the CRM garage, but was never issued by the manufacturer. Mostly fabricated by frustrated engine techs who’ve tired of busted knuckles, this baby deserves a place in any British bike fan’s toolbox. Answer at bottom of this issue’s “Stylin’” page.

Frayed and unraveling heat wrap can be cured by wetting the wrap before applying.

Reaching That Fork in the Road Next to rubber hoses that supply fuel and lubricants to your motorcycle, the hydraulic damping fluid inside a motorcycle’s forks

www.caferacermag.com

dles, everything from steering imputs to bumps in the asphalt. We’ve shipped Matt several pairs of fork tubes in recent years that are filled with what he describes as a “foul, fishy-smelling fluid that’s part water, part oil and completely useless.” To avoid this curse, locate the small drain screw that’s typically located on the very bottom of most traditional (read: Right Way UP) fork legs. Unscrew said bolt with forks pointed in a straightforward position and allow oil to drain into a pan for at last 20 minutes. Hurriedly clean out wife’s prized frying pan before she realizes it’s missing [NOT funny, honey – M.Ed] and re-fill forks with measure of fluid listed in owner’s manual. If, like most of us, you’ve long-ago misplaced your bike’s manual, pick-up a good service manual, check with brand-specific websites or call your local dealer for specific fork oil measurements. And don’t cheat by using transmission fluid, engine oil or Crisco which are big no-nos.

Can You Guess What This Is For?

We recently encountered a problem where a pair of modern sport radial tires designed to fit our 1967 Norton Atlas project bike failed to slide within the tight confines of the stock front fender. Modern radials tend to be somewhat wider and taller than their skinny, bias-ply predecessors, making tire fitment an issue in some cases. The easy answer is actually anything but easy, but bear with us. The problem stemmed from the Norton front fender struts being too short to accommodate the taller tire, which is curable by fabricating slightly longer fender struts. I’m no bloody fabricator, you say? Nonsense, dear boy, says CRM contributor Blair Powell. “You can buy scraps of sheetmetal, either steel or softer aluminum on eBay for next to nothing from guys who run machine shops who usually throw the little pieces away as scrap. A 12”x12” sheet of ¼” thick alloy is just $20 and you can draw the desired struts on the aluminum with a sharpie, cut them out with a band saw and Bob’s your uncle,” Blair says. A few sessions on a grinding wheel will be necessary to smooth rough edges, naturally, but with custom-made fender brackets thin on the ground, Blair’s is a sensible solution. CR

CR Tech The Odd Duck: Blair Powell’s Honda CX500 Story and Photos by Blair Powell Editor’s Note: Longtime CRM contributor Blair Powell owns more stalled bike projects than you can shake a can of starting fluid at. His CX500 Honda is one bike we think we can encourage Blair to get running in time for, well, if we’re lucky, in time for the 45th Annual Reader’s ride-In Bike Show, slated for August, 2053.

fter deciding to make some upgrades to my semi-customized, 1979 Honda CX, I started doing some Internet searches to find what was available. Turns out there’s plenty. Some things to watch for: The bolts to the front brake master cylinder reservoir seize up pretty often (it’s a bad sign when an eBay parts search for a weird part comes up with hundreds of results). I wound up putting on an aftermarket master cylinder that should shore up the stopping power at bit. The front brakes as issued stock from Honda aren’t great, but you can replace the weak, singlepiston caliper with a dual-piston caliper from 1981 to ’83 models of Honda’s GL1100 Goldwing. I found one on eBay for under $50 that included both calipers (the GL had two front brake rotors) master cylinder and mounting bracket for the front fork leg. The calipers were in fairly good shape and we’ll get around to doing an install soon. In other areas needing attention, the fuel line inlet to the carbs is a brass “T” sealed with Orings which often leak. Actually, there are a ton of O-rings on the CX; most of the water cooling system is made up of steel pipes sealed with O-rings so you may spend some time tracking down coolant leaks. The throttle return springs are fairly weak, so be careful they don’t stick open at WOT. When you put on your low bars make sure the cables are routed properly, and well-lubed. There’s no fork oil drain plug. Who thought that would be a good idea? You have to pull the fork tubes to change the fork oil, so I guarantee the fork oil in your new project hasn’t been changed in 20 years. The sideways nature of the engine has pros and cons as well. Things like valve adjustment and changing plugs are super easy, but some common repairs require you to drop the motor. The stator, cam chain/adjustor and

