1974 Honda CB350F Cafe Racer

While this is a repost here on the blog, it is also a relist on eBay.And this time it appears to be a no reserve auction which already has 1 bidder at $2,800. I’m sometimes skeptical of relists as I have no idea if it’s real or a scam. However…

In this case, I liked this bike so much the first time around that I decided to repost it anyways. And I even included the rest of the pictures I didn’t post last time. This is a very beautiful bike that truly stands out among cafe racers. Especially those of the home built variety. Here’s a link to the original post on 4/22/09. If you decided to bid this time, be careful, ask questions, and good luck.

1975 Honda CB750

As in the past, I don’t advocate tearing this bike to pieces. I also believe that the ending price on the auction might dictate that the buyer won’t be looking to convert this bike to a cafe racer. But…

If you spend the coin on this bike, it appears to be a great basis for a really nice cafe racer. It only has about 14.3K miles on the odometer, the seller claims it runs perfectly, and it only has a few cosmetic blemishes (cracked side covers.

On the other hand, the paint is not original, nor is it done in an original Honda color/scheme. So it’s value as a true collectible has been minimized. I guess that means that it could go one of three ways. Buyer wins auction and rides the bike as is for many more thousands of miles before reselling it as a slightly rattier bike. Or the buyer wins the auction, strips it down to the frame, and restores it into a concours winning bike. Lastly, you could win the auction, strip off all the extraneous stuff, through on some clip-ons, a nice Giuliari seat, a set of alloy rear-sets, beef up the suspension, and you’d have a great, reliable cafe racer that would be at home on Mulholland riding to Rock Store, or going up Deal’s Gap during a crisscrossing ride of the Smoky Mountains.

Bidding is currently under $900, but there is still over 6 days left in the auction. Good luck!

1979 Honda CB750 DOHC Cafe Racer

Up for auction on eBay is this nicely done CB750 cafe racer. It’s got a couple of fairly unique features that I really like: the seat and the taillights. If you could throw a rock and hit a cafe racer (not an easy task in most places, although their popularity does seem to be on the uptick), it would most likely have your standard humped cafe racer style seat. This bike has a non-standard looking seat that certainly gives the look of a cafe racer, but doesn’t do it in the standard way. And then it’s got the dual taillights that are vaguely styled after VFR1000 units from the mid-eighties but have the nice chrome rings added. The tank, which appears to be a stock DOHC CB750 tank, has been modified with knee indents and a great paint job. Rearsets are provided by a modern CBR. All in all, a great cafe conversion of a DOHC CB750.

What’s not to like? Not much. A simple readjustment of the bars. And a fix of the jetting and valve-cover gasket oil leak. The seller seems to be honest with his assessments of the negative points, but the listing doesn’t really have too much detail in it. There’s a few more pictures in the listing, but not much else. Good luck if you bid for this neat bike!

1992 Harley-Davidson Sportster Cafe Racer

It’s been a while since I posted a Harley, and this is certainly a pretty well put together cafe racer made out of a Sportster. This has one of the fullest conversions I’ve seen on a US Sporty, and I really like it. I’ve listed below nearly all of the stuff that the seller put in his listing (The bad and the good), so I won’t go on too long about this bike. As with all Sportsters, this bike shows how hard it is to get the seat right. For some reason, these bikes always seem to have such a low seating position that it can’t be good for handling or comfortable to sit on (knees have got to be ablaze after a matter of 30 minutes or so).

Anyways, good luck to anyone who bids on this bike. It seems to be one of the better solid-mount Sportster conversions, and surprisingly, there are no bids yet with two days left. Maybe it is the $3,800 starting price? We’ll see when it ends…
The Bad

The blinkers are there but not working
The paint could be freshened up and there is a oil leak
The starter relay ($10) is out but there is a button on the starter that works well

The Good

15,500 miles
Only about 3K on the new 10:1 Wisco 1207 pistons and Andrews N6 cams
Progressive springs
Gas Charged adjustable shocks (compression and rebound dampers)
Daytona Steering damper
Rockwall clip-ons
Chainsikle rear sets with a Buell shifter
Airtech XR750 rear fender
Custom made seat
Viper fairing
7” headlight
Custom Gas tanks with billet race cap and High flow petcock
New Dunlop 205 tires front and back (still have the wiskers)
Thunder Slide kit
Screamin Eagle ECU
Crane adjustable push Rods
Screamin Eagle 2 into 1 pipe, packing removed.
New High torque Starter
New chain

1975 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Up for auction on eBay is the really nicely done Yamaha XS650 cafe racer. Like the bike I posted earlier today, it has been nearly entirely converted with nothing really left off that detracts from its cafe-ness. And it has a cool paint job. The only thing potentially missing is a “cafe”-style gas tank, but I think the XS650 looks great with either the stock tank or aftermarket. This is a clean build that shows off the potential of the XS as a good starting point for a cafe racer.

