Cafe racer style motorcycles appeared in the UK a long time ago, still in the 60s of the last century. Now they are not very popular, so their army of fans is modest, but devoted, and it is this that does not allow this class of bikes to disappear. Retro technology has never been particularly popular, so there are actually no serial café racers produced now. However, thanks to customizers, unique bikes end up on the roads, many of which look like works of art.
Origins of style
About 60 years ago in Great Britain, particularly in London, local motorcyclists began to gather in bars, pubs and cafes, while having fun racing to the accompaniment of music. London's most famous gathering place was the legendary Ace Cafe , which, by the way, is still in operation today. A fairly short straight road led away from it, on which the race participants tried to accelerate to maximum speed . They considered the highest achievement to be “doing a hundred,” that is, accelerating to 100 miles per hour, while managing to brake before the end of the road. Considering that in that era the engines were already quite powerful, and the brakes and suspensions remained extremely primitive, few could do this, and everyone who managed to “make a hundred” enjoyed immense respect.
Cafe racers got their nickname precisely because of these races near the Ace Cafe - other motorcyclists contemptuously called them “ cafe racers ,” hinting that they had nothing to do with real racing.
However, they readily took up this nickname, which over time lost its negative connotation and became a source of pride, and later turned into the name of a class of motorcycles. As the years passed, the English racing subculture gradually disappeared, but its legacy lives on to this day.
Date of purchase: 09/09/2019
09.09.2019 I bought a motorcycle from my uncle, Ural IMZ 8.103, the inheritance of my grandfather Ivan, 1985. for exactly 5'000 ₽.
09/10/2019 I picked up the motorcycle, but so far without documents.
09/11/2019 I washed the motor, tried to find a spark, but couldn’t find it. I went and picked up my original keys. They are still looking for documents.
09/16/2019 We found a certificate of disposal of the motorcycle. So there are no documents. This bike is doomed to stay that way. It will serve as good spare parts. You need to buy a frame with a motor and documents... in order to assemble one from two.
09/21/2019 I bought a frame and engine with documents (Ural M-67) for exactly 10,000 ₽
09/22/2019 The process of assembling the motorcycle has begun in order to reissue the documents. I disassembled half the engine at IMZ to remove it and install the engine from the M-67. Drained the oil. It was decided to assemble a motorcycle based on the IMZ frame, so that at least something remains of it!! You need to rivet the nameplate from the M-67 frame onto the IMZ frame. Because, as we remember, the M-67 nameplate with documents.
09/23/2019 I disassembled the IMZ and removed the engine. I washed the frame and prepared it for painting, only in the name of re-registration, so that they would write black in the documents. It takes time to dry. And you can paint it.
09/24/2019 I painted the frame, fenders, tank, and in general the entire motorcycle. Let it dry.
09/26/2019 I installed a new engine (from M67) in the IMZ frame, and all the components. We riveted the nameplate from frame 67 onto the IMZ frame. Now my grandfather's frame has documents! All that remains is to buy maintenance, compulsory motor insurance and re-register.
09/27/2019-10/08/2019 First headache. I bought it in 10 minutes (350₽) on the first website. E-OSAGO took away all my strength and desire. But, after a long search and suffering, fortunately, I managed to buy a policy. Thanks to the insurance company. She paid me 1'700₽. Total: 2'050₽.
10/12/2019 We are going to re-register. Re-registration price on State Services: 595 RUR. This is only for making changes to the PTS and issuing a new STS. There could be more costs if there was no state sign. Tow truck services amounted to 1'500₽. Total: 2'095₽.