Upgrading the Honda's brakes is as easy as bolting on a set of Gold Wing calipersyours for under $100.

mechanical seal (the seal that keeps the oil and coolant separated) all require this, so some sites even call it the “Triple Bypass”. While the motor is out you may as well replace all of them. While I was doing shakedown runs on my bike it was running fine until the stator failed. I pulled the motor to find that the whole time the cam chain adjustor was broken and the cam chain was scary loose. Plus a fin was broken off the fan, and the previous owner left out the thermostat. As a wise man (in fact, Editor Mike Seate) once said, “Buying an old bike is buying someone else’s problems.” The CX uses an electronic ignition (early models used a CDI ignition, later ones a TI ignition.) These systems work great, until they don’t, and replacement brains for the systems are really hard to come by. There are some aftermarket systems, but they aren’t cheap, so I would be leery of buying a

CX that wasn’t running. Parts in general aren’t hard to find, but there are a few parts that can’t be found from the usual sources. So far Randakk’s Cycle Shakk and David Silver Spares have been the best sources for hard-to-find CX parts. And finally, I’d like to give a shout-out to cx500forum.com. Those guys know a whole lot about CXs,and are very helpful. CR Next Up: Delving into the engine. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Resources www.randakks.com www.davidsilverspares.com

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

CR Tech

Honda CB450 Project

Part Six: Race-ing Ahead Story by Mike Seate • Photos by Nick Coumos

ith the CB450’s troublesome engine finally secured into the powdercoated frame, we soldiered forward in our attempt to have the bike at least somewhat completed in time for the 2018 Reader’s Ride-In Bike Show. The event’s August 11 date places us only a few short months away from a deadline for the 1972 Honda twin, so what could possibly hinder us in our quest, we stupidly asked. It seldom gets more high tech than a block of wood and a hammer.

Our friends at California’s Race Tech had been generous to rebuild the Honda’s original 33mm telescopic forks for us, upgrading the internals from the springs to the seals and fluids and even securing new rubber boots, which are tough to find for the 46-year-old bike. Forks in hand, we did a fair-to-midland job of polishing the aluminum lower legs on the shop polishing wheel before pausing to order new needle roller bearings and steel races from All Balls Racing. The original ball bearings had scattered themselves to the four distant corners of the garage when we pulled the rusty forks from their moorings a while back and new bearings and races should help the 450 steer more like a modern motorcycle. Fairly affordable at $39.99 for the complete kit including bearings, seals and cups (or races to us old schoolers), they mount the old fashioned way – by pounding the living bejeesus out of the cups until they fit flush into the steering stem head. To facilitate this Neanderthal feat of engineering, we, not equipped with a mechanical press, utilized a brass mallet and a small block of wood. Yes, it was ghetto/red neck engineering at its finest, but after several sweat-soaked, ear-ringing sessions, the new races were firmly in place. The new tapered roller bearings slid easily into place over the exposed steering stem, and, remembering to place the fork’s triple clamps in place before mounting the whole shebang, we suddenly had a new front end mounting system on the Honda in less than an hour. There’s still much to contemplate with the 450’s forks as we’d like to upgrade the solid steel rotor to a lighter, drilled version and we’ll need to source a new caliper to replace the original unit that bit the dust back when “Mary Hartman Mary Hartman” still blessed our TV screens. Stay tuned. CR Resources: www.racetech.com • www.allballsracing.com

CR Tech Long Island Barn Find 1967 Norton Atlas

The Rim Job Story by Mike Seate Photos by Nick Coumos

ou know what’s proven to be the most difficult part of restoring a vintage motorcycle? No, it’s not fiddling endlessly with weird old British hardware or tracking down parts so obscure Indiana Jones would scoff at locating them. No, the tough bit when it comes to our 1967 Norton Atlas is leaving well enough alone. Originally, the bike was rescued with so few miles (just over 10,000) and so many of its original components intact that we’d decided not to bother attempting one of those clean-enough-to-eat-off, pristine restoration jobs. Those types of painstakingly-perfect machines are quite common at antique bike shows, but the machines that float our boats are the hardy, well-worn original condition classics. You know, old British motorcycles where the hard-ridden, well-appreciated past is etched in every paint blemish, chrome scratch and weather-beaten patina that greets the eye. Ah, but even the best-laid plans have of way of unraveling on an oily lift-stand. The Norton’s spoked wheels proved a particular point of contention as the heavy, chromed steel wheels may have suffered some corrosion and pitting, but upon close inspection

