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Post by raoulduke on May 14, 2011 9:24:50 GMT
Well, it appears that I may have secured (most of) a GP125, as of a few minutes ago ;D  No lights or plates, and doubtless a few other bits will need fettling, but apparently she turns over and sparks fairly well  Probably won't be in my possession for a few weeks, but I'll whack up more piccys when I can. My long-term plans are to ride it without falling off. Once I've achieved that, I'll probably follow everyone else and make a cafe racer.  |
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Post by TerraRoot on May 14, 2011 9:42:32 GMT
more cafe racers ;D is a gp125 similar to the ax100? no i'm sure it has 5 gears i think...
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Post by garryl on May 14, 2011 11:35:07 GMT
Not having a go at the OP here, but...... Seems to be the 'in thing' of late to call all manor of bikes 'Cafe Racers' just because they've got a cheap fibreglass ebay seat fitted and have a few bits painted black with rattle cans from Halfrauds.... IIRC the whole ethos of the 'Cafe Racer' was to make the bike as quick as possible on the cheap, which usually consisted of removing all unnecessary weight in order to get the bike (and rider) to join the 'Ton-Up' club. Now I doubt many of the bikes I've seen described as 'Cafe Racers' would reach a ton if they were pushed out the back of a 747 from 37,000 feet. It all seems akin to me like getting myself a Curly black perm, then going out and buying a scabby old Blade that's been on it's arse, sticking a few Repsol stickers on it and a Number 46 on the mudguard and then calling it a 'Moto GP bike'........  |
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Post by wrighty on May 14, 2011 12:41:03 GMT
Not having a go at the OP here, but...... Got to disagree slightly there...so what is a smaller capacity bike supposed to be??? surely it cant be a race replica because it doesnt go fast enough......so what about all those cbr125rr thingies, honda false advertising??? It cant be a cafe because its not capable of doing the ton. does the same go for off road style because most never do. Also cant be tourers as too small. Technically a cafe racer was a British bike so what about all the cb750s etc............  I have an xj on here but label it as a cafe fighter as i know it isnt a cafe and never will be. People start on small capacity bikes and will emulate the style that most will graduate onto...so having a smaller cafe or whatever style they learn new skills and mechanical knowledge that will keep many old bikes going in the future........Some of the nicest cafes i've seen are the smaller capacity bikes. Money is a major limiting factor to most as well and people will make the most of what they've got. Call it a cafe and shout it from the roof tops........... |
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Post by cerberus73 on May 14, 2011 12:57:05 GMT
Nice wee bike the GP... lol just to stick my oar in i prefer the street-tracker look, bit more comfort than a full out cafe, same idea, remove weight, bit of tuning, solo seat, and nice paint, decent shockers to tighten the handling up, but no need of rearsets, clip ons etc, thats the route im gonna take my RXS down, make her a B road blaster.
I think small capacity bikes do suit being "cafied" makes for a light nimble, and cheap route into it, none of the bikes should cost more than a few hundred including modification, a second hand triton or suchlike... silly money, could build 5 lightweights to good spec for same cash, its all about fun, and the "i made that" factor
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Post by TerraRoot on May 14, 2011 13:07:47 GMT
to me cafe racer is something that a bit lithe (compared to what you started with) very much got a racing riding position (head down, bum up) and no engine covering fairings, because we like fixing our own bikes and can't be bothered to take off all these plastics all the time. Oh and a big single headlight.
but this is all academic, term's like cafe racer or street fighter are just names that help other people picture what you are on about or planing to do, they are not the law there is no set in concrete way of ding things.
