Similar to 4-wheel vehicles, the two-wheeled machines also have an interesting history, especially when it comes to Cafe Racer style bikes. A race culture on motorbikes to and from a cafe was at boom in the late 1950s and early 1960s that evolved and led to the concept of Cafe Racer.
Today, we will run-down briefly through Cafe Racer history, its origin and the classic motorcycles from the 1960s that were labelled as Cafe Racer bikes.
WHAT IS MEANT BY CAFE RACER?
The category of standard motorcycles that were modified by motorbike enthusiasts in the 1960s in London was termed as Cafe Racer. The owners optimised certain parts and features of their standard motorcycles to attain maximum speed and handling, especially to cover short distances.
CAFE RACER HISTORY
In the late 1950s two subcultures became popular among the youth of London. One was ‘rockers’ and the other was ‘mod.’ These groups evolved from their music taste, as rockers were the ones who loved Rock n Roll music and mods were fans of modern Jazz. Further the two groups were two-wheel enthusiasts with mods’ affinity towards Italian scooters, whereas, rockers were more inclined towards speed that led them to create their own Cafe Racers.
The rock n roll music at that time was raw and extremely fast and it influenced many motorbike enthusiasts. Therefore, they came up with the idea to optimise their two-wheel, making it raw, fast and aggressive to reflect their music taste.
The rock n roll music especially influenced those motorcyclists, who used to visit cafes where this type of music was played. This is because rock n roll was never played by radio stations and was only played on jukeboxes at the cafes. And among all the cafes in London, Ace Cafe became the hub where motorbike enthusiasts used to gather, enjoy music and organise motorcycle races. This cafe boomed the culture of motorbike racers and rock n roll music, simultaneously.
The motorbikers gathering at the cafe used to follow a practice, known as ‘Racing the Record.’ In this practice a song was played on the jukebox and the bike racers had to race to and from the cafe to a decided spot before the song ended.
For this, a high-speed motorbike backed with optimum handling was mandatory and therefore, the owners personalised their motorcycles. Also, as per the Cafe Racer bike history, these were dissimilar in design from the standard motorbikes. The Cafe Racer bike styles were easily spotted and heard even from a distance, as they were also customised to produce raw sound apart from performance.
Furthermore, according to the Cafe Racer history, these motorbikes were made more lightweight and equipped with racing fuel tanks featuring dropped handlebars. Also, the motorbike seats were ripped and replaced by a seat that could only accommodate one rider.
POPULAR CAFE RACER CONFIGURATIONS
The Cafe Racer history reveals that the motorbike enthusiasts in the 50s and 60s era had a quest to achieve 100 mph speed. Hence, they came up with the most iconic configurations to modify their motorbikes into a high-speed Cafe Racer.
The popular configuration was a combination of Triumph Bonneville engine and Norton Featherbed frame. With this combination, Cafe Racers had the Triumph’s raw power and dependability and Norton racing frame’s swiftness with incredible handling capability.
Cafe Racers with this configuration were labelled as ‘Triton,’ in which Tri comes from Triumph and ton comes from Norton.
The second most trending configuration was a BSA motorcycle frame home to Triumph engine and Cafe Racers with this configuration were named as ‘Tribsa.’
TRANSITION OF CAFE RACER BIKE STYLES
The style of Cafe Racers had evolved during their trending era. In the mid 1970s Japanese motorbikes were introduced in the automobile industry that replaced British motorcycles. Also, by that time the Grand Prix racing bikes’ designs evolved.
The aluminum racing fuel tanks in the Cafe Racers from the 1960s, which were hand-made, were shaped square, made narrow using the fiberglass. The Cafe Racer conversions were then based on four cylinder Honda, four cylinder four stroke Kawasaki Z1 and three cylinder Kawasaki two stroke engines.
However, by the late 1970s many motorbike manufacturers introduced Cafe Racers in the market. Among the many factory manufactured Cafe Racers, Harley-Davidson XLCR and Moto Guzzi Le Mans gained popularity.
Later in the early 1980s, Cafe Racer replicas were launched by the Japanese local market. These Cafe Racer replicas included Honda GB250 (1983), GB400 and GB500, both were launched in the year 1985. The GB400 featured a single seat with cowl and a frame mounted fairing. Whereas, the GB500 was designed to replicate the 1960s BSA and Norton Cafe Racers.
Outside the Japanese local market, XBR500 was launched in the year 1985 that featured angular modern styling. It was designed to compete with the Yamaha SRX600. In 1989 Honda USA produced a GB500 version, which was well-received in the market.
Besides, motorbike enthusiasts continued to produce their version of Cafe Racers by adding clubman bars and by adorning the headlight with fairing around it. The Cafe Racer variants were also produced by BMW, Derbi, Benelli and Bultaco. These were though standard motorbikes manufactured without any modifications, but yet were able to produce powerful performance.
CAFE RACERS TODAY
Many popular motorbike manufacturers are producing Cafe Racer style bikes, inspired by the designs of the 1950s and 1960s classic cafe racers. These brands include BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Royal Enfield Continental, Honda and several others.
The modern Cafe Racers manufactured does not require any modification for speed and performance. Besides, if you are impressed by the history of Cafe Racer and wish to own one, you can opt to buy a new or used Cafe Racer in the UAE. If you are interested in buying a completely new Cafe Racer, you can check the new models at the Harley-Davidson showrooms in the UAE. However, if you are investing in a used model, make sure to follow the checklist for buying a second-hand motorcycle.
This was all about the Cafe Racer from the 1960s era, how it became popular and what were its core features. Besides, no matter which category of motorbike you choose, it is mandatory to follow tips for motorcycle maintenance.
Keeping up with routine maintenance will help keep your two-wheel in proper working condition. Also, being an avid motorbike enthusiast, make sure to keep all the essential motorcycle tools.
Apart from Cafe Racers, there are many different types of motorcycles. If you are a motorbike enthusiast, exploring all the options available in the market would be worth it. Besides, if you make up your mind to own one, you can head to one of the motorbike showrooms in the UAE and buy.
Stay tuned to the popular auto blog of the UAE for information on different motorbike brands’ facts, history of different car models and a lot more.
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