Before...

proved fully roadworthy. The steel spokes had been dulled by 50 years’ exposure to the Earth’s atmosphere, but that only added to the Norton’s appeal. However, as we intend this bike to be ridden on a regular (read: rapid) basis, wheels are an area where safety should not be compromised. We rang up Buchanan’s Wheel and Spokes out in Azusa, California where main man Robert Buchanan actually waved off our concerns. “If there’s any parts on old British motorcycles that don’t need tinkering with, it’s the wheels and spokes. They were some of the best ever made and if they’re not overly rusty or bent, should hold up for a long time,” he advised. That’s solid advice from a guy whose business is creating some of the world’s best wire motorcycle wheels. However, the more we painted, powdercoated and just plain restored other parts on the big black 750, the more the tarnished wheel rims bothered us. Somehow, the weatherbeaten factory-issue seat seemed OK (despite issuing a haze of disintegrating padding every time we sat on it) as did the featherbed frame’s unpolished spray can finish. But the wheels, we soon decided, had to go. Nick busied himself removing the spokes with a special spoke-removal drill bit and Buchanan’s was called in to build a set of proper replacements.

Two brief weeks later, we were glad – make that ecstatic – to have made that decision. Buchanan’s shipped back to us a set of lovely, Italian Borranis shouldered alloy rims that lent the Atlas an undeniable 1960s café racer look. We’d been struggling to polish the drum brake hubs properly and, left in Buchanan’s hands, the brakes now shone like triple chrome plating. Their polisher, Robert Buchanan said, works like a man possessed, bringing out a mirror-like finish in alloy wheel parts that we mere mortals can only imagine. A set of new Metzeler Sportec Klassik radials mounted, the Atlas was drawing dangerously near to a completed (looking) motorcycle. The only hitch proved to be the front tire’s profile which, like many modern radials for classic bikes, proved too tall to fit beneath the aftermarket Norton alloy fender. Radials tend to be wider and taller than comparably-sized bias-ply tires, so modding fenders to fit these newfangled hoops is frequently necessary. We’ll tackle that problem next issue; in the meantime, I’m grabbing a pint and basking in the reflection of the Norton’s new wheels. CR

www.buchananspokes.com

And after. What a difference new Buchanan's wheels and a professional polish job can make.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

CR Tech 2016 Triumph Thruxton

Cleansing The Palette Story and Photos by Paul D. Stanstead

usy days these are in the CRM garage. With spring already showing signs of actually returning – the Pittsburgh winter was a doublehard bastard this year – we’re clanking wrenches in a fevered effort to get the fleet rolling again. The 2016 Triumph Thruxton 1200 is in the midst of an extensive makeover, having received new Beringer four-piston front brake calipers, a pair of adjustable Hagon Nitro shocks, heated grips and delightfully noisy Vance and Hines stainless steel slip-on mufflers. The biggest job we left for last: having the Triumph’s front forks re-valved and upgraded by California’s Race Tech. The standard Thruxton’s non-adjustable 41mm Kayaba forks may be cartridge-equipped, but they’re no match for the high-tech, 43mm Showa big piston jobbies bolted onto the more costly Thruxton R model. Being A) cheapskates, and B) devoted tinkerers, we’ve tasked Race Tech’s boffins with improving the damping capabilities of the Kayaba front end to a point where it feels somewhat comparable to the Showa units. This is unknown territory for Race Tech as they’ve not yet rebuilt a set of new Thruxton fork legs and therefore will be working from scratch to create bespoke ruxton roll with ld prefer the Th But Blake wou like this.... b jo t flake pain a brash, metal

www.caferacermag.com

components to fit. While the forks are away on the West Coast for refurbishment, we’ve decided to address one of the remaining shortcoming of this otherwise very capable retro ride – its looks. Triumph’s engineers really went to town designing the 1200cc Thruxton’s performance, creating a smooth, tractable powertrain that wipes the pub floor with the previous, 900cc model. Everything from the notch-free six-speed transmission to the flawless fuel injection (equipped with throttle bodies cleverly disguised to resemble 1950’s Amal monoblock carburetors, no less) and the three-stage traction control are state-ofthe-art.

