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A cafe racer is not a bike.

4K views 40 replies 24 participants last post by  triumpt120rv 
#1 ·
I was tempted to resurrect any number of cafe racer threads where the thread turns into a bun fight over what exactly a cafe racer is.

It has to have this configuration blah blah blah.

I have been thinking about this for a while, and my conclusion is that a cafe racer is the person sitting on the bike. The bike brand is not relevant.

To my way of thinking the original cafe racers in merry old England were some sort of a cross between a squid and a *******. A good old fashioned poor arsed hoon with insufficient money to buy a decent bike, so he and his mates would cobble together any old crap they could get their hands on and ride the piss out of it.

Cafe is a mindset, not a particular type of bike.
Am I close?
 
#2 ·
I think you are spot on. The bike is just the vehicle. It's the maniac behind the bars that makes it a cafe racer.
 
#3 ·
I think you're spot on with how it was and pretty damn close with how it is although some people would argue that only a retro form of bike could be considered "cafe style" nowadays.

Personally I've never been able to put my finger on it and have a hard enough time defining my S4 without worrying about other peoples choice of "style"
 
#8 ·
Spot on Dog. And it seems to be the Dog Institute for Higher Stuff is back in business after sabbatical.
 
#10 ·
My thoughts confirmed by wikipedia.............

"The term, which originally arose as an insult from motorcycle enthusiasts towards riders who they thought were playing at being a road racer but merely parked outside cafes"

didnt stop me building one though.......................................
 
#11 ·
I think the racer is the bike, but it can be of any make.

The state of mind that Lefty refers to, IMO, is doing everything in your power to make it faster and lighter, possibly even breaking road laws to do it, but they MUST be modded. You cannot buy a Cafe from a shop. They must also have clip on handle bars.
 
#14 ·
...They must also have clip on handle bars.
I disagree. They could have inverted stock bars, "M" bars or "Clubman" bars.
 
#18 ·
I see your point.

It's a good one too.
 
#28 ·
A good old fashioned poor arsed hoon with insufficient money to buy a decent bike, so he and his mates would cobble together any old crap they could get their hands on and ride the piss out of it.
Along the right lines. Back in the '50s the youngsters in the UK didn't have access to cars in the same way as the US kids so were limited to bikes which were cheaper.

They used to hang out at transport cafes and modified their bikes to get up towards the magic ton.
 
#31 ·
That looks like Lefty.
 
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