10.12.2019-10.15.2019 Immediately after the re-registration, I am in a happy mood, I can finally start building a kUstom (custom)! I started to take it apart. I removed the tank, fenders, unscrewed the wheels, gearbox and pulled out the engine. I brutally cut off the rotten wiring and threw it in the trash, since the wiring should be new and without unnecessary braids on the cradle, etc. I removed the tidy, headlight, clutch and brake handles, grips. I unscrewed the plug (I was horrified by its condition). And... I removed all the remaining legs, shock absorbers and the pendulum. What's left is the bare frame. I washed it in the car wash while it was warm. I prepared the frame for cutting with a grinder and welding the elements. I took both motors and the gearbox to the mechanic for major repairs. One engine (with documents), with forged pistons and bored cylinders. And the second, grandfather’s engine, standard, without documents, from IMZ 8.103 is a donor. Will collect from two one. And also, he took all the spare parts that I didn’t need, such as the lining, headlights, seat, K-66 carburetors, a bag of spare parts with valves, etc., and much more. By the way, the motor mechanic has golden hands, and he makes candy out of motors. I came to him to see what was wrong with my engine. We understood one thing that the cylinders were bored very poorly, had an incorrect tone, and most importantly, they had cracks, which I would not want to see in my Urals. We agreed that we would bore new cylinders for my forged pistons (B), and we would increase the compression ratio to 95 gasoline. The pistons, by the way, are alive. As for the cylinder heads, one is in good condition and will work. And the second one goes to metol (scrap metal), too sad. The donor will, of course, be the second engine from IMZ, but not everywhere, in some places there are new spare parts. And also, we looked at the pushers and realized that this was also a method. The grooves for the rods are broken and not located in the center (oh my God), that is, with such pushers, adjusting the valves would be a mess, the engine would still chirp sometimes. We also agreed that we would put the 10th pair in the gearbox; at the moment it has an eight. It will be interesting to see how the camshaft and piston group shaft fare in the engine. It’s interesting because when we removed the cylinder heads, we saw rods so crooked (on one side) that you could braid them. But, this engine never started, and the rods were bent by pressing the kick starter. That’s all for now, we are waiting for news from the mechanic.
10.15.2019 — 03.15.2020 Total: 5'000 ₽. So far we have only paid for boring the cylinders and pistons (5k), my donated spare parts are also taken into account, which will significantly reduce the final cost of engine resuscitation. Motor. I hasten to note that this is all stretched out because of me, and not because the minder takes so long to do it. Simply, due to life situations, I had to move to live and work in Moscow. And they resolved all the issues over the phone; I asked that my engine be done last. The situation is as follows: the block with documents is unsuitable for work (there are cracks), the block from the donor - unfortunately, also has cracks and will not be used as a replacement. Therefore, it was decided to buy a new engine block and build a sweetie on it, but we are still looking for the ideal block. The box will also be new, thanks to the generosity of the mechanic. By the way, the camshaft and the piston group shaft turned out to be, fortunately, alive (at least something). So far, only the cylinders have been sandblasted and painted matte heat-resistant black. After painting everything will start to come together. All this will also be sawn, about 1.5-2.0mm, to increase the compression ratio, we will fly on the AI-95. The crankshaft bearings were replaced with NTN ones. The rings will fit SM, although they were hard to find. Also, the mechanic found me an ideal version of the Dnieper tank, without defects, which of course will be used in the project.
03/15/2020 Total: 10'000 ₽. Delivered in cash. The amount was paid for the work of the mechanic.
03/25/2020 Total: 10'000 ₽. The engine block was finally found, with 60 km on it. It was decided to paint it in matte black powder paint, after sandblasting, along with the head covers, gearbox and gearbox. By the way, regarding the gearbox... we also disassembled it, the cover was in poor condition, we replaced it with a good one. The hub and race are ok, we will install good bearings. Also, we install a tenth pair in the gearbox so that the gears are longer. The driveshaft will be replaced with one closer to ideal and with a protective cup!))) We also looked for a generator for a long time, sorted out 5 options - all were dead, luckily we found a generator made in ’78. I’ve never taken it apart, but we opened it up, treated it with epoxy, and drilled ventilated holes; it’s in surprisingly excellent condition.
Motor after sandblasting
Forged "B" pistons
Let's improve the generator :)
04/25/2020 The frame was sawn and welded, everything unnecessary was cut off. With a lot of effort from my dad and a welder/grinder. All that remains is to weld the shock absorber mounting ears to the pendulum, but first you need to set the geometry of the moto. The ordered spare parts are slowly arriving in the mail, all the most important parts will arrive in mid-May - we are waiting to finally put everything together and start.
05/06/2020 — 05/15/2020 Total: 2'000 ₽ (studio). I cut out the base of the seat from plywood. I screwed in a couple of bolts to secure the seat to the frame. I bought an isolon mat, made a geometry out of it, and glued it between the layers with a moment. I waited time for everything to dry. Then I began to create the correct shape for the seat, armed with a small grinder with a grinding wheel, sandpaper and a file. I bought a couple of foam rolls in advance, the first 5mm x 2000mm, the second 10mm x 2000mm. We wrap the seat in a circle first, and use the second roll only for quilted “diamonds” on the seat. I also chose the color of the leatherette myself, settled on dark chocolate, it was decided that it would go well with a black motorcycle, I bought one linear meter, and took it all together to a workshop for upholstery.
