26 replies to this topic

[beardylondon]

LOL, talk about poking the hornets nest, don't get me started on those overpriced toys.....

 

Shooter, I know you're playing devils advocate, but have a look at this, it might help you https://www.davidbro...om/cafe-racers/

[PoolGuy]

 

LOL, talk about poking the hornets nest, don't get me started on those overpriced toys.....

 

Shooter, I know you're playing devils advocate, but have a look at this, it might help you https://www.davidbro...om/cafe-racers/

 

[Shooter63]

Shooter, I know you're playing devils advocate, but have a look at this, it might help you https://www.davidbro...om/cafe-racers/

Email sent with links to various websites, im not expecting a reply

Shooter

[DomCr250]

We were Boy racers back in the day - unless the plod pulled us (almost a daily occurrence) where they termed us as 'Sterling'!

 

I suppose all this USA classic car 'lets go for an ultra expensive coffee on a Sunday morning' has stuck? Café Culture?

 

Maybe a tea inspired name would go down well?  The Brew boys, LOL.

[timmy850]

I think it’s something like:
A stylised version of what someone with an unlimited budget and a modern taste could have created in the 60’s

Most mini owners in the 1960’s couldn’t afford Les Leston steering wheels and rose petals wheels, bucket seats and tuned up engines with H4 carbs. Add all these and a round decal on the door and you’re pretty much there to a “cafe racer”

If you look at the “mini mod guide” here you’ll see most of the 60’s stuff was the same cheap shiny crap you’d buy off eBay these days
https://mk1-performa...alr-tuning.html

Edited by timmy850, 02 June 2022 - 08:18 AM.

[PoolGuy]

Email sent with links to various websites, im not expecting a reply

Shooter

 

Who did you email and what did you ask them?

[Shooter63]

Email sent with links to various websites, im not expecting a reply

Shooter

Who did you email and what did you ask them?

I didn't ask them anything, I just said they might like to read a few things

Shooter

[PoolGuy]

I didn't ask them anything, I just said they might like to read a few things

Shooter

 

Ahh I see. They'll probably care as much as most of the people here.

[Spider]

Can you please ban any member on here who calls a car a 'Cafe Racer' cafe racers never were and will never be bloody cars, for the uninitiated they were and still are motorcycles of a certain type, the quintessential cafe racer is a Triton which is a Norton featherbed frame with a triumph 650 pre unit engine and gearbox.The actual term came from guys racing from cafe to cafe around the A406 North circular, my father was one of the originals so I sort of know what I'm talking about. An interesting side point is why or how the Triton came about, at the time there was a class of car racing called F3 500 which was open wheel race cars with a 500cc engine limit, the engine of choice was a Manx Norton ( 500cc DOHC Single) Norton started to refuse to sell engines only so racers had to buy complete bikes for the engine which meant there were rolling chassis knocking about, people like Dave Degens started fitting the triumph engine into the fantastic handling frame and voilà the Trinton was born. Anyway this term for a car seems to have come from the continent where I presume they have a lack of English history and they just think the term sounds cool, drilling holes in a door handle does not make a CAFE RACER ( motorcycles don't have door handles ). I did try to make my point on FB but got instantly banned
You can call your car anything you like but you can't call it a motorbike

Rant over

Shooter

 

Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

It's not actually offensive in a broad sense so we can't really ban or do anything much about such posts - as long as they are within the forum's mantra. It comes down to me liking White Mokes (which is of course THE only true and correct colour for a Moke) and you buy (another) yellow one,,,,,,  I think you can see where I'm coming from.

I don't read every post on the forum, but I don't recall seeing such a conversation / thread come up - yet.

[Richard_]

It is in fact debateable where the term café racer originated.
Some say it came from riders racing between cafes and possibly on a road circuit to be completed before a particular record on the juke box stopped playing - but more likely it came from the habits of riders hanging around in cafes boasting about their 'ton-up' exploits with their modified bikes parked up safely outside.
(- a bit like the term 'armchair general' i.e. someone who spouts off about military tactics from the safety of an armchair.)

Either way there was a definite 'look' to an authentic '60s café racer : Clip on handlebars, a stripped down bike ( probably British) with all non-essentials such as fairing, mirrors, mudguards and indicators removed, modified seat and tailpiece etc - all to reduce weight and squeeze extra mph out of the bike and reach the magic 100mph. ( Ton-up) There was a particular dress code that went with it to complete the look.
These days the term is used more broadly to describe a particular 'look' or current fashion of motorcycle, sometimes modified from standard by the owner but also models available off the shelf produced by all the major makers. Typical features will be the absence of any plastic fairings, a shortened seat, no bulky tailpiece, short mudguards, vintage style instruments, vintage paint job, little or no chrome -work, lowered handlebars. Possibly no battery box and no side panels.
There are several sub-variants e.g. Scrambler, Tracker, Brat, Bobber etc. People don't like to talk about it but there is a link between these bikes and the Hipster movement.
Its an interesting genre if you're into bikes as I am. The aim is usually to create a vintage racer look but whilst using modern componentry e.g. LED headlights, fuel injection, catalytic converter, water cooling.
Somehow for me the modern café racer style bike has a bit more visual appeal over the plastic-clad alternatives, especially if you appreciate how machines actually work and what is bolted to what , and why.

The term café racer is sometimes applied to minis these days and I don't really see a problem - the term conjures up a sort of fast-road or rally style Mk1 with modified engine, 10 inch steel wheels, no frills, a classic colour with racing number on the doors maybe, and with a spartan vintage-type interior. And lets face it I myself spend more time in a café talking about my mini than I do getting anywhere near racing it.

It may be that the Japanese / Americans have appropriated the term for themselves and are using it more than we are in the UK - where café racers really came from!

Edited by Richard_, 06 June 2022 - 04:19 PM.

[InnoCooperExport]

Most mini owners in the 1960’s couldn’t afford Les Leston steering wheels and rose petals wheels, bucket seats and tuned up engines with H4 carbs. Add all these and a round decal on the door and you’re pretty much there to a “cafe racer”
 

 

Ohh racing roundels on road cars really get my goat. Especially with numbers on them. But then I was brought up with a distaste for that. My dad did club rallies in the 60s and 70s where being out on the road when not rallying with numbers on your car would see you lose your competition license.

[Maccmike8]

I love roundels on Minis even road cars.