Hello all, I have been having some brain waves lately and was thinking of building a cafe racer. So I would like to know which is the best bike to start off with?- Would a Ducati Monster or Ducati SS, be