US Cafe Is Vintage the Future? Is cafe the next big custom? Hometown Builds
Submitted builds from around the country.
What is a Cafe Racer?
Editorial on what makes a Cafe Racer.
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Hometown Builds. Featured user-submitted build from Salt Lake City, Utah.
What is a Cafe Racer? Editoral on what makes a Cafe Racer.
Is Vintage the Future? Is the cafe racer a phase, or here to stay?
Letter from the Editor. What is a Cafe Racer? Summed up, a Cafe Racer is a motorcycle that was modified to be as fast and agile as possible to race from cafe to cafe, or from the cafe, around the town and back in England during the 1960’s. Now days it is a term used for a motorcycle that has similar features and style to these early race bikes, but in the early days Cafe Racers, also known today just as Cafes were built for speed. Legend says that racers would gather at England’s most notorious cafe, Ace Cafe in London, and after selecting a certain record on the juke box they would race around the city on a pre determined course and return before the record was finished. Racers would often “do the ton” or 100 miles per hour. Now that may not seem like much now but that was quite the achievement on a 1960’s motorcycle.
Most modern cafe racers are more built for looks than anything else, but in the racing days, everything was done for speed. Anything that contributed to unneeded weight was removed. The frame was often cut to make a single, much lighter seat. Indentations in the fuel tank for the knees were made to improve aerodynamics the handlebars were lowered and swept back to lover the rider which also reduced wind resistance. The foot controls were often moved back to create a more laid over the bike position for the rider. Sometimes bikes were even modified to ride higher off the ground so as not to drag a foot peg around a tight corner. The cafe racer style is starting to make a comeback in the custom motorcycle world. Because of how much fun they are to ride, how easy they are to build, and their classic cycle look. Cafes’ will soon be the next big thing in custom cycles.
Photo Credit: Ryan Moss & BestPhotography
Is vintage the new future? Several vintage style motorcycles are starting to take the spotlight. Honda’s new motorcycle the CB1100 is brand new but looks just like its 1970’s ancestor. The CB1100 isn’t the only bike stepping back to its roots. The Moto Guzzi V7 Stone, and the Triumph Bonneville are both stepping back in time for their new design. These brand new bikes are calling back to a time of great styling and performance, while skipping the cons of an old motorcycle. Vintage motorcycles are like vintage cars, they are beautiful, but just like an old car, they have kinks and reliability issues. Modern technology just cant be beaten, and now you can have a vintage bike that wont leak gas and will always start. The CB1100 by Honda pays tribute to the classic CB750. The 1969 CB750
forever changed the view of Japanese motorcycles. “I would say that all modern bikes today, the sport bikes that you see everybody racing around on, they’re all loosely based on this design,” -Kirk Winter. Almost every aspect of the CB100 comes straight from 1970’s Hondas. Triumph, a British brand that had
Photo Credit: Steve Kelley Photos
went extinct in 1983 made its comeback with the Triumph Bonneville that pays tribute to the companies final heyday in the early 1970’s. Moto Guzzi, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer has been making a comeback recently will all sorts of innovative and unique bikes, but the V7 puts the company on a whole new level with a retro style and their famous V-twin engine. These retro-style motorcycles have two distinct markets: People that probably owned one back in the good old days, and people that weren’t around at that time but
love the early 1970’s style. Early 70’s motorcycles are now collectors items just like their automobile counterparts, and owning and maintaining them is no different. The new retro-style motorcycles available today are more than just an old bike with a new price tag. These bikes have more reliable engines, as well as new braking and suspension systems that incorporate technology that wasn’t even available on motorcycles of that time period. Vintage is back in style, and now there is a classic option for the motorcyclist that doesn’t have the patients for an 40 year old motorcycle.