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.

1978 Suzuki GS1000 Cafe Racer

Do you know the K.I.S.S. acronym? “Keep it simple.” This bike ignored that dictum. For you Suzuki fans out there, this bike has potential as more of a street drag bike given its lowered stance. But as a cafe racer, I think that it moves away from balanced function/form that we see in the most successfully built bikes, and enters into the realm of bikes where stuff was done to it just to do it. My only comment on this bike would be to lose the brown stripe on the seat. That sucker is going to wear off quickly…

If this big GS floats your boat, there are only 10 hours left in the auction, and the bidding is currently at $635. Quite a deal if you want a big bore bike from the 1970s.

1978 Suzuki GS1000

Here’s something we don’t see every day. It’s a very nice 1978 Suzuki GS1000 that has a mild cafe treatment done to it. I like the clean, somewhat stock appearance of this bike. It’s very much as if a guy back in 1978 rolled this bike off the showroom floor, stuck a cafe fairing and some shocks on a new bike, and went riding.

By no means is the bike perfect. The seller is very honest in the listing about the small things that are wrong with the bike, but I’ve owned new Suzukis in the last 10 years that have had far more problems than this bike. I think it will end up selling for a reasonable price if it breaks reserve, especially compared to the last bike I posted. But that could be perfect for someone who isn’t interested in a radical cafe build, and just wants a comfortable but sporty ride. There are four days left in this auction, and the price is only at $560.

Not Another XLCR!?!?!?

Alright, alright. I know that almost every XLCR is the same as the last. Black with almost no modifications (if any). What can I say? A friend of mine really likes these bikes, and for those of us who are trying to convert a Sporty to a cafe racer this is the original…

Addtionally, this XLCR currently being auctioned on eBay is very clean and low miles (just over 4K). The price pretty reasonable, but with four days left, the auction has risen over $8,000. Still a good price given past sales for these bikes. If my friend hadn’t just bought a classic beemer, I’d be rooting for him to buy this bike. Oh well…

1963 / 1978 Triton 750

Here’s a beautiful cafe racer that is the real deal. This full on Triton build is at auction on eBay with a current price of $6K with about 3 days left. I expect this bike to close much higher than the current price. According to the seller, it is a ground up rebuild with almost all new parts. It is missing the battery tray, so factor that in if you want this bike. Overall, a very beautiful motorcycle.

1974 Norton Commando 850 Cafe Racer

I thought I had posted this bike already, but apparently I hadn’t. There’s only a little over a day left in the auction, so I’m sorry for the late notice. It is a beautiful bike, though, so I’m glad I caught it…

This Commando 850 cafe racer appears to be a pretty clean bike. The paint appears to be in good condition, and the “engine has fresh service and valve adjustment, all new fluids, runs perfectly…………. easy start hot or cold” to quote the seller. No idea if that’s true or not. It’s got a bunch of new parts and upgrades including 18″ wheels and an electronic ignition. Overall, a really nice Norton.

1978 Honda CB550 (Stock and Conversion Ready)

Sometimes, stuff happens. For the next 15 minutes I am going to put aside “stuff” and tell you about this bike I found on eBay. It is a conversion-to-cafe ready CB550 that appears to be a perfect candidate. It has relatively low miles, nothing ostentatiously wrong about it, and only has 6 hours to go until the auction ends with zero bids.

“Why zero bids?” you might be asking. Well, the starting price is a mite bit high at $1,499 for a start. However, if you have seen some the CB550 cafe racers that I’ve posted, you know that this is such a great starting point for a conversion. And the bike is all there, it just needs a tune up and a carb clean-up. If I hadn’t just picked up an SL350 this week as the basis for a cafe racer, I might be all over this bike.

One thing to note: the seller does have 3 negative feedback in the last month from buyers of smaller items, but if you read them, they probably won’t stop you if you are interested in this bike. The other positive feedback seem to indicate a seller who isn’t out to screw with anybody…

1978 Honda CB750 SOHC

Here’s a nice bike to start a cafe project. It’s a 1978 CB750 that is in running condition, although the carbs do need to be gone through. It might even be a good candidate for a restoration. However, it would be a lot more fun to throw a nice cafe seat on there, some clip-ons, and rear-sets. Price is right compared to some of the beat on CB750s that come up for sale on eBay. It will be interesting to see what the auction ends at…

1978 Honda CB750 – Good Cafe Starting Point

It seems like CBs having been coming out of the woodwork lately as we move into motorcycling season in the less temperate parts of the US. And here is yet another one…

On eBay (and the perfect bike to convert into a full cafe racer) is this nice 1978 SOHC 750. It seems to be in good shape, and the seller has put a bunch of new parts on there.

Now for the bad news. The seller won’t ship it. Pick up only. However, if you don’t mind driving to the vicinity of Eire, PA, then no problem.