Mike thinks favors the pad dock-inspired red and white from earlier Thr uxtons.

Which makes us wonder why Boring in basic back, the Thruxton Triumph saw fit needs a paint job that will match to offer the its racy performance. Thruxton in only the most basic of paint schemes. We weren’t crazy Right now, we’re scouring old bike magaabout the gloss black finish zines in the shop office for inspiration, with when purchasing the bike, Blake Kelly favoring a wacky, bass-boat metthough a reduced price alflake finish and editor Seate delving tag of just $9,999 made through old racing photos for a paddock-rethe bike irresistible. ‘Twas lated paint scheme. As for me, I’m all for an odd decision on TriBritish Racing Green, spiced up with plenty umph’s part to scrimp on of tank graphics borrowed from Triumph’s detailing when so many storied past. Whatever we decide, staff other retros currently in spraygun master Muzzy is set to help with showrooms – from the final aesthetic decision, which we hope Yamaha’s XSR900 to to bring you next issue. CR Harley-Davidson’s Iron1200 Sportster, for instance – offer lust-inResource: www.racetech.com ducing paint and detailing.

CR Tech NICK’S GARAGE

New Forks for an Old Ride Story and Photos by Nick Coumos

y motorcycle builds may have, in the past, been considered rather typical, dare I say, boring. I start with a stock bike and build a stock bike, just cleaned up and painted. Perhaps I would add some upgrades if they were time tested and known to add reliability or simplicity, but nothing radical. I am comfortable with this procedure, but I’ve always had the feeling that I could do more. Like maybe I should try something really creative if I want a true custom experience, showing a little more of my personality and skill. This is, after all, the true spirit of the “café racer.” And so, the procedure for this venture is a little different from past projects. The first part is the same: I still start by creating a perfectly working motorcycle. Though it might seem double the work, I then disassemble it for paint and polish. One might think they can save time and skip the initial assembly. You may even get away with that once or twice, but any time savings will disappear with the first weld on tab that needs to be moved after the part has been powder coated. For this project we will do it the right way. There’s a reason they call it “fit and finish” and not “finish, fit, oh no it doesn’t fit, refit and refinish.”

I have always been a Norton guy. I’ve owned a number of them over the years and have a good selection of parts and tools in my garage along with the knowledge to make them run and keep them running. With this in mind, it only makes sense that this brand will be the basis for the build. I also happen to have the perfect donor bike in my garage waiting for me. A few years ago I was offered an early model 750 Commando with some real issues. It was likely a bid by the previous owner to achieve his own version of a custom motorcycle. The frame backbone had been cut, shortened, and welded and the rear loop and seat area had been altered. There were more things cut off or added to this frame than the ship of Theseus and with so much done, I had made the decision that the frame was unsafe to use. But since I had a later model Commando frame in my stash of parts, I bought the bike anyway. This bike, along with the Commando frame that I already had, would be the opportunity to build my custom project. I’ve always liked the Lester mag wheels that many motorcycle manufacturers used in the late 70s and Norton even added them to their final production Commandos. I don’t have a set of Lesters, but I have the next best thing, a set of Yamaha Lester look-alikes. In fact, I have a complete SR500 front and rear end that I bought 30 years ago just for a project

like this. (Yes, this project was in my head just after they were making noise about the big wall-demolition project in Berlin, but just before George Bush urged us to read his lips.) These parts are now added to my frame, and the project begins. In addition to the wheels, I now have front and rear disc brakes, a cush drive rear wheel hub and a later model front fork. The Yamaha front forks should be a big improvement over the dated Norton front end as the Norton forks, first introduced in 1946, remained unchanged until the end of the production line in 1976. With the more modern Japanese front end mounted, the infamous “Norton Clunk” (the sound coming from the forks when you put the bike on the center stand or go over a large bump) will be gone. Perhaps the biggest advantage of the Yamaha parts is the ability to upgrade the brakes, to achieve near modern brake function. Many vendors offer upgrades for the ubiquitous Yamaha XS models and as it happens many of those parts are identical to the fork bits on the SR500 single. With the wheels fitted to the frame, my project begins. The motor and transmission will go into the frame without too much fuss. I’m not planning to rebuild those parts yet, just get them in and running. Watch this space in the coming issues to see this project, years in the making, finally come together. CR

