Newbie Cafe Racer ?'s

hello all! i recently came into posession of an 85 XJ750 maxim. i traded my buddy some old tools for it. but to get on point i have been considering doing some modififcations to it during the winter months and came across the cafe racer kit on oldbikbarn.com. has anyone on this site done this mod and if so what kind of gas tank would be appropriate?
thanks
James

 

P.S. does anyone know the stock demensions of the handlebars? just wondering thanks

 

Hey amw...
welcome to the xj site. I've done some cafe mods but, nothing too major. I have an 81 xj550 and I put a viper fairing on like the one on oldbikebarn.com and it's a nice fairing and helps some with the wind, you've really got to duck down behind it. Recently I've put on some clubman bars and I really like the feel of them so far. They do hit the tank if you were wondering about that. I JB welded a small nut on each side of my frame to stop the handle bars sooner. Good luck with your mods.

 

I don't know the length or width of the bars, but they are 7/8" stock diameter - not the usual(or more common) 1"

 

thanks for all of your input, i will hopefully get some pictures of my project up for everyone to see soon!

 

If you get the clipon type bars you can adjust them to not hit the tank and still be low.

 

I believe our bars are 29.5" wide x 7/8 diameter.

 

hey pbr... how was it to install that viper fairing anyway? Is it big on your bike or does it fit with the rest of your bike?

 

It took a little tweaking to fit with my bike but, it seems fine. It's about the same size as the stock fearing and it goes nicely around and above the headlight and gauge cluster. You can see some pics in my gallery.

 

oh yeah ... that does look alot like a stock one, nice!

 

Speaking of the Viper faring, does anyone know if the double rectangle headlights found on some of the Seca models would fit in that Faring, or would it just be a big problem?

Also, does anyone know a good place to get just Café racer handlebars? I'm trying to find a good price and can't seem to find anything.

 

I didnt have any problem finding my handlebars at any of the local bike shops. I got drag bars for mine and they were like 20 bucks. Everything I found online were about the same price or maybe a buck cheaper. But then with shipping and stuff, it was a wash. The Cafe bars were the same price from what I saw. The 7/8" bars were pretty standard everywhere I went.