1965 Norton Atlas 750 (Dunstall Dominator)

Wow! The auction closed at $11,601! How cool! See the comment below from a friend of the seller…

Mmmmmmmmmm…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…

Beautiful. Nothing much else to say. I might have missed some minor detail that’s out of place and someone will point it out. Don’t care. Here’s some specs and more pictures below. There’s more pics and the seller’s writeup if you are interested in learning more or trying to buy the bike. The auction’s at $8,200 with 2 days left and 17 bidders (reserve HAS been met)…

The engine features the work of noted tuner Leo Goff including a balanced lower end, 10.1 pistons, Norris SS cam, and gas flowed head resulting in a very fast and smooth 750 Norton motor.
Alloy Rims
Steering Damper (Manx type)
Multi Rate Valve Springs (S&W)
Special Camshaft (Norris SS hotter than 2S Combat cam)
Paired Monobloc 1 1/8″ Carbs
Competition Manual Advance Magneto
5 Gal Racing Tank
Domiracer Seat
The tach and speedo were restored by Nisongers.
The magneto was rebuilt by Doug Wood.
The only flaw is some acid stains on the left silencer from a vented battery (since replaced with a sealed unit).
The bike is very strong and smooth and is ready to ride.

1975 Honda CB400 Cafe Racer

This is one of the more modified cafe racers to come up on eBay in a long time. Whether you love or hate the seat, the rest of the bike is built to the hilt. The seller claims the bike “runs super strong”, and from the spec list we have no reason to doubt him. Check out some of the modifications…

Yoshimura Racing 466cc pistons and rings
A.P.E. Racing block and ported heads
Race camshaft
Titanium valve spring retainers
Keihin 26mm smooth bore
Dyna ignition
Triple clamps from 1979 CBX
35mm CB550F forks, clear powder coated, 10 wt oil, new seals
Works Suspension front dual spring kit (#230XH)
Daytona aluminum front fork brace
B900F Koni shocks NOS, #7610, 14″ (+1.5″ of std)
Dual CB550F rotors and calipers, trailing mounted (as opposed to stock forward mounted)
Baker Precision stainless steel brake lines
CBR900RR master cylinder and adjustable level
stretched aluminum tank custom made in England
Pro Flo 35mm clip-ons
CBR900RR footpegs and linkages

So what’s the good? Lots of cool modifications that should make this one of the fastest CB400’s around. And what’s the bad? That seat. Oh yeah. The bike ain’t cheap, either. With about a day and a half left in the auction, there are no bidders and the starting price is $3,900. However, there is no reserve, so if there’s one bid, the bike will sell.

1971 Norton 750 Commando – Gus Kuhn

With about 21 hours left in this eBay auction, here’s a chance to own a classic Gus Kuhn Norton that is fully kitted out. It’s definitely not a show bike, and as the seller claims it starts easily and runs great this would probably be a great bike for Sunday morning runs up to Alice’s Restaurant. That being said, I’m sure this bike would attract a lot of attention if it was parked at any classic bike show.

Here’s a list of parts fitted to the bike

Racing 850 Kit
Updated AMAL MK2
Tomaselli clip-on
Morris mag wheels
AP brake master cylinder
Frame and motor number matching

While reserve hasn’t been met yet, I’d bet that there will be a few more bids before the auction ends. The price currently stands at $3,750 with 8 bids.

1975 Ducati 860GT Cafe Racer

Sometimes, an easy litmus test can decide whether something is cool or lame. In the case of this Ducati, just think about riding up to your favorite local hangout. What’s the reaction going to be? Personally, I think this bike would garner looks as being an authentic cafe racer that is no trailer queen. A lot of the Ducatis you might see on Ducati Island at Laguna Seca aren’t going to have this many miles on the clock, nor this much road grime and wear-and-tear. But that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

There isn’t much that hasn’t been done to this bike cafe-wise. It has adjustable clip-ons, shocks, seat, tank, good brakes, and a big-bore kit. What it really needs is (and the seller backs this up) a bit of maintenance come this winter. And maybe a bath and some scrubbing, too.

The price on this bike is still very reasonable at under $2K with less than a day left in the auction (reserve hans’t been met, though). I wish it was on the west coast (it’s in Connecticut), because this may be a chance to get a good deal on a classic bevelhead.

1971 Norton Commando 850 Cafe Racer

First off, I would like to apologize for the poor quality of the previous bike and post. After taking a month plus off from blogging about the current crop of cafe racers, I was mostly discombobulated while writing that, given a comment or two that I received both online and in person. 😦 Be that as it may, it is time to move on to bigger and better things. Below you will see what I hope is my apology in action…

Here we have a really nice Commando 850 that has been entirely cafe’d. I am having trouble finding anything missing from this bike that would need upgrading immediately upon purchase. You could, of course, add higher-performance parts to it. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is basically a turnkey bike that the buyer can hop on and ride. The seller has been honest with the few issues that it has (speedo cable, oil weep, and tank dings), and it has a recently rebuilt engine. If there is anything I have missed that should be there (me not being a true Norton expert or anything like that), please let me know…

Currently, there is less than a day left in the auction, and the price is in the mid $4K range with 21 bidders. Perhaps it will break $5K before the auction ends. It isn’t perfect, but the seller is being very upfront with the issues it does have. Good luck if you bid…

1974 Honda CB750 Cafe Racer

When I first saw this bike, my initial thoughts were about it’s “British-ness”. I don’t think that’s a word, but none-the-less the bike gave off an anglo vibe. Then, after pondering it for a bit, I realized it was the chrome. To me, all of the chrome (fenders, accessories, bars) just brought visions of a tricked out brit bike. Or maybe I was just channeling Quadrophenia with a mind full of 10 mirror scooters racing around the UK.

