1977 Harley-Davidson XLCR

Not a lot of info on this bike in the listing. There is what appears to be a low serial number, and the bike doesn’t seem to be too far from stock if at all (unrestored and very clean looking). Low miles, but no good pictures of the VIN. Current bidding has the bike at $8,700 with 11 bids and 14 hours left. However, reserve isn’t met, which means there’s a good chance the bike won’t sell. I’ll repost if it comes back up for sale and maybe we will see what a nice XLCR can sell for in this economy…

1973 Honda CB750 (Stock Bike For Project)

If you are looking for a decent starting point for a cafe racer project, this might be a good bike to begin your work. It’s a 1973 Honda CB750 that is basically stock and in good shape. The seller provided a good list of his recent upgrades to the mechanicals, so I just cut and pasted the list shown below. There are a few more pictures on eBay of some of the details on the bike, but these give you an overall idea of what this bike has in store for you…

I don’t know if this bike is going to sell or not. It has zero bidders with just over a day left in the auction, but the starting price is at $2,500. Buy-It-Now is set at $3,200. If everything works as stated by the seller, this bike appears to be in line with what a decent CB750 is currently worth. I’d love to see pics of this bike after it gets the cafe treatment…

Had a Honda mechanic replace all the gaskets in the upper half of the engine. Head gasket, valve cover gasket, etc…
Carbs have been cleaned, rebuilt and synched
Valves have been timed
Gas tank has been lined
New OEM petcock fuel valve
Clutch has been rebuilt with OEM Honda parts, OEM clutch cable is new also
Brakes have been serviced and checked out
Original air box replaced with pod filter, carbs were re-jetted at this time with 120’s, i also have the original air box with a new K&N filter
Rear fender has been removed and replaced with a fender eliminator kit and LED rear light. Looks great on the bike. Turn signals were flush mounted and look better this way
New EMGO rear shocks have been added to replace the originals that were pretty useless. I still have them though
Low (super) bars have been added to give it more of the cafe racer look. Note- these are not “clubman” bars because i found them to be uncomfortable
Added a headlight visor to front light
Original chain has been replaced with an o-ring chain
New battery added last summer
Original paint on the gas tank (pretty sure side covers are repro)
I have the original tool kit and original manual from Honda
I also have 3 additional manuals, including the official Honda service manual which is amazing
Tires have plenty of tread on them
Electric ignition and kick start both work great
All lights, guages and electronics function perfectly

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!

1989 Honda GB500 Cafe Racer

I debated about posting this 1989 Honda GB500. It is absolutely a cafe racer, but it isn’t one of the classic bikes or home-brewed specials that usually get posted. It appears to be completely stock and in great condition, but it does have about 42K miles on it.

The seller of the bike is some kind of classic car guy who probably has the bike on consignment from the owner. The listing has lots of pictures, some description, and so much legalese that it makes the seller look like a hard ass. So if you decide to bid, read the fine print very carefully. The auction has about 1 day left with 15 bidders and a current price of $4,350 (reserve not yet). It does have a Buy-It-Now of $5,995, which seems a bit high given the mileage on the bike. It’s a nice bike and amazingly clean given the relatively high number of miles.

1975 Honda CB750 (Good, Cheap Project Starting Point)

I found this somewhat beat-upon CB750 on eBay and was noticing that although it would make a great start for a cafe racer build, the seller won’t ship. So, if you live within driving distance of St. Louis, MO, then read on…

The bike is quite ratty on the surface, but some of the important bits are not too bad. First off, seller claims clear title. Second, low miles at 12K. Third, mufflers with baffles are stock. Fourth, motor turns over. Fifth, tank is clean. (All of which are seller claims)

Only bad news is a stuck throttle and rust. The price is right with a low starting point, although there are still 6 days left and already the bike has bidding activity. The seller has 100% positive feedback score (apparently he sells used bats from MLB games), so it appears to be a pretty safe purchase. Good luck to anyone who bids!

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…

1977 Honda CB750 (Stock and Low Miles)

Up for auction right now on eBay is this very clean and very low mileage 1977 CB750. According to the seller, the bike is in nearly perfect condition, with only a recovered seat as an imperfection (he still has the original with a tear in it if you want it, too). I don’t know if I would feel bad about this bike being converted to a cafe racer. Maybe it’s that I’m not a fan of the color. I don’t know. The new owner can decide…
(Sorry about the poor pictures. Because of the interesting nature of the bike, I decided to post anyways.)

1967 Suzuki X-6 Hustler Cafe Racer

Here is a mostly stock 1967 Suzuki X-6 Hustler. It appears that the only mod is the clubman bars. The owner seems to be honest about the condition, noting the fidgety transmission and the fact that the bike isn’t perfect.

I really like the Japanese bikes from this era. The shape of the tanks and the molded headlight nacelles (like the X-6 or the Honda Dream) mark this period and were consistent design cues within the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers in the 1960’s.

There’s only a few hours left on this auction (actually a Buy-It-Now or Best Offer), so hopefully this bike goes to a good home. If I still lived in Ohio, this would be within pick-up distance for me…

Stock 1976 Honda CB550

I almost feel bad posting this bike. It is so clean, that it feels kinda wrong to suggest that this would be a great start to a cafe racer project. It would almost be like being in 1976 and starting the project with a super clean CB550.

Check it out. Not sure what it will close at, but it has only 1 bid right now ($500). Reserve isn’t met yet. Even if you didn’t convert it into a cafe racer, it would be a great collector’s bike…