[LEFT] Dig those crazy high bars, chromed, hex oil bag and poorly modified chassis. No wonder Nick has big plans for this misbegotten Commando. [RIGHT] The project bike sporting a Yamaha SR500 front end and mag wheels. Fuel tank is a rare police unit with radio mount on top.

Cafe Racer • APRIL/MAY 2018

Workshop Files If there’s a problem with your custom or retro ride, Tech Editor Matt Wiley has an answer. His decades spent supplying smart fix-it solutions for racers, customizers and everyday throttle jockeys can be accessed at: m.wiley@moto-services.net

Dear Cafe Racer, I own two 1986 Kawasaki GPZ1000R Ninjas. Even here in classic motorcycle-rich Seattle trying to solve the dreaded OEM gas tank self destructive malady that affects the GPZ is impossible. No tanks can be found on eBay or any other sources and if one does appear, the cheap, paper-thin steel construction of these tanks is a guarantee of severe rust. I am at a complete loss and the cost of manufacturing a one-off replica would be murderously prohibitive. Any help or assistance please? Thomas W. Sima Seattle, WA Tom, Thanks for your note. I am familiar with this issue having heard others lamenting about it as well as encountering it some years back myself. You are quite correct: the 1980s- to 1990s-era fuel tanks used very light gauge steel and many have shapes that result in pockets of gas that does not drain naturally during use. When this combines with age, water builds up in the areas with seam failure, pinholes and rust pockets. Like your Ninja my Yamaha XJ900 is a model also known for this issue. Regular riding resulting in fresh fuel being the rule rather than the exception, usually keeps the tanks alive. Climate can be a factor as well, the Pacific Northwest humidity being worse than the Southwest. Fixing these has never been easy. I’ve been fortunate enough in the past to source used tanks through the salvage network. You mentioned eBay, but have you put out a request on the salvage network? If you browse a bit you’ll find several online parts request submis96

www.caferacermag.com

sion sites. The request will go out to many salvage yards subscribing to the network and there are several of these to try. Some are free; some charge a fee. If a yard has what you’re looking for, you will get a call and an e-mail with details and pricing. I’ve had success with this method. If it comes down to random salvage yard searching, I suggest you focus on the Southwest per the climate issues that contribute to this problem. Short of replacing the tank, I have known welders who could mate together torn aluminum foil. However finding someone capable is the challenge and some tanks are beyond welding. Another repair option is some sort of internal lining. This can be hit or miss on a DIY basis, however the best product I’ve found for home repair is Caswell. Sending your tank out for professional repair is the best option if money is not an issue. There are several companies claiming they can fix any tank, and one of these may be worth trying and, I feel, your best option. I would suggest contacting each one to see who you feel can best service your fuel tank situation. See below for some of my resources. Very Truly Yours Matt Wiley Dent Dynamics: www.dentdynamics.net Motorcycle Gas Tank Services: www.motorcyclegastankservices.com Moyer Fuel Tank Renu: www.gas-tank.com GTL Advantage: www.gastanklining.com Vintage Monkey: www.thevintagemonkey.com Randy’s Cycle: www.rcycle.com Mr. Cycle Parts: www.mrcycleparts.com Northend Cycle Salvage: www.usedmotorcyclesalvage.com Rider Parts: www.riderparts.com

Street Scene

A Market For Bargain Builds?