And then I noticed the exhaust pipe… 😦 The buyer of this bike will probably fix it, but why? JC Whitney can supply cheepo mufflers that look better than a piece of straight black pipe attached to chrome headers.

There are 4 hours and 30 minutes left in the auction as I write this, and bidding is only at $1,325. So if you are willing to put a set of mufflers on a 30K mile CB750, this is actually quite a good buy at this price. Good luck if you choose to bid!

1973 Honda CB500 Cafe Racer

There are cleanly built cafe racers, and there are cleanly built cafe racers. This bike clearly epitomizes the idea of taking a bike, and building into a cafe racer without doing anything crazy or over the top. Heck, this bike has drag bars, and I still like it!

What has been done to this bike is as follow:

Tons of energy put into making it a clean build.
Classic cafe racer seat.
Cylinder-head gone through and cleaned up.
Replacement of various mechanical bits and pieces including clutch plates, ignition, K&N filter conversion, and battery.
Aftermarket 4-4 exhaust.
Nice paint job.

Currently, bidding has put this bike at just under $2K with 11 interested bidders. There are only 9 hours left, so unless bidding picks up it might be possible to pick up this bike for a deal. Keep an eye on it if your interested. The seller has built a nice bike that will most likely make the buyer very happy. Good luck!

Check out that elbow!

1981 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

There are not a lot of photos of this XS650 being auctioned on eBay right now, so what you see is what you get. But the guy’s email address and phone is in the listing if you’re interested in finding out more before bidding/buying. The sum total info in the listing is as follows: “1981 XS 650 Yamaha cafe racer. Not sure of milage, but starts right up and runs great. New rear shocks. New club man handle bars, new bar-end mirrors.” There’s one bid of $1,500 with 2.5 days left.

Honda CB400 Cafe Racer

It’s been a while since a new, non-relisted quality bike has come up on eBay for sale, but here’s a pretty nice example of a well-built cafe racer. Not only is it a nice looking bike, but it comes with some good parts both on the bike and as spares. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any issues. I think the very first photo points that out. But overall, it is a fairly good build.

So first off the bad (since there’s a long list of the “good” below). I don’t know what to make of that exhaust mount/mile of aluminum stock. I get that the exhaust has to be mounted, but I just don’t buy that 2 feet of aluminum is the way to do it. And the tank has a couple of scratches that the seller honestly points out in one o fthe photos that I didn’t post. The seller also mentions something about the timing chain and adjuster, and I wish that more description was given about it. That’s it.

The good is that this appears to be a bike that has been relatively well built compared to some of the other bikes that appear on eBay. The long list below includes both parts installed on the bike, and some spares that could either be sold off or kept as backup. The paint job is very nice, but I’m not sure if the exhaust really goes with the classic looking style. I know that Ontario exhausts are probably somewhat period correct, but I would sell that thing off and go with a more standard exhaust. Or maybe it helps the bike put down some good horsepower numbers.

Anyways, like always, ask the seller questions before you bid, read the description carefully, and good luck if you try to win this bike. The seller’s feedback is decent, but fairly light over the last 12 months. The price is currently at $2,800 with zero bidders and just over 3 days left.

1) Ontario exhaust and silencer (designed by Kaz Yoshima) ($600.oo ~ if you can find one)
2) Giuliari café seat made in Italy (with custom leather cover) ($450.oo ~ if you can find one)
3) Tomaselli clip-on’s and new needle bearing set in the headstock
4) Barleycorn rear-sets
5) DID aluminum rims w/stainless steel spokes, ( decent tires )
6) Powder-coated hubs w/new wheel bearings (labor excedes value )
7) Works performance rear shocks ($250.00)
8 ) Custom dual disc front end w/progressive springs and drilled rotors (labor excedes value) . .. styling is priceless. Hey I’m not bragging, everyone say this about the bike. The triple clamps are CB750 w/ CB400 stem, welded shims. Progressive Springs in tubes.
9) Halogen headlamp in steel CB750 bucket (powder coated)
10) Dyna ignition
11) Smith metric speedometer (cable missing)

Here is a list of extra parts that are not on, but come with the bike:
1) Spare motor with only 9,000 miles ~ punched out to 450cc. (not assembled)
2) 450cc Piston kit (possibly Yoshimira)
3) Genuine Honda gasket and seal kit
4) CR 26mm carbs from SUDCO (new in box)
5) Dyna coils

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