2004? Harley Davidson Sportster – Full Cafe!!!

I’m contacting the seller about this bike to try to get more details and more photos. If this is, in fact, a 2004 Sportster, then it is the first full conversion (including tank but minus some cool 18″ wheels) that I’ve seen. A tank like that is exactly what I want to do to my bike. I’ll post updates as I get them.

BTW, the reason I’m not sure about the year is the oil tank. I can’t tell from the photos, but it is either a 2003 tank (non-flush oil filler cap) or it is a 2004 tank with the side cover removed. If anyone has an opinion, please let me know…

1981 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Here’s a very cool and very built 1981 Yamaha XS650 cafe racer. It’s actually a 750cc due to the big bore pistons that have apparently been dropped into it. Other cool features are the 17″ motard rims wrapped with sticky Michelins. Definitely a little bit different than your usual 18″ wheels. The front brake setup is a mixture of GSXR master cylinder, Ducati 900SS rotor, and old school caliper. Overall, this is a really cool build that mixes old with new and appears to be one stonkin’ cafe racer…

It’s on eBay with 12 hours left, zero bidders, and a starting bid price of $4,500.

1982 Suzuki GS1100E Cafe Racer

And now for something completely different. With its first appearance now occurring on the “I Love Cafe Racers!!!” blog, let me introduce the somewhat funky GS1100E cafe racer. This is a really neat bike that takes a more modern big-bore zook and inserts a couple of cafe-type styling cues with very interesting results.

First up, the spoked wheels. I think they look very cool and unique. There are no sizes listed in the seller’s description, but from the fourth photo down, it looks like a 3″ x 18″ rim. I’m going to hazard a guess that the front is probably a 2.15″ rim in either a 19″ or 18″ diameter. Check out the photos to make your own guess.

While it doesn’t have clip-ons or clubman bars, it does have drag bars which get this bike most of the way there in terms of looks (and I would guess handling/bike-feel). Performance wise, there have been a few things done to this bike that should make it scream (listed below). Currently there are zero bidders and the starting price is shown as $2,650. If no one bids soon (there are 3 days left in the auction), I suspect the seller will lower the starting price to generate interest.

Vance & Hines welded/trued crank
Mikuni 33mm smoothbore carbs
V&H high flow oil pump
Kerker FULL exhaust
APE clutch basket
V&H timing chain
K&N filter pods
Lockhart oil cooler with braided SS lines and Russell fittings
Fork Brace
low miles on Pirelli Sport Demon tires & o-ring chain
recent fork seals

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.

1974 Rickman Honda CB750 Cafe Racer (Needs Work)

Here’s a pair of comments from the seller of the bike:

Hi I am the owner and advertizer of this Rickman and you are correct it will need alot of restoration but if you want more information i’d be happy to give it to you, From what i know is the bike was purchased from the original owner in 1982 and was raced at daytona by a man named edward hardee it was stored in 1986 and has remained in storage ever since. It has changed hands a few times and i ended up with it after my brother passed away. I was going to start restoration on it however i am planning to move to the Philippines for a few years while my wife studies there for her MD. The bike has some rust on the front tubes but looks like it can be removed the clip on’s will need to be re-chromed and the frame polished or re dipped to restore the nickle finish the borrani rims seem to be in good shape however the motor is siezed but a good canidate for a rebuild as it ran when stored and only has 12,847 miles on it. The bike has never been in a wreck but just unfortunetly uncared for but certainly worth bringing back to its former glory with time and patience. If you need more information or photo’s i’d be happy to send that to anyone thanks –

and btw if you mention you saw the ad here by ilovecaferacers, and you win the auction i will throw in a weekend at the kickstand lodge at the bottom on the tail of the dragon in stecoah NC.

and btw if you mention you saw the ad here by ilovecaferacers, and you win the auction i will throw in a weekend at the kickstand lodge at the bottom on the tail of the dragon in stecoah NC. 😉
Tom

End Comment…
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Before you get too excited about this bike, please understand that it appears like it needs A LOT of work. Not a little. Not some. Not a fair to middlin’ amount of work. A LOT!!!

There are lots of vintage looking pieces on the bike, but the seller isn’t really providing much description. I think if you buy this machine you should have to expect to replace lots of the bits that actually make the bike start, run, and stop.

On the other hand, there are lots of nice (claimed) Rickman parts that, when the bike is done being restored, will get oohs and ahhs when you park the bike at The Rock Store, Alice’s Restaurant, somewhere along the Tail of the Dragon, or at your local bike night. There’s potential here, but it’s going to take some hard work to uncover it…

Harley-Davidson Dyna Cafe Racer (built by Swede Built)

It’s always interesting to see a bike like this, where the builder takes something that is going to have a tough time becoming a cafe racer, and they make it into their vision of a cafe racer. This is a nice, clean build, that’s for sure. But is it a cafe racer? Hard to say. It is certainly pretty cool for a Harley big twin. But I think at the end of the day, it is just too big (read too long a wheel base) to ever have cafe racer proportions.

Currently up on eBay with 6 days left, there are zero bidders and the opening bid has been set at $14K. The listing has several more pictures and a description of some of the parts. Click through if you are interested…