05/17/2020 Finally the frame geometry was finalized, I waited a very long time for the shock absorbers to arrive. Even the rims with spokes ordered from “Kovalcustom” (Ukraine) arrived faster, and by the way - they are ideal, they cost KABZDA so much, for some reason they didn’t re-roll, the rims were immediately sanded and everything was made specifically for the native pendulum of the Urals, without any of its extensions (glory God, it's worth it!!! By the way, it’s a pity that now they don’t make ready-made 16th wheels with a Dnieper hub, I would give more money, but I wouldn’t look for another hub, then I sanded everything separately, painted it, spoke it... in general, it’s a bit of a hassle. The mechanic fitted me with two hubs from the Dnieper without any holes, and tivots - just as I wanted. The wheels are practically the most expensive part of my motorcycle, they look gorgeous, it was worth the money, I can’t get enough of it! They rightly say that 60% of a moto’s exterior is its pedals, which is why you can’t save money on them. As a result, new lower mounts for the shock absorbers, a side stand from the Suzuki Bandit, and footpegs for the passenger were welded onto the frame - although I can’t say that this motorcycle really needs them, but let it be, it seems to work. Now everything is ready to be sanded and painted in glossy black powder (frame, crossbars, swingarm, rims, hubs, footpegs and small items). By the way, the tank will need to be brewed separately, sanded, puttyed and painted black metallic; the powder will not suit it, but you will have to wait with it, as there is a queue at the service station.
Pair of rear gas-oil shock absorbers
06/04/2020 Total: 4'000 ₽. (Motor painting 3'500₽ and the rest 500₽). I took the motor from the capital. In total, we made it for almost 9 months, taking into account the fact that I flew to Moscow to study and work for 5 months, during this time nothing was done to the engine, during this period of downtime we looked for the most ideal components, then absolutely everything was done. In the end, we painted the motor with black powder paint (with matte pigment)... well, it’s absolutely perfect, I’m incredibly happy with this motor! And he assembled an air vent for it from a tee and a pair of filters from Minsk. I also bought from a motor mechanic some shabby chrome nuts for the crossbars and brake pads (not from China, which are hard to find now).
06/15/2020 I trimmed the wheels, put a motor on them, I really want to wash the blue paint off of them!!! But I’m afraid to stain the white stripe, so I’ll assemble it first and then wash it))) And now you can safely install everything! I installed the motor, gearbox, steering wheel, and attached the brakes. All that remains is small things and wiring. The finale is very close!
06/15/2020 — 06/23/2020 We install the attachment on the steering wheel. We soldered the gas cable bosses so that they fit on the stock throttle handle. By the way, it didn’t install right away; I had to cut it and adjust it. We also installed carburetors and adjusted the brakes. I also had to suffer with the front brake and clutch cable. The remote controls (switches on the steering wheel) and mirrors were adjusted to fit the steering wheel with an engraver so that everything fits perfectly. Absolutely everything needs to be adjusted, and these little things take a lot of time. Fortunately, there is an electric engraver; you can use it to go anywhere you want and carve out what you want. At the same time, we are preparing a mount for the headlight, which I ordered from AliExpress, but purely technically, the mount is idiotic, so we are finalizing it. All that remains is to hang the headlight, mufflers, and run the wiring. Creative work, in general. Let's do it.
23.06.2020 — 17.07.2020
The wiring took a lot of time, it was terrible... we did everything ourselves, very meticulously... BUT! Everything works as it should! The remote controls are connected, each diode in the headlight is activated (orange light, low, high, high blink). Also turn signals with a combined turn signal relay and running lights, everything is installed! All that remains is to connect the brake lights with combined turn signals, and hang the mufflers. Of course, while assembling the wiring, we noticed that the engine had a used ignition with a dead coil, so we bought a new microprocessor one. It is recommended to use it with silicone armored wires and candlesticks NGK LB05E (with a resistance of 5 KOhm), then it will serve faithfully.
18.07.2020
First start. We carry out additional adjustments and enjoy life. Works like a clock, requires careful running-in. It starts with half a turn of the kick starter. I'm happy as an elephant! All that remains is to install brake lights, mufflers and wrap the knees with thermal tape. I'm also thinking about the front fender...
25.07.2020
I washed the protective turquoise paint off the rubber, and now it looks absolutely beautiful! I installed mufflers and made white stripes on the tank - now it looks harmonious with the whitewalls.
