1971 Honda SL175

Hmmmmmmm…….. Maybe it’s a board track racer?

1989 Harley Sportster Cafe Racer

I recently posted an interesting Yamaha XS650 by this same shop (Loaded Gun Customs), and now they have this cafe’d 1989 HD Sportster up for sale. It’s definitely got some nice mechanical bits on it (the rear-sets and clip-ons), and it has a nice simple look to it. My own Sportster hasn’t been converted quite this far yet, but its getting there.

This bike is probably a 1200, but the seller doesn’t actually say. However, they did put new 10:1 pistons in it, and the cylinders look awfully new, so I would guess they plopped a 883 to 1200 upgrade kit on it and called it a day. It is missing the headlight adjustment nut cover, which is kind of odd given that the rider would have to look at the exposed bolthead and any pooling water every time they rode the bike.

Anyways, there are 2 days left in the auction, and the price is just over $3K. Reserve hasn’t been met, and the Buy-It-Now price is $5,200, so your guess is as good as mine as to what the reserve price has been set at. This is a pretty nice example of a Sportster cafe compared to most that we see…

1971 Norton 850 Commando (relist on eBay)

Here’s a relisted Norton cafe racer that I liked a lot the first time around, and I don’t like it any less now. There is no reserve on the auction, so it should sell this time. Maybe it was a non-paying bidder last time? No idea. Current price is $2,550 with over 4 days left and a few bidders. Here’s the link to the original bike, or you can click through to the new listing through the pics below…
ORIGINAL POSTING

1973 Suzuki T500 (with Reed Titan bodywork?)

This is an interesting, and low priced, Suzuki T500 in need of a bit of work to get it ready for either the street or a track day. The seller claims it is fast and “runs/rides well”. The neatest thing about the bike is the bodywork. While the seller thinks it is original Reed Titan bodywork, I would tend to believe that at this price and condition that it is replica fiberglass. It needs some work and parts to be fully rideable (missing front master cylinder being the most obvious thing), but it is 95% complete. Check out the listing to get more details.

The auction still has almost 10 days left at this point, and the starting bid is $999. Interestingly, it has a Buy-It-Now of only $1,999. This seems like it might make this bike a really good deal, but it also speaks to the fairly beat-on bodywork and the need for some work before riding. It will be interesting to see what happens with this auction as it moves towards completion…

Cool Blog With Nice Bike Pics

I found this blog that has lots of cool bike pics. I included one from a recent post below, but I will leave it up to you to explore and find…

Burst Sausages Blog

1961 Triumph Thunderbird

Loking at this bike, I can’t help but dream of jumping a fence whilst escaping from a POW camp or storming a small central California town sometime in the distant past before Sturgis was the Rubbie locale du jour. This Thunderbird (the bike not the wine) is hellaciously cool in an old-school sort of way. Plop the bike down in any black-and-white rebel/biker movie, and it would look right at home.

It is for sale on eBay, and the seller claims it was built into a cafe racer before he acquired it. I think he must be referring to the Napolean bar end that has been stuck on to the left side of the bars. Other than that, it’s really just a classic bike. There are 2 bidders who have taken the bike up to $1,625 with 2 days left, but reserve hasn’t been met as of yet.

1979 Yamaha RD400 Daytona Special 2-Fer

This is a kind of interesting auction. While neither bike is a specifically a built cafe racer, a guy in Ohio is auctioning off this pair of RD400 Daytona Specials. The one that’s a runner appears to be in good shape with a number of new parts, while the fixer/parts-bike has a bunch of included parts that need to be installed (or it needs to be parted out). It seems to me that a good end for this auction would be if the winner rode the bike that’s running, and converted the rough fixer into a cafe. And then they sent some pics to the blog.

There are 4 days left in the auction, but nobody has started bidding yet. The opening bid will need to be $3K, but it is a no-reserve auction…

1978 Suzuki GS750 Cafe Racer

I’ve been trying to be nice lately. Really. Haven’t you been able to tell? But I can hold back no longer…

There are three things wrong with this bike. I’ll take the flack if you disagree. First, the seller is unclear on whether or not the bike is a 1978 or a 1979. Maybe that doesn’t matter from a technical standpoint, but it does from a “seller knowing his sh!t” standpoint. Secondly, there is no paperwork to go along with the bike. That can make it difficult to register (especially here on the left coast). Thirdly, the seat. Do I need to spell it out? The TL1000R seat is just wrong. It was iffy on the actual TL1000R, and here it is just not right. The stock seat would be better. A pillow seat would be… well, not better, but not worse.

I get the fact that all of us trying to build cafe-styled bikes makes choices as we design the final look, but this feels more like someone who had an extra TL1000R seat sitting in the garage. That reminds me, I’ve got a TZ250 GP seat in my garage that I just might mount on the ‘05 Sportster. I’ll post a pic if I do it.

5 days left in the auction, with 4 bidders, and the price at $510. Good luck if you are interested!!!

1978 Honda CB550 Cafe Racer

This is an interesting bike with a mix of cool/new parts and a couple of relatively major things that need to be fixed. Easily, the best aesthetic feature is the cafe-style seat with the frenched taillight. And the paint looks really deep and glossy on the seat, tank, and the one side-panel that is visible in the pictures. I personally don’t really get the upside-down superbike bars, but there are a fair number of “cafe-style” bikes out there with them. The motor has a number of internal performance parts, and there are a lot of new consumables that come with the bike. It does, however, need a new stator and a ring job (according to the seller). I am pasting a full list of the mods and parts after the pictures.

I’m not quite sure what to make of the Buy-It-Now price of $2,500 for this bike given the re-ringing and stator replacement that the buyer will have to do. But the auction is currently at around $700 with 4 bidders and a little less than a day left. I would guess the bike won’t pass the reserve price, but we shall see where the sale of this bike ends up…

Hand made “Frenched” Tail light Café Racer Seat
Chrome mini Bullet Turn Signals
Gloss Black Single Stage Paint
“Kreemed” Gas Tank
Flanders Café Bars
MAC 4:1 Exhaust System
Web Cam Springs & Titanium Retainers
Web 58B Camshaft
Ported and Polished Head
Head Decked for Higher compression
New Old Stock BETOR Racing Shocks
New EBC Clutch and Spring Set
New Sunstar Sprockets
New EBC Brakes, Front and Rear
New Wheel Bearings Front and Rear
New Fork Seals and Bushings
New Battery
New Petcock
Carbs have new needles, seats, and gaskets in them
New points and condenser

Needs to be done:
Stator has an issue on charging side, works sometimes, needs to be replaced.
Will need new rings, smokes at start up, goes away as engine warms.

1970 BSA Project Bike

I’m not even going to attempt to claim any knowledge about the combination of motor and frame in this eBay listing for a BSA project bike. It is supposedly a 1970 frame (B441 of some type) along with a motor from 1967. The VINs are in the last two photos, so check it out if you are interested in bidding. There are 4 hours left in the auction, and the price is just under $1K with 1 bid.