Naked Speed (Cafe Racer)

[Pasta Hog]

I love that show. It started out as Cafe Racer TV, but it was only 30 minutes long. Now they actually have time to do it right.

RE the Bonneville Ducati, I thought it was stupid. I don't care about the bike being cut up, but that was a lot of work to make a machine that goes slower than a new Honda. I don't think the guys that did it are very good at their trade. I prefer the Kott and McDeeb bikes, and the Nortons from New York and Colorado.

One neat thing about the cafe racer fad is that it's bringing respect to crappy old Hondas and Kawasakis and so on. Bikes that would have been scrapped are being turned into customs, and brands that are usually thought of as soulless are getting new attention.

[steven c]

 I cut them some slack, the salt flats are at 4219' and traction riding on salt is less the pavement from what I have read. Plus the conditions where not ideal, and I think you have to know what you are doing out there, seems to be a learning curve. The bike was a plumbers nightmare. Not sure about their engineering.
 I like the show, it's not great but it is bikes and people don't yell at each other. Last week with the junkyard 750 Honda build, they put a triumph T120 front brake on it ? The Bostrom's gave it faint praise just said how nice it sounded.

[Petrus Rocks]

TV shows always pander to the broader market to draw in the casual or non biker- they gotta stay on the air.  Disappointing...
Mike is trying to make a living .  Having said that the Brit crowd are always excited about a good cafe build.  I think those builds are beautiful.
There's a bunch of old Triumphs out there and if they are resurrected that's cool. 

Nobody wants a valuable bike chopped up- wouldn't do it to a Lemans if it wasn't already trashed...unless I loved the bike and wanted to modify it for my personal tastes. 
Wouldn't need to do much to a LeMans tho.

I have a '74 R90/6 that was a cafe racer since '93.  Got tired of it so now it is a "cruiser build".  Dunno how valuable it is but I made sure any mods could be reversed and kept the original parts. 
My '72 Bonneville is now a scrambler. 
Not because it's a trend, because I still like to ride off road and it's a fun platform.

Still think any show about older bikes is a good show ;-T

[Pasta Hog]

I think putting Lance Armstrong on the show was a gaffe. It's like having Tonya Harding test ride a bike right after having Nancy Kerrigan whacked.
"When I'm not suing people for telling the truth and destroying marriages and careers, I like a nice jaunt on a cafe racer."

[canuck750]

I can appreciate the desire to create something original and unique, so if it happens to be expressed through a motorcycle all the better. My only concern is the many half finished 'projects' I see advertised and the questionable integrity of the 'build'. Some of the rigid framed, bobbed, hybrid front ends etc... may be down right death traps.

[kevdog3019]

I can appreciate the desire to create something original and unique, so if it happens to be expressed through a motorcycle all the better. My only concern is the many half finished 'projects' I see advertised and the questionable integrity of the 'build'. Some of the rigid framed, bobbed, hybrid front ends etc... may be down right death traps.

Canuck... couldn't have said it better.  ;-T You are truly an artist and your attention to detail is tops. Your bikes as a whole speak to me. Bravo for what you accomplish!

[krglorioso]

Let's not be hasty in condemning this show.  The cast of Orange County Choppers will challenge the newbies to a build-off.  Stay tuned...

Ralph

[Pasta Hog]

Let's not be hasty in condemning this show.  The cast of Orange County Choppers will challenge the newbies to a build-off.  Stay tuned...

Ralph

 ;-T

No, let's condemn it. Because there are so many other bike-building shows we can watch. Like...uh...

[jetmechmarty]

 :PICS!:










I often wish I had this kind of talent and imagination.  I can't even imagine what I want for dinner! 

I enjoyed episode 2 better than the first, but I won't likely watch the rerun.  Fun stuff on a cold night.

[kevdog3019]

Those poor poor bikes--- getting all the love and attention.  :P

[mgfan]

The bikes above are all beautiful, but the next big u-tube craze will be restoring all the crappy rat bikes, bobbers and screwed up cafe racers back to stock!   :BEER:

[Chuck in Indiana]

The bikes above are all beautiful, but the next big u-tube craze will be restoring all the crappy rat bikes, bobbers and screwed up cafe racers back to stock!   :BEER:

Won't happen. All those parts have been trashed.  ;) ;D

[LowRyter]

You know, I think the aero engine thing should be on the show!

