start of the cafe racer

zepp76 · Posted: May 18, 2009, 1:17 pm Post subject: start of the cafe racer

well like it says this is the start of my cafe racer, nothing major done yet just fitting of the seat and tank.

KYLEPRESTON · Posted: May 18, 2009, 1:21 pm Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

I like the tank . Alloy?
good over all look. are you going to run high scrambler style pipes or the low shooters(norton style)

zepp76 · Posted: May 18, 2009, 1:27 pm Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

it's a fibreglass tank, as for the pipes i do like the look of an upswept set of commandos but i'm going to have to wait until the rearsets are done and then play around with the lines but something like these'll be nice!

ady66 · Posted: May 18, 2009, 4:03 pm Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

Good to see the start of another xs project, 'specially a cafe!

XS919 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 12:32 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

That tank looks very similar to mine except mine has the filler central.

Any idea what it came off?

I found mine at a swap meet. It's fiberglass and pretty old. There were no markings on it but it had Triumh mountings. I'd seen pics of a Rickman Triumph tank that looked pretty close to mine.

Looks like the beginings of a nice cafe.

Cheers

ichael

dpmphoto · Posted: May 20, 2009, 2:09 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

That tank appears to be a reed triton conversion tank,it will set you back $494.The seat looks like a ducati 750 sport seat $141.00

XS919 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 2:34 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

My seat was a 900SS reproduction. I think it's pretty much the same thing. A local Aussie fiberglas shop had a mold.

Cheers

XS919 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 2:40 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

A bit of trivia for you: Curious thing with fuel cap on these tanks. It's actually the same as the Early Shelby Cobras ran on the rear guard. This is the street version not the S/C. The S/C cars got the big 4" lemans cap and a lot of cars had it retro fitted.

I built a Cobra replica and discovered this when I was researching them.

Cheers

ichael

XS919 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 2:51 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

dpmphoto wrote:

That tank appears to be a reed triton conversion tank,it will set you back $494.

You're spot on. Thanks for that. I just did a bit of a search and found them at Airtech. Good to know you can still buy them new. I reckon mine was an original. I had to do a fair bit of work to mine to fix it up and make it fuel tight. Would have been easer to start with one of these.

Here it is on Airtech's web page:

Cheers

ichael

zepp76 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 4:54 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

Hello there, yep your right, the tank was built for norton/triumph racers and only cost me £45.00! the seat is an original imola style used on guzzi's and the ducati 900ss bevel and again was a cracking deal at only £30.00 these tanks seem to always be going cheap on fleabay in the uk so keep an eye out if you need a spare! ( not too worried if it's not fuel tight as a lot of my friends work in the boat building industry so a fibreglass tank will be a doddle for them to sort out!) that's a very nice looking bike you have there Michael, i've not long ordered pretty much the same fairing too!!! i'm going to go black with it though and put an alloy retaining strap over the top of the tank like they used to do back in the day, have you done much engine wise?

p.s could you possibly put on a picture of the mounting bracket for the fairing please?

XS919 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 6:06 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

The top faring bracket is just a bar between the two sides. I machined up a sleeve and welded it in the middle and there's a small ball race in there. I drilled and tapped the top of the head stem bolt and the bearing is bolted to that. There are a few spacers and such in there but that's pretty much it. The rod stops any side to side movement and most of the up and down movement and the steering can move freely.

This one is chromed steel but I plan to make an alloy one now that I've got myself a TIG welder.

The lower faring brackets are just 2 steel tabs glassed into the edges of the bottom of the faring. they run under the tank and are held by the same 2 bolts that hold the tanks down at the front.

I actually made 2 fairings when I built the bike. One with the headlight and one without for track days.

There are a few pics of it as I was building it on 650motorcycles.com

Mikes Bike Page 1
Mikes Bike Page 2
Mikes Bike Page 3
Mikes Bike Page 4

The more I look at it the more keen I am to give it a freshen up. I've learned a lot since building it and there's a bunch of stuff I'd like to go back and re-do.

Cheers

ichael

zepp76 · Posted: May 20, 2009, 7:26 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

Absolutely brilliant, thankyou for posting the extra photos it gives me a better idea of where i'm heading with the bike, bloody good job Michael!

zepp76 · Posted: May 30, 2009, 10:59 am Post subject: Re: start of the cafe racer

started on the pipes but i could do with a second opinion!!! i'm liking it so far but not too sure if the pipes are sticking out slightly too wide and making it look out of shape?? your thoughts muchly appreciated.

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