The thick strip is 5mm, the inner thin strip is 2mm.
Stores (excluding payment for the above)
No. 1 (09/19/2019). Double faucet. Gaskets repair kit. Valves 4 pcs. Cylinder seal (cylinder rubber) 4 pcs. Cone bolts (clutch screw). Spark plugs A14B. Fuel filters. Fuel hoses. Gasoline 4 liters. Total: 2'000 ₽
No. 2 (04/10/2020). Pair of rear shock absorbers (4'600₽). Pair of restored chrome feathers (4'500₽). Fastening the steering wheel to the traverse (750₽). Stickers for the pendant, 2 sheets (270₽). Stickers for muffler and helmet (520₽). A pair of mirrors (980₽). Total: 11'620 ₽
No. 3 (04/12/2020). Two rims and spokes for 130/90 R16 (15'000₽ from Ukraine) for a standard pendulum. Set of motorcycle tires Shinko SR777 White Wheel 130/90 R16 67H (12'600₽). Set of motorcycle cameras (900₽). Bridgestone spare tube (500₽). Delivery of tires from St. Petersburg (700₽). Delivery of a set of cameras from Krasnodar (300₽). Delivery of Bridgestone camera from St. Petersburg (300₽). Total: 30'300 ₽
No. 4 (04/13/2020). Footrest from Suzuki Bandit 400. Total: 700 ₽
No. 5 (04/14/2020). Clutch and front brake levers (700₽). Passenger footrests (600₽). Low gray handlebar 22mm (1710₽). Brown quilted grips (600₽). Throttle handle for one cable (650₽). Thermal tape 10m (880₽). Total: 5'150 ₽
No. 6 (04/15/2020). Silencers 2 banks (2'400). Total: 2'400 ₽
No. 7 (04/28/2020). Carburetors (pair) Keihin PZ30 with accelerator pump (3'000₽). A pair of double throttle cables (1'000₽). Headlight from AliExpress (4'100₽). Total: 8'100 ₽
No. 8 (04/30/2020). Studs (4 pcs.) eccentric with offset, for transition from “K” series carburetors to pz30 carburetors (500₽). A pair of textolite spacers (500₽). Total: 1'000 ₽
No. 9 (04.05.2020). Sewer pipe (tee d-110) for the air filter. Foam rubber 12mm/5mm (1000 x 2000). Isolon mat 1800x600x8mm. Faux leather chocolate color (1.4m x 1m). The nuts are self-locking. Fuel filter "VAZ" white 2 pcs. Total: 2'000 ₽
No. 10 (05/06/2020). A pair of air filters Minsk/Ant (300₽). The carburetor pipe is long (100₽). Set of oil seals (130₽). Front brake cable (120₽). Clutch cable (200₽). Old style gas chain (50₽). Tachometer/motorcycle hour meter (600₽). Steering bearing (200₽). Fuel hose (30₽). Battery Tyumen 12V/9Ah/45A (1100₽). Corrugations for a Java fork (300₽). Delivery (1000₽). Total: 3'810 ₽
No. 11 (05/21/2020). Sanding and black powder painting of the frame, hubs, rims, swingarm and other small items (“Good Idea”). Total: 4'500 ₽
No. 12 (given on May 31, 2020, picked up on June 16, 2020). The tank will be welded, sanded, puttied and painted black acrylic, but the queue at the service center is long, we will wait. Total: 6'000 ₽
No. 13 (05/24/2020). Lukoil Super 10W-40 oil 4 liters - pour 2.3 liters (700) into the engine. Oil Gazprom 75W-90 1 liter (400). Volga Oil 1 liter (400). Total: 1'500 ₽
No. 14 (05/27/2020). Fuel filters, a pair of small ones (80). Fuel hose "Buran" silicone (120). Fuel hose, thin “Alfa” (100). Russian bare wiring assembly (800). The old-style 22mm throttle handle has two cables (350). Relay regulator from snowmobile Taiga (300). Breather fitting (60). High-voltage wire, silicone, 2 meters (320). Candlestick (160). Total: 2'300 ₽
No. 15 (05.30.2020). Hardware (nuts, bolts, clamps) - all zinc. The nuts are self-locking, the rest sit on the thread lock (in the most important components of the motorcycle). Total: 2'000 ₽
No. 16 (12.06.2020). Steering wheel remotes. Total: 2'000 ₽
No. 17 (06/19/2020). Candlesticks NGK LB05E with a resistance of 5 Kilo Ohms (required for ignition). Total: 1'000 ₽
No. 18 (06/22/2020). A pair of front turn signals with combined daytime running lights (DRL), and a pair of rear turn signals with a combined brake light (1600). Bicycle speedometer with odometer (1000). Steering wheel stem (400).Total: 3'000 ₽
No. 19 (07/17/2020). New microprocessor ignition with coil. Total: 2'500 ₽
Total: 143'625 ₽
I can’t understand now, the original idea was to give my grandfather’s motorcycle a second life, but it turned out that only the frame remained from that motorcycle. The engine, gearbox and gearbox are foreign, everything else is new. Is this a second life? In my opinion, this is a new, completely different motor... but I wanted to leave the spirit of the IMZ.
