The crap that appears on TradeMe is mostly nothing like a cafe racer. It was originally a British phenomenon but good cafe racers can be made from bikes of any nationality.
To be fair I checked Google images and the brown seat bullshit is not confined to Enzed.
The GB400 was pretty much a factory cafe racer when standard. The vandalism perpetrated on the TradeMe heap of shit took it out of the category completely.
Just for reference I'll post a pic. If the object on TradeMe doesn't bear a family resemblance to this pic, it ain't a cafe racer at all.
There is a grey blur, and a green blur. I try to stay on the grey one. - Joey Dunlop
The crap that appears on TradeMe is mostly nothing like a cafe racer. It was originally a British phenomenon but good cafe racers can be made from bikes of any nationality.
So is the 'Triton' name on the tank a real thing or just a conjoined Triumph and Norton
So is the 'Triton' name on the tank a real thing or just a conjoined Triumph and Norton
I'm pretty sure Dave Degens copyrighted "Dresda Triton" as a brand name. He raced his Tritons extensively including winning the Barcelona 24hour race.
That was for production bikes - not specials.
I started building a cafe racer in 1991 because cafe racers were cool and there weren't many around. Then cafe racers became seriously uncool because of brown seats, wrapped exhausts and hipster fuckwits, so I thought I would just restore the bike but it has taken that long and I am too old to care about being cool that the decision has been made to carry on with the cafe racer build. Either that or die of old age before it is finished.
I mentioned vegetables once, but I think I got away with it...........
The crap that appears on TradeMe is mostly nothing like a cafe racer. It was originally a British phenomenon but good cafe racers can be made from bikes of any nationality.
To be fair I checked Google images and the brown seat bullshit is not confined to Enzed.
The GB400 was pretty much a factory cafe racer when standard. The vandalism perpetrated on the TradeMe heap of shit took it out of the category completely.
Just for reference I'll post a pic. If the object on TradeMe doesn't bear a family resemblance to this pic, it ain't a cafe racer at all.
Yep. As F5 Dave said, a cafe racer was originally a standard bike modified into a short-course street racer. Think boy racing on bikes. It was the 1960's, modifying options were limited, that's where the style comes from.
Way too many of the Trademe clunkers have no idea of the heritage. All they do is mindlessly copy whatever fashion is going, and too often it's bodged. Technical skills aren't that common, neither is discipline, patience, or good taste.
Pritch - that's a seriously tasty Triton. Thanks for posting that pic.
some fairly underwhelming welding on that. I love those but the good ones have a chain drive so they can space the drive over and use a wider rear wheel. and that subframe has to go. Ditto the tank. Needs rearsets. The starter overrun issue I think needs a full motor teardown to repair. (someone correct me if I am wrong)
I thought elections were decided by angry posts on social media. - F5 Dave
I'm with my boy Fresh Oats here. I think cafe racers are the tits.
Sell you a GN125 with a chopped rear subframe, cheap ebay brown seat, clip ons and exhaust wrap. Ran well but battery flat now and I bashed out the baffles in the exhaust so the jetting is wrong.
Rego has lapsed due to the time it sat in my garage while I oiled my beard and realised I really have no business modifying bikes. Approx value $500 tops.
^^^ that is how the advertisement should read, below is how it usually does.
CAFE RACER
GN, goes hard sounds like a Harley.
LOTS OF HOURS AND $$$ SPENT. This is a unique bike as you can see from the photos. Reg lapsed but should get new reg and wof EASY.
$2500 or swaps for an RB.
Nothing wrong with legit cafe racers, but some of the shit on trademe and Facebook if fucked.
Yep. As F5 Dave said, a cafe racer was originally a standard bike modified into a short-course street racer. Think boy racing on bikes. It was the 1960's, modifying options were limited, that's where the style comes from.
Way too many of the Trademe clunkers have no idea of the heritage. All they do is mindlessly copy whatever fashion is going, and too often it's bodged. Technical skills aren't that common, neither is discipline, patience, or good taste.
Pritch - that's a seriously tasty Triton. Thanks for posting that pic.
Let me play a little devil's advocate here for a second.
But how good were the technical skills or discipline or patience or taste of the young guys in 60's Britain that popularized this style? (genuine question)
I'd argue some hideous suzuki GN that some 18 year old made into a 'cafe racer' in his dad's garage is more of an authentic cafe racer than an $18,000 2017 Triumph Thruxton which is blatantly capitalizing on the style.
I mean I'd obviously rather the triumph but I'm just saying. If the 'heritage' is some young guys messing around and modifying their otherwise stock bikes into something they think is cool, what's more authentic, some young kid doing just that or some major motorbike company using the style to push product?
Let me play a little devil's advocate here for a second.
But how good were the technical skills or discipline or patience or taste of the young guys in 60's Britain that popularized this style? (genuine question)
I'd argue some hideous suzuki GN that some 18 year old made into a 'cafe racer' in his dad's garage is more of an authentic cafe racer than an $18,000 2017 Triumph Thruxton which is blatantly capitalizing on the style.
I mean I'd obviously rather the triumph but I'm just saying. If the 'heritage' is some young guys messing around and modifying their otherwise stock bikes into something they think is cool, what's more authentic, some young kid doing just that or some major motorbike company using the style to push product?
Fuck off, logic has no place here!
Good point though, I think the issue on here is not the workmanship, it's asking more money for a raped bike than an original unmolested one. Hence the optimistic sellers title.
Pretty sure the original guys didn't do it for looks too, they were all trying to be ton up boys. A mid 2000 R1 does that in 1st gear now so the sentiment has changed.
But how good were the technical skills or discipline or patience or taste of the young guys in 60's Britain that popularized this style?
the product they started with was more solid, and simpler, so made it easier, there would have also been quite a bit of ability in those days as people made shit, repaired shit whereas now it's a lot more of a throwaway society.
Additionally the bikes of the time required a bit of work to keep on the road, most people had to do their clutch regularly, etc so knew more than the basics to start with
They look more like Frankenbikes than cafe racers. That Virago looks sketchy as and doesn't even have a real seat. I'd feel safer on a Benelli Leoncino or a Royal Enfield that hasn't been tampered and tinkered with by someone who apparently doesn't know what they're doing.
Originally Posted by Fresh Oats
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