HELP! Which bike for cafe racer?

Hey everybody,

I need your help deciding which motorcycle I should buy.

I want to make a cafe racer styled bike. So far so good BUT I have certain things I neeed on this bike. Most important is a single sided rear swingarm. I always wanted this and now it's time. So how do I combine this with a classic frame?

I thought I had found the solution in a bmw R100R from 92 also because I really like kardan (also like belt drive) and spoked wheels. I found some awesome pictures of cafe airheads on this site but when I tried one I wasn't really crazy about it. Still good but not really what I wanted...

Does anybody have a suggestion for other bikes that fit the above?

Regards

Cant see whats wrong with an airhead



ok so it hasn't got a single sided swing arm. But probably one of the most authentic Cafe bikes on the market

The R100R is actually a bit difficult to work with. The chassis is strong but the steering angle is too shallow for narrow bars and there is very little room around the upper triple clamp once you have low bars (clip-ons would work better).

If you go with clip-ons you will probably want to raise the rear a bit and raise the fork tubes to lighten the steering. I'm working through this on a project of my own.

Adding a Paralever to an earlier frame isn't that hard, especially if you're going to fabricate a rear subframe anyway. I think the steering angle is a bit steeper on those.

I would think an R80RT would fit the bill?

But for me, and this is only my opinion, a cafe racer needs to have twin shocks, it just gives the whole bike a balanced look I feel, but then I am just an old fashioned type of guy.

Well what can i say - it looks awesome!

That's why I wanted it in the first place. But when I went to a dealer and looked at it I didn't see this...

I'm having trouble deciding if it's because it's to conservative in original form and I have to little imagination or if its because the pictures hide what I don't like and in reality it's just not a bike for me... Aahhh the torment...

Anybody with a bad ass cafe boxer near copenhagen(Denmark)? ...No? Didn't think so...

By the way I agree that cafe racers should have dual shocks but I just really want single sided. That's also why I wrote cafe racer styled bike. I was thinking about some combination of these bikes:









Who can argue with these pictures? Btw that's a challenge. Especially if you find something different than bmw with single sided rear suspension...

You have a monolever in the top picture, several paralevers in the others.

I have been thinking the same thought process, and it seems to me that the most readily available, most inexpensive purchase price, is probably the R80 in its various iterations as an R80, R80RT. I have a thing about not taking a highly desirable bike (80G/S, 80ST) and bastardizing it much, so I have thought that the "garden variety" R80 (1984 and newer will be monolever) would be the way to go.

This page is an excellent way to do some basic research on different models.

I'll be watching...........................









Edit: same frame situation for the R100, post '84. Classic frame, strip away the foo foo, and you got yourself some real good "bones". Me, I would want the 80, but hey, it will be your bike..............

Guzzi!

Schwing!


Oh man, that thing is gorgious. Talk about form following function. I love the polished aluminum seat/tank; and the matt gray engine; and the simple straight frame lines.

Only any good if your below 5ft 6". I've spent a few miles folded up on a Guzzi Cafe machine. The novelty soon wears off.

I think so. I pinched the picture from here --> http://www.motoren-israel.com/shop_content.php?coID=22

You know it isnt really dificult to convert a a twin shock airhead to mono-shock. It's one of those things that was done back in the late 70's or 80's by lots of guys building real racers.

Lets see.... Brace your swing arm and shave the left shock bracket, add in the top and bottom brackets on the right side. Maybe or maybe not do a rear-drive swap to get the lower shock mount point, spec out a shock. Grind, weld, grind, sand, repaint, etc. Figuir out what front end youre going to use and fab up bearing mounts and shims if necessary and plumb the brake system.

Wouldnt that be about it?

I'd have to look at some photos in my collection and think things through but I think you'd end up with something like this:



If having a single sided Swing arm is the goal, your options become more limited and more expensive. (Much more expensive.) Try to find a late R-100 and go from there. There are LOTS of HP parts for the late R-100's if you have money to spend and the bikes handle well but those are particularly desirable and coveted bikes within a certain crowd and I've never seen one that wasnt in good shape or that was selling cheap. The good thing is that they come with updated electrics and pretty good brakes.

Of course, if youre ready to buy a nice Beemer and hack it up, all bets are off. Just buy whatever suits your fancy (Like that R-100R), some hacksaw blades and have at it.

When I was getting things together for my two project bikes, I was pretty "unflush". I was able to buy one very good running/rideable '81' R-100RT for $1100 and then I bought two or three more dead airheads, just for parts. (I won't even tell you how cheap my parts bikes were. Loll!!)

When all was said and done, I ended up with one completed bike (My R-90SPL), plus one complete bike in parts and ready to build (My R-100SPL.). I also made good $$$ selling off the parts I didnt need.

I'll be interested in hearing what you decide to do.

The Roadsters had a rep for going through rear tires faster than other models, as did the G/S airhead (I had an '81.) Nothing drastic, but 4-5k.

Dunno what the mods you are suggesting would do.

If I was doing what you are suggesting, I'd go with a /7, keep it in the 750-800 range for best reciprocating weight of pistons, and because...well, there are still a ton of maintained, running bikes out there.

If and when, take pictures and keep posting, will you? I love the look.

Thanks.

Anybody know who makes these mirrors?

How bout something non German

It's a Guzzi Bellagio, Got the SS swingarm an' all

Wow...that's beautiful. Any details?

That fairing is sooooo nice, and it ties into the tank and tail section perfectly. Please tell us more. That is just stunning!

Last winters effort.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAALU/lW9_P1Z5wFo/w728-h665-p-o/IMG_0465.jpg

I "think" those are Aprillia mirrors.