I found this auction on eBay this morning. It includes a seat for a CB750 (no year listed) and two non-model-specific parts: clubman bars with grips and turn signals. The seat looks to be unmounted (new), but does have a few scratches in the black gelcoat. The bars and seat would make a good start to a cafe racer project if you have a CB750 sitting around that you have thought about modifying.
Maybe it’s that it is Sunday morning, but this is my second posting of a good project bike. In fact, this may even be better than the Triumph since it has a much friendlier price and already has clubman bars on it (motor issue notwithstanding). Since I am starting on a Honda SL350 cafe project, I like the sound of someone else taking this on and seeing where it ends up.
That engine problem sounds to me like either an electrical thing with intermittent spark or a flooded cylinder. Or too much oil in the cylinder. But what the hell do I know?!?
The best thing about these early- to mid-1970s Honda twins is the availability of parts for fixing or customizing into cafe racers. Like that disk front end might very well bolt on to an SL350. Hmmmm. I might have to look into that….
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.
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…
So Buell has now got a new iteration of the kick-ass 1125R. With actual clubman bars and a small bikini-faring to go with the (some might say massive) cooling pods, the new Buell 1125CR looks to be a bike that can easily hang with other street-fighter-esque machines such as the Aprilia Tuono or the Triumph Speed Triple. There has been no downgrades on the spec sheet that I could find, so it should be as light and powerful as the R model. I can’t wait to see one of these in person.
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So I am on the Sportster Cafe Racer mailing list, and the overall consensus seems to be that the bike is fugly. Is this true?!?!? I think it is a good looking bike, and certainly places function at the forefront of its design ethic. On the other hand, if enough people (read “potential buyers”) think it is ugly personified, then perhaps I can pick one up at the end of the season for a steal… 