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Post by garryl on May 14, 2011 13:29:11 GMT
Technically a cafe racer was a British bike so what about all the cb750s etc............ Money is a major limiting factor to most as well and people will make the most of what they've got. Call it a cafe and shout it from the roof tops........... British bikes were used as Cafe Racers as there was nothing else really available in the 60's, 'Cafe Racer' was an ethos, not a make or model..... Also, there are 2 ways to make a bike quicker, either spend money on go-faster mods or reduce weight, a 'Cafe Racer' used the latter principle because this was cheaper than expensive engine mods so budget has got little to do with it - indeed spending a load of cash to 'actually' make your bike look like a Cafe Racer sort of goes against the whole ethos. Nothing wrong with wanting to making your bike quicker be it a Ped or a superbike. Back in the day I fitted an expansion chamber and a set of 'Drops' and rear sets to my Fizzy to make it go a little faster, YET nobody then (including me) called it a 'Cafe Racer' however, fast forward 30 years and I could list it on evilbay as a classic 70's Cafe Racer' and nobody would bat an eyelid..... Sorry, but simply fitting a new seat and painting a few bits Matt Black on any old bike does NOT, and never will make it a true 'Cafe Racer' not matter how fashionable this word seems to be these days!. |
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Post by TerraRoot on May 14, 2011 15:19:40 GMT
It's been 50 years since the term cafe racer was born, don't you think the label has evolved?
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Post by garryl on May 14, 2011 15:28:55 GMT
It's been 50 years since the term cafe racer was born, don't you think the label has evolved? Evolved into what, exactly? - bearing in mind for 40 of those 50 years the term had completely gone out of fashion... |
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gixxer
Retro Apprentice
Posts: 38
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Post by gixxer on May 14, 2011 17:15:04 GMT
garry i realy have to disagree with you ,, cafe racers have only in the last ten years come back into fashion so to speak if somebody wants to get a gp and do it as a cafe racer then im all for them reviveing an old bike with a bit of class/style added to it , im quite sure if you had the chance to have an old bike even a 100/125 and cafe it you would ,,
each to there own i say but fair play the gp was a good bike and as a cafe racer it should look good ,, even for an old gp100 ,
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Post by garryl on May 14, 2011 17:43:13 GMT
garry i realy have to disagree with you ,, cafe racers have only in the last ten years come back into fashion so to speak if somebody wants to get a gp and do it as a cafe racer then im all for them reviveing an old bike with a bit of class/style added to it , im quite sure if you had the chance to have an old bike even a 100/125 and cafe it you would ,, each to there own i say but fair play the gp was a good bike and as a cafe racer it should look good ,, even for an old gp100 , HMmmmm........ Maybe my bad explination. I've nothing against the OP 'Cafe Racering' his bike........ his bike - his choice, BUT if he want's to go down this road then do it in right way..... the CAFE RACER way. Again (at the risk of repeating myself) The original Cafe Racer ethos was to lighten to make faster, ie if you look at the original bikes they had no (or very short) mudguards, short exhausts, no passenger pegs, indicators removed, the rear subframes were cut off - ALL to save weight, also the hump on the seat was not some fashion statement but there to stop you sliding of the back of the bike. This is my point, these bikes looked the way they did for a reason it wasn't done for fashion or a 'look' but simply form following function. So..... If you take a standard bike and just fit clip on's and a seat hump you can't really call it a Cafe Racer - indeed you can't really even say it's got a Cafe Racer look because this 'look' is created by removing all the above bits, now if the bike's done correctly (any bike) then fantastic, the owner can truely call it a Cafe Racer. What gets me is this term has all of a sudden being used by people to describe their bikes 'just' because it's got little more than a seat hump and some black bits... |
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gixxer
Retro Apprentice
Posts: 38
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Post by gixxer on May 14, 2011 17:58:51 GMT
at the end of the day if he wants to cafe it then fair play , i agree with some of what you say but it just seems some of what you was saying was just shooting him down before he had even started ,,
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Post by davytelford on May 14, 2011 20:04:30 GMT
if theres nothing nice to say please keep it to yourselves
i don't want a full scale argument on here im not experienced lol
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Post by lewisweaver on May 14, 2011 23:42:40 GMT
Cafe racer's are SOOO in! Keen for making my h100 a cafe, think a seat is the main issue |
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Post by raoulduke on May 15, 2011 8:36:59 GMT
Now, now, kids  ;D ;D Actually, to make everybody happy, I will in fact be making it fast on a shoestring, so cutting bits off and bolting on scrapyard engine mods will be very much my style  Oh, and I don't really like matt black, so it'll probably end up white or candy-red with pinstripes |
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;D ;D