’ve met a lot of custom bike builders in the 20 years I’ve been writing about motorcycles (yes, I started when I was 9, thanks for asking). But I think they are always caught off guard whenever I ask questions or interview them. Rarely are my questions about the bikes or the hard parts or the fabrication process. I’m always more interested in their story: where did you come from, how did you wind up building bikes and how did you discover motorcycles in the first place? Many custom bike builders have unique stories for that last one, which is unlike writing about racers, where most of those stories are the same (dad bought me a Yamaha PW50). But I’ve never considered that a custom builder could be a gateway to motorcycling. If motorcycling in this country is to survive, it can’t rely on dads passing it down to their sons and daughters. The Motorcycle Industry Council and the American Motorcyclist Association already knows that (I hope). This is why I found Adam Bowser’s story so interesting. Adam is a custom bike builder in this magazine’s hometown of Pittsburgh. He founded Moto PGH in 2013 and started riding around 2001. Nobody in his family rode, his friends didn’t ride, he wasn’t trying to be a teenage rebel to upset his parents. He didn’t get inspired by anything he saw or read. His first bike was a complete impulse purchase but the transaction still took serious commitment. He saw it online, drove over four hours to see it and then slammed it into a parked car during his test ride. Adam had never been on a motorcycle and his first riding session ended one second after he dumped the clutch. That Honda Hurricane cost him a few extra bucks in the form of an insurance deductible but he still wanted to get into motorcycles. Today, he’s owned 20 of his own motorcycles and his shop has turned over 100 customs. He says he averages one a week. Purveyors of the high end custom bike shows might scoff at those statistics. Yes, he’s probably not going to win best of show at the Hand Built event in Texas. He hasn’t pored over and pondered for days about the design of every single nut and bolt. The frame isn’t handcrafted. The

www.caferacermag.com

that’s neither obscenely high nor low. In reality, it’s an arbitrary number that is difficult to attach value to. It’s like asking what Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP bike is worth. Yes, magazines and pundits like to throw around figures with lots of commas and zeroes but that exact bike and its parts will never be massed produced and sold at retail. The engineering and number of people hand building parts for those bikes make them impossible to place values on.

bike isn’t sitting half-finished because the buyer who commissioned it failed to make a deposit. Bowser builds them, puts them online and they disappear quickly. Over bottles of beer, I’ve been able to learn about the personal and professional stories of dozens of builders. Some have battled health issues, marital problems and landlord or employee woes. Some like where custom building is going; others loathe its popularity. What they’re all trying to do, the one thing they all have in common is that they’re trying to make a buck in a creative landscape where nothing is black and white. In a repair shop, an oil change might cost $40 and labor charges might run $95 an hour. They’re fixed costs. They’re measurable. Building custom bikes is dynamic. It’s difficult to charge by the hour. I love to ask builders how many hours they spent on a particular bike. The question generally doesn’t serve any specific purpose and the answer – whether it comes immediately or they have to think about it for a moment (or a day or two) – is almost always the same: 100 hours. It’s a nice, safe round number

When Bowser said he finishes a bike a week, I didn’t even bother to ask him how many hours he spent on each motorcycle. It’s not 100, I know that much. His average build price of $4000-5000 for vintage Hondas (and that includes the cost of the donor!) puts him far, far below the entry price of the builders I know. And many of those shops are still trying to figure out how to make a real profit on their bikes. Excuse the pun, but they’re not exactly rolling in it. It’s like a breakfast menu. Depending on the locale/clientele, customers will buy the eggs Benedict at $12.95 but you’ll lose them at $13.95. My whole point here is that the custom bike scene draws in prospective riders because of the swagger factor. It’s the look that gets them in. Hopefully they enjoy the actual ride as much as they do the look. But when a new rider sees that he/she has to spend well north of $5,000 for a good running (and looking) custom vintage cycle, it’s going to scare many off. Let’s be honest, few people need a motorcycle and even fewer need a café racer or a scrambler. What Bowser is unintentionally providing is an entry level product into a market that is pricing out its prospective newbies. He’s serving up scrambled eggs on toast to another builder’s eggs Benedict. And if that new rider decides that riding isn’t for them, or if they’re ready to upgrade to a higher end build, then they’re not taking a bath on the resale. I don’t believe Bowser is creating a race to the bottom. There’s still a need for five-figure customs but Bowser’s bargain builds offer something for an underserved market. And it’s making me crave some eggs. CR