What is a café racer?
A staple of classic British motorcycle subculture, the Café Racers were a breed of bikes that put all-out performance over everything else. Hopped up engines and stripped down chassis made them lean and mean, and they were often seen racing from one transport café to the next, trying to outrun the rockabilly song on the jukebox.
How much does it cost to build a cafe racer?
Café racers come in a lot of different setups and prices, from bikes under $1000 and even up to $60,000 (like the CX500 Café Racer from Sacha Lakic ). I think it’s not necessary to spend thousands of dollars, so we’ll hook you up to the bare essence of building a cafe racer.
When did the café racer craze begin?
In the 1980s Honda released its GB500 TT, which today we’d view as something of an archetypal café racer. The modern café racer craze that persists today arguably began at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show when Ducati pulled the cover off its revolutionary Sport Classic: a modern L-Twin dressed up in unmistakably vintage aesthetics.
Is the BMW R nine T a cafe racer?
BMW R Nine T Racer This is one of the most desirable cafe racers in the world right now. Housing an 1170 CC twin-cylinder boxer engine, the beast runs fast at over 124 miles per hour. Apart from that, the power output is 110 bhp.
Are Cafe Racers still connected to one-offs?
Today, café racer’s connection to one-off machines remains just as strong as it was back in the sub-genre’s infancy.
What makes the Ducati Scrambler cafe racer so special?
The bike’s hard tail-cowl, can also be removed to open up space for a pillion. And, on top of Ducati’s usual top-notch industrial designs, the Scrambler Cafe Racer also gets a host of standard safety gear including Bosch cornering ABS.
Can you take a passenger on a café racer?
Passenger-Friendly: Because they’re roughly-modeled after race bikes, café racers tend to be one-seat machines that don’t allow for taking a passenger along for the ride. There are however café models that are pillion compatible, as well as models that have removable tail cowls that hide a passenger seat.
By their very nature, café racers were modified and customized versions of production offerings, typically built in garages and backyard sheds. Because racing and track-only models weren’t available to nonprofessionals, most rider’s only real option (if they wanted a racier bike) was to build one themselves.
What are the best small-displacement café racers?
A bonafide café racer with a bit more of a Grand Prix bike-influence, Mash Motors’ TT40 is a competent small-displacement model with a bit of extra oomph on account of its 400cc engine — which also happens to feature DELPHI electronic fuel-injection, unlike most budget models that tend to be carbureted.