Here is a really clean build-up/restoration of a Yamaha XS650 into a cafe racer. So much about it is right, and just a few things need help (but they’re easy).
I think the overall look of the bike with the nice paint, fiberglass, and decals is really nice. It will stand out in a row of bikes at Alice’s Restaurant while not being over the top. That rear seat is particularly nice, and I like the way the CB500 tank looks on the bike. The red pin-striping/decals on the white bodywork is quite classy.
But here are two things that would change the bike radically on the cheap and easy: ditch the crazy square mirror, and get some clip-ons or clubmans. I know it is more comfortable to have the drag bars, but it is the one missing element for me. And the square mirror? Enough said…
This bike is only a little ways from my house, but finances dictate I stay away and concentrate on the SL350 cafe build-up I have coming up with my friend Paul at TheMotoWorld.com.
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In my mind, there is a gray area when it comes to bike modification. Specifically when looking at what makes a bike a cafe racer. If one were to look at all of the potential descriptors that one could use to define the prototypical cafe racer, the list would be reasonably long: low bars (clip-on or clubman), rear-sets, custom tank, stylized rear seat, spoked wheels, and maybe modified suspension that keeps the hard parts off the ground during cornering.
So then I look at this particular bike, where it has been modified with a set of clubman bars, and I think to myself, “Is this a cafe racer? Or is it just a bike with clubman bars?” I’m not sure if I have the answer.
However, as my bike (a 2005 H-D Sportster 883) has received only a partial number of the modifications that would generally describe a cafe racer, is it even okay for me to say that it has been cafe’d? Hmmm. I think I need to post some pictures of it and get opinions from all of the readers of this blog.
Regardless, this CB500 is a good starting point for a cafe racer, although I am always happier with clip-ons than clubmans…
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