Cafe Racer Discussion

The chain drive seca 550 above would more than easily keep up with a cafe bike.

 

PipeDreams, sounds like you're pretty closed-minded. People can modify their bikes to be whatever they want them to be. I'm going a little bit for the "cafe" look, but that's mostly with clubmans, changing the lights, exhaust, and a few other little things. No chopping required, anything done to the bike, even if I put a single seat on it, will be able to be reverted to stock within a couple hours.

Even if I had a new bike I would change SOMETHING on it though. Different mirrors or grips or change the lights or tag mount, something to signify that its mine.

I guess mostly I want to comment on your definition of a cafe racer. We all have seen the history posted on here, late 50s early 60s races in Britain, but guess how it all started? These guys had stock bikes and modified them! Changed bars, removed/chopped parts, etc. Eventually manufacturers caught on and produced some cafe style models, but there were still a lot of conversions. Same with the new streetfighters, it's just owners modifying their bikes to be lighter and handle better. I'm not saying that our 80s shaft driven bikes are the same as the 60s and 70s bikes, but the spirit of the owner is the same.

Finally, please stay out of the modification forum if you can't appreciate anything in it.

 

Thank you for bring nothing new to the conversation, repeating what others have already said, and further failing to understand the point I made.

 

You know, usually I just read these forums for the great help, but once in a while someone really frustrates me.

For someone who says they just want to hear some conversation, maybe next time you can grow up and not insult everyone you are trying to have a conversation with. Calling the modification forum "bullshit everywhere where there should be purity" just shows how narrow minded your argument is. If no one made a modification because someone else, aka you, might have disagreed upon it, we wouldn't have half the bikes we have nowadays.

In fact, I would like to argue that people experimenting with their bikes in fact does create a vaster deeper community. It changes attitudes, creates new ideas, fosters new ways of looking at things. But if you're too stuck up about your stock bike to understand that, don't come into a modification forum and start insulting people. Last time I checked a bunch of people worried about creating the exact same product worked on an assembly line. This is the modification forum, not an assembly line forum.

Honestly, his point was entirely applicable, and you have no argument to begin with. You're a class A bully who decided to troll a forum saying that your opinion is the best and that everyone is "ruining" their bikes by doing what they want with them. You have offered absolutely nothing to this discussion. Next time you want to start a discussion show some respect for other people as they have shown you. Otherwise, get lost.

 

Give him a break- he is just mad that stacked headlights and odd instrument clusters haven't made a comeback yet. :wink:

 

I have neither on my bike.

Once again, I never said I don't like customization and modification. If you'd have even read my posts, I said multiple times that I'm all for it and love to see it.

Also, there's no trolling going on here. I think I've been pretty cordial and even said that I agree with a lot of points on here. I've shown respect to everyone that has posted with something legitimate to say. I don't see where in this thread you think I've been disrespectful?

 

Mate - it's the internet. People get wound up over other people being mis-quoted all the time :lol:

For what it's worth, I think the XJ has a Superbike hidden deep down in there somewhere.......

 

There's a Flag on the play.
Illegal procedure.

Now we can add "Cafe Racer" to:
Oil
Tires
YICS Tuning
Middle Gear Plug Draining
Less filling ... Tastes Great
Paper ... Plastic

Please make it a discussion ... sans Personal affronts ... or we'll have to call it quits.

 

Funny, I thought street-fighters or bobbers would have made it to the list before cafe racers.


How about a designated hitter discussion next?

 

i feel like i just walked in on a heated health care reform debate.

 

What a beautiful machine. I wonder how it stops with those rotors. Haha.

What exactly is that?

 

That's a Z1000J from 1982/3. Commonly known as the Eddie Lawson replica (ELR) as it was Kawasaki's tribute to Eddie Lawson's superbike efforts from a few years earlier.

 

Methinks this blew up in your face a bit, and now you're backpedaling :?

 

I have to say I personally hate the cafe and street fighter look. But then alot of people hate the cruiser look I love. It's all about what you like and don't like and doing what YOU want with YOUR bike. I'd be happy to never see another cafe bike but have you thought of all the people that ride them. It's like me telling you to ride only crotch rockets, you'd probably stay off bikes for the rest of your life. And of all the bullshit I've heard in the last couple weeks "there aren't many xj's left" made me laugh the hardest. Does the name "pipe dreams" refer to a little bit to much weed this week?

 

I don't think the one in the pic is quite bone-stock. It appears to be set up for track work, I don't think those front brakes are stock even for the racer-replica. Nice piece. I never noticed how similar the Kawi's KZ tail section was to the Seca 550s.

 

That would be a replica of Eddie lawson's Kawasaki, but not a Kawasaki Eddie Lawson Replica





This would be the Lawson Replica Kawi-

 

For Comparison.




Z1000R



1980 Suzi GS 550


My favorite duck tail was on the Honda CB750F (900F, too), however-

 

Of course, this one is modified for racing...my bad....

And the tail? Well, what did you think Yamaha was modelling the Seca on?? :lol:

 

That is a beauty of a bike is that yours?

 

Well, let me think... considering that particular style Yamaha bodywork first appeared on the original 1979 XJ400 (4-cyl) which would have been designed in '78, I don't think Yamaha copied anyone, I think maybe it was the other way around?