[Vasco DG]

 :o

You know, I think the aero engine thing should be on the show!

Of course it should but it won't be because it doesn't fit the tired old formula.

[LowRyter]

have to disagree with you Pete.  I think they'd love the Aero Bike build for the show...   If only Chuck had some tattoos.   ;D  




This is what they did to that old Norton that was stored in a school bus 25 years (they look like wholesome types):

[Vasco DG]

I'll pay that one. It is nice.

Pete

[jetmechmarty]

The bike does not appear to be street legal. (No lights, etc.)  Is it going racing or on static display?  It's a beautiful machine.  I'd want to ride it!

[kevdog3019]

Better than the motor company conceived, this bike. That's plain gorgeous!  Some are taking piles of rust and bringing them back. If you tried to take a pile and bring it back to stock it could take a lifetime and $$. At the very least these bikes are brought back and ridden. It's way easier to speculate they were done a disservice. If they aren't rideable they were.
One mans junk is another mans treasure. One mans treasure is another mans junk. It all depends on how you view it. We'll always be divided but at times find a common ground. This bike is likely "common" ground.

[Hawker]

Marty,
I'm new around these parts, can you tell me about those pics?  Several builders? 
The green one has me lusting big time.

By the way, I'm just down the road in Gainesville.   Nice to see another N. GA rider.

[Turin]

Rescuing a junker and getting it back on the road is noble endeavor IMO. Taking a perfectly good bike and chopping it up... not so much. That salt flat Ducati made me sad.

[brlawson]

Was watching the re-birth of a BMW episode and they bought the donor R75 from a crusty looking individual in Chico, CA wearing a fairly worn Guzzi hat. Anybody here?

[SPEIRMOOR]

Last night they bobbed a perfectly fine Goldstar. I was in disbelief

[jetmechmarty]

Last night they bobbed a perfectly fine Goldstar. I was in disbelief

I once had a coworker who used to say, "Anybody can restore one.  It takes a real man to cut one up."   ;D

[kevdog3019]

I once had a coworker who used to say, "Anybody can restore one.  It takes a real man to cut one up."   ;D

That's for sure!  I had a tough time with that hacksaw (hee hee).  :P ::)

[LowRyter]

Last night they bobbed a perfectly fine Goldstar. I was in disbelief

I had the same reaction, especially when I saw the ugly bobber he built of a pristine restored bike.  On the other hand, he kept all the parts to convert it back to original.  He said that he was really bored restoring bikes to original and wanted a new challenge.

I was really impressed the way he was flogging the Gold Star on the road before he cut it up.  Mike S was funny, "you don't cut up a $40k Gold Star."  Yes he did.  (But he kept all the parts.)

[SPEIRMOOR]

The man was skillful manufacturing those bespoke parts I must say and could probably build a new bike from the ground up with his talent.

[Dharma Bum]

What I found amusing (shocking?) was the claim that the original Gold Star was worth $30,000 to begin with, and the final product was valued at $50,000! Does that mean the owner paid the guy $20,000 to hack up his classic and turn it into a SteamPunk Bobber POS?  My guess is that the bike is now worth $10,000 on EBay at best.  What will he have to pay the guy to re-restore it?

[oldbike54]

What I found amusing (shocking?) was the claim that the original Gold Star was worth $30,000 to begin with, and the final product was valued at $50,000! Does that mean the owner paid the guy $20,000 to hack up his classic and turn it into a SteamPunk Bobber POS?  My guess is that the bike is now worth $10,000 on EBay at best.  What will he have to pay the guy to re-restore it?

 Kinda like all of the bobbers on CL built from Honda 600 CC Shadows . Remove a few parts , paint everything some Hot Rod color , and viola , transform an $800 motorbike into a $3K motorbike  ???

  Dusty

 

[kevdog3019]

Kinda like all of the bobbers on CL built from Honda 600 CC Shadows . Remove a few parts , paint everything some Hot Rod color , and viola , transform an $800 motorbike into a $3K motorbike  ???

  Dusty

 

Dusty... don't bring the viola's into the fight.  They already have enough pain in their lives.  :P ;D

[oldbike54]

Dusty... don't bring the viola's into the fight.  They already have enough pain in their lives.  :P ;D

 True , they don't get the same respect as cellos or violins  ;D Of course it should have read voila , duh  :-[

  Dusty