There are 2 days left in the auction and the price is just over $1,500. Good luck!

Rearsets = no kickstarter...

1975 Honda CB360 Cafe Racer

Here’s a really nice cafe racer that doesn’t have your standard black paint job. Ignoring the paint for a moment, the conversion of this bike to a cafe racer has been done with great care and all the correct bits are there. It’s got clip-ons, rearsets, a nice cafe seat, proper spoked wheels, and a nice 2-into-1 megaphone exhaust. All the proper bits have been powder or ceramic coated, and the engine has been gone through. All in all, one of the nicer cafe builds I’ve posted in a while.

As for the paint, that’s up to you. I really like it! I think it makes the bike stand out visually, and it certainly passes the 10 foot test (and probably the 1 foot test, as well). The great thing about this bike is that the builder didn’t choose either form or function. This bike has it all with the correct parts and a nice paint job.

It is currently up for auction on eBay with 35 hours left. The price is an unusually low $710 right now with 9 bids spread across 6 bidders. Reserve hasn’t been met, but I would expect this bike to close for a lot more than this given the amount of time left in the auction and the fine quality of the build.

Raask Rearsets for 1970-1984 BMW Boxers

Got a BMW airhead you’re trying to modify into a cafe racer? Here’s just the ticket for getting your feet into the right position. Some used Raask rearsets have come up for auction on eBay, and they are ending soon. The controls are at $272 with 7 hours left, and they appear to be in good condition.

The seller claims these will fit the BMW R (Airhead) models from 1970-1984. I’m no expert on BMW bikes in general, but I did a little research and these should fit (at a minimum) the /5, /6, and /7 R series. The Raask website is really no help, but it does cut off the fitment at 1980. Perhaps the frames are similar up until 1984 and they’ll fit. If anyone knows for sure, chime in and let us know.

And now for something completely different…

Those of you who read the blog regularly might remember my recent post about the billions and billions of Honda motorcycles that seem to end up on the site. Yes, I am a whiner, it’s true. And then comes along this… I’ll call it a cafe racer. While maybe not a cafe racer in the classic sense of the word, this 1977 Kawasaki KZ750 definitely has many cafe styling cues. Maybe it is more of a Euro street fighter with clip-ons. Regardless, the seller has done some cool stuff to a bike that doesn’t see much love from the cafe crowd.

Here’s a list of the things the owner has done to the bike (I deleted many, many exclamation marks when I cut-and-pasted the list):

Dyna electronic ignition
Accel Super Coils and Plug Wires
Vance & Hines 4-1Exhaust
Pod Filters
Fresh top end
Carbs Rejetted
Ness Batwing Mirrors
Italian Custom clip on handlebars
Rearset foot controls
New Tires Front and rear 16”
Custom Seat
Drag Specialties tach (CR – check out where the builder put it!)
Custom wiring harness
Almost all powder coated, not painted

I have to give the guy credit. This is a unique bike with which the builder has followed a unique vision. I’ll leave you with this quote from the eBay listing: “This bike is fast and very eye catching. I guarantee no one else will have a bike like this one.” Huzzah, I say!!!

1973 Triumph T140V 750 Cafe Racer

Here’s a beautiful, professionally built cafe racer that started life as a Triumph T140. It appears the bike has been entirely gone through with lots of new parts, including a full engine rebuild (top and bottom end), new ignition, custom exhaust and seat, new rims/spokes, etc. One of my favorite features is the polished aluminum tank. It and the red frame and fenders really make this bike stand out.

There are four days left in the auction for this bike, and it currently has 8 bidders who have taken the price up to $3,550 currently. Good luck if you are interested, as this is a truly magnificent bike that will make the new owner very, very happy…

1974 Honda CB350F Cafe Racer

Every once in a while a bike like this comes up on eBay, and I always feel lucky to be able to post something like this. What a beautiful motorcycle!

Even though words can’t do justice to a bike like this, the seller has written about a thousand word essay about this bike in his eBay listing. Additionally, he is throwing in http://www.cb350f.com (the url) to the winner. That way you can have a trophy site to go with your trophy bike if you are the winner of this nicely built machine.

One gripe before I sign off for the evening: what’s up with that taillight?