Cafe Racers - Am I wrong?

**Grumph** · 29th December 2016, 05:50

Originally Posted by F5 Dave

Or the motivation to prove me wrong. Be proactive.

Stop it immediately Dave - now you've set me off too....

Nothing wrong with the air cooled RD frame either. Identical to the TD3/TZ twin shock frame. Handles very well indeed.

I've only ever built one caff racer in my life - an A10 - and that was sold before I finished it when a guy said "I'll have that if you put the standard bars on it..."

This one was finished recently but it's a racebike built to LOOK like a caff racer....

**mossy1200** · 29th December 2016, 06:32

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...1230842828.htm

Whoops. I shouldn't have started looking.

**jafagsx250** · 29th December 2016, 10:51

These were made by some German guy who was going to go do a bike trip around nz. I think these look really good but these would have involved a lot more money and effort than the crap hack jobs people butcher.

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

**Voltaire** · 29th December 2016, 12:20

Exhaust wrap and a brown seat....now that'

s different.

**rastuscat** · 29th December 2016, 13:46

TradeMe listing 1220121037

**Laava** · 29th December 2016, 14:06

Yep that is heinous! It would have been maybe worth somewhere near that in original form, but now...

**husaberg** · 29th December 2016, 20:05

Originally Posted by flashg

I actually really like that, look forward to seeing pic's

and remember to keep the emblem true.

Well spurred on by Dave, I dug out the frame from my father’s deepest darkest most waterlogged spider infested shed.
I stripped it down, it actually only has 4 rivets, yet two of them are definitely non original.
Side by side with the earlier RD350 frame, it’s subtly different in both the brackets and the bends in the rails. like comparing a wideline to a slimline featherbed Norton.
It weighs at least 15kg even (with the rust)
Its on the edge, but salvagable with a bit of TLC
The swingarm has actually completely succumbed to rot. Just as well I planned to bin it anyway.

I mocked up a Honda XR200 swingarm, i had in a bin, its close enough, slightly longer than i wanted, But TZ350 esk enough.(if you squint really hard.)

The coffin tank is in suprising good shape, if a little bulky in the front plus a little short and wide at the back. Its even half full of what used to be petrol 30 years ago.

**F5 Dave** · 29th December 2016, 20:18

Start a thread so we can shit you in 3 yrs time.

**flashg** · 29th December 2016, 20:37

Originally Posted by husaberg

Well spurred on by Dave, I dug out the frame from my father’s deepest darkest most waterlogged spider infested shed.
I stripped it down, it aactually only has 4 rivets, yet two of them are definitely non original.
Side by side with the earlier RD350 frame, it’s subtly different in both the brackets and the bends in the rails. like comparing a wideline to a slimline featherbed Norton.
It weighs at least 15kg even (with the rust)
Its on the edge, but salvagable with a bit of TLC
The swingarm has actually completely succumbed to rot. Just as well I planned to bin it anyway.

I mocked up a Honda XR200 swingarm, i had in a bin, its close enough, slightly longer than i wanted, But TZ350 esk enough.(if you squint really hard.)

The coffin tank is in suprising good shape, if a little bulky in the front plus a little short and wide at the back. Its even half full of what used to be petrol 30 years ago.

You should start this new thread Dave speaks of with photos of how it all looks now. Then keep them coming, so we can feel like we are there as you progress. Some might offer helpful advice 😂

**Tazz** · 29th December 2016, 21:06

Considering a lot of the bikes used were models that have never been considered sought after or any good, I wonder if in a way the cafe thing actually saves a few more and keeps them on the road rather than rusting in a barn?

Maybe not enough to justify anything for the purists, but still, where would these bikes be if this wasn't the latest fad? Same with all the old scooters being tinkered with again, particularly in Chch.

**husaberg** · 29th December 2016, 21:21

Originally Posted by F5 Dave

Start a thread so we can shit you in 3 yrs time.

Well it turns out the new frame is a 78, so it would get the cheaper rego until at least 2018 so i have heaps of time

Anyway why the sudden need to wait 3 years to give me shit.
I found the spare stinger as well, had a peak under the cover of the Wolf which didn't look to bad considering, plus found a manky (model before the rd200) rolling chassis as well with the 8 inch brake.
I think that needs liberating to.
Next time i are there i intend freeing the YDS3 before it gets any worse.

Originally Posted by flashg

You should start this new thread Dave speaks of with photos of how it all looks now. Then keep them coming, so we can feel like we are there as you progress. Some might offer helpful advice ��

Someone wise once told me the way to do it is to do most of the work, then drip feed the photos and pics later ,so it looks like you work faster.