How bout pics of your favorite cafe racer that IS a Monster?

[topangster]

I really want to cafe-erize my Monster S2R 1000 eventually.  Would love to see what others have done in that direction already...

[The Don]

I would like to put forward Jaun monster, love it  , sorry I dont know how to post photo's
Don

[mattyvas]

Are you talking about this one Don.

[cbartlett419]

that bike needs to have a shrine with incense burning around it

[Spidey]

Duck-Stew's Cafe Racer  v.1

[The Don]

Thats the one Matty

[Duck-Stew]

Duck-Stew's Cafe Racer  v.1

Not to bust yer balls Spidey, but technically....that's version 2.0 right there.  It's under the knife getting the version 3.0 upgrades/mods/downgrades/etc...






















Ok, maybe I'm bustin' yer balls a little bit there....

[He Man]

Youre all probably gonna start spitting down my throat. but aside from what id call common monster mods, what makes those monsters cafe racers?

[The Don]

They may be common, but its the sum of the parts. For me Jaun's clip-on bars, low slung pipes, rear sets, air cooled engine, little or no carbon and minimalist look just does it for me. I may be wrong in the definition of a Cafe racer, but to me its what i would call a modern cafe racer.
Don

[Popeye the Sailor]

Typical Configuration of a Cafe Racer Motorcycle

The cafe racer is a motorcycle that has been modified for speed and good handling rather than comfort. Cafe racers' bodywork and control layout typically mimicked the style of contemporary Grand Prix roadracers, featuring an elongated fuel tank and small, rearward mounted, humped seat. A signature trait were low, narrow handlebars that provided more precise control at high speeds and allowed the rider to "tuck in" to lessen wind resistance. These are referred to as either "clip-ons" (two-piece bars that bolt directly to each fork tube) or "clubmans" (one piece bars that attach to the stock mounting location but drop down and forward). The ergonomics resulting from low bars and the rearward seat often required "rearsets," or rear-set footrests and foot controls, again typical of racing motorcycles of the era. Distinctive half or full race-style fairings were sometimes mounted to the forks or frame.

The bikes had a raw, utilitarian and stripped-down appearance while the engines were tuned for maximum speed. These motorcycles were lean, light and handled road surfaces well. The most defining machine of its heyday was the homemade Norton Featherbed framed and Triumph Bonneville engined machine called "The Triton". It used the most common and fastest racing engine combined with the best handling frame of its day, the Featherbed frame by Norton Motorcycles. Those with less money could opt for a "Tribsa" - the Triumph engine in a BSA frame.

Cafe racer styling evolved throughout the time of their popularity. By the mid-70's, Japanese bikes had overtaken British bikes in the marketplace, and the look of real Grand Prix racing bikes had changed. The hand-made, frequently unpainted aluminium racing petrol/gas tanks of the 1960s had evolved into square, narrow, fiberglass tanks. More and more, three- and four-cylinder Hondas and Kawasakis were the basis for cafe racer conversions. By 1978, a number of manufacturers had taken notice of the cafe racer boom and were producing factory cafe racers, most notably the Harley-Davidson XLCR, the Ducati Super Sport models and the Kawasaki Z1R. In 1979, Suzuki offered the cafe-style GS1000S.

While the first cafe racer conversions amounted to a nearly complete re-engineering of the motorcycle, by the mid-70s riders began modifying standard production motorcycles into so-called "cafe racers" by simply equipping them with clubman bars and a small "bubble" quarter fairing around the headlight. A number of European manufacturers, including Aspes, Benelli, BMW, Bultaco & Derbi produced factory "cafe" variants of their standard motorcycles in this manner, without any modifications made to make them faster or more powerful. Once cafe racer styling became just that--a styling exercise that served no functional purpose and simply made bike less comfortable to ride--the trend quickly waned in popularity. Soon afterwards, most new sportbikes began featuring integral bodywork from the factory, negating the need or ability to retrofit an aftermarket cafe fairing.


Cafe Racers Today

While the knowledge of the term remains widespread, it is often applied by the uninformed to nearly any bike with a flat seat and low handlebars. The more recent term "Streetfighter" is sometimes applied to cafe racers, and vice versa. However, "streetfighter" describes the practice of stripping the original-equipment full fairing and other bodywork off spar-framed "race-replica" sport bikes popular in recent years. The canonical profile of a cafe racer and a streetfighter are quite distinct.

Classic cafe racer style has made a comeback recently, thanks largely to the increased interest in vintage motorcycles in general. The baby boomers were responsible for a surge in motorcycle sales in the late 1960s and '70s, and many of this generation now find themselves with the time and discretionary income to recreate the bikes they had--or wished to have--in their younger years.

[Travman]

For a vintage looking Monster cafe racer I would like to see a bike with clip ons, rearsets, lowered gauges/headlight and these Sil Moto megaphones.


and Alpina or Sport Classic black rimmed spoked wheels.

[Spidey]

Travman, here's Jeff's from monsterparts.com.  His seems to fit what you're talking about.  I think it has wire wheels on it now.

[El Matador]

STILL... HAVE... TO.. FINISH... COWL 

[DesmoDisciple]

WOW is this thread going to cost me money......

These bikes look fantastic.

How are the ergonomics with this kind of setup. Looks like you would basically be putting yourself in a Supersport riding position.

[Travman]

Travman, here's Jeff's from monsterparts.com.  His seems to fit what you're talking about.  I think it has wire wheels on it now.

Yes, that is nice.  Does anybody have pics of that bike with the wire wheels on it?  I've seen that picture before, but had forgotten it.  The pipes look like they are straight out of 1972.  Look at the pipes on the current Bike of the Moment.  I wonder if these are the same? 


I also like the painted chromed tank.  Very similar to the painted BSA and Royal Enfields tanks