Peculiarities
A typical coffee bike, that is, a cafe racer-style motorcycle, looks like a stylized racing bike from the mid-20th century. The kafeshnik presupposes a bullet-shaped fairing, a semi-recumbent seat, the absence of a passenger seat (usually some kind of plug is installed instead), an abundance of chrome and a general appearance consistent with a bygone era. Many companies produce tuning designed to turn your steel horse into a cafe racer, but it usually costs a lot.
The cafe racer motorcycle can be built on the basis of almost any donor. Some Honda or Yamaha is taken, disassembled to the point of “frame on the slipway, engine in the corner, spare parts in bags” and rebuilt until it begins to meet the tastes of the owner. The source of inspiration is usually photos borrowed from the Internet, of which you can find many thousands if you wish. The final result directly depends on the available budget, the owner’s sense of taste and the radius of curvature of his hands.
Honda CB750 "Anvil"
Wrench Kings got to work by stripping the Honda CB750 down to just the frame, motor and wheels. From this moment the magic begins - looking at a naked motorcycle, the lines of the future custom begin to form in your head. As a result, they lowered the front fork, cut off the tail of the frame and installed a fuel tank from a model of the 70s - it fit perfectly into the frame, but for a long time there were no ideas on what the rear part should finally look like and the appearance of the tail was formed only after installing the tank - the lines of the rear fairing became match the tank lines.
Current state
Serial cafe racers are not produced by any company, although some of them produce models vaguely stylized as bikes of this class. Even Chinese motorcycle manufacturers are making some attempts, for example, the Stallion brand, which is actively supplying its small-capacity motorcycles to many Asian countries. But custom custom ones a la cafe racer invariably appear at various motorcycle exhibitions, where they often take prizes. The famous custom Honda Cafe Racer, for example, has traveled with its owners to more than a dozen countries.
If you want to join the small but persistent ranks of café racer lovers, it’s a small matter. First, decide on a donor model, and it can be a road motorcycle, a cruiser, or a sportbike. Estimate an approximate budget, multiply it by two, taking into account the inevitable nuances that did not occur to you at this stage, develop the design of the bike of your dreams and get started. Who knows, maybe you will be the one to build a custom that will take first place at prestigious exhibitions?
Wrench Kings
The client did not have a motorcycle for the project and Wrench Kings found one themselves in a friendly shop. It turned out to be a late 1996 Honda CB750 F2 in good condition with low mileage and a full service history. Wrench Kings basically take such motorcycles for projects, because you can’t build a decent custom one from a dead motorcycle.
According to the idea, the custom should be similar to the old timers of the 70s, so the Honda CB750 motorcycle was specially aged in appearance, using, among other things, unpainted pure metal, but at the same time, modern electrics were installed, stylized as the 70s.
Details
After the appearance was formed, the motorcycle was disassembled again. The frame was cleaned to a shine and sent for powder coating. The powerplant was serviced, repaired and repainted. After all the parts were prepared, we began the final assembly. Also, the Honda CB750 “Anvil” received a beautiful thin seat.
Cafe Racer Honda CB750 "Anvil"
Next we worked on the fuel tank and rear fairing. They needed to be aged. To do this, they were sanded to a shine, several horizontal scratches were applied, they were painted black and sanded again, while the black paint remained in the scratches. After which the tank and tail were coated with matte transparent varnish. Yes, it took a lot of work to make the bike look old and abandoned.
And the finishing touches. Domino throttle and clutch lever, Brembo master cylinders, Motogadget clip-on turn signals and speedometer, plus Motogadget M-unit Blue system with GPS tracker, custom stainless steel exhaust system, upgraded YSS rear shocks and K&N 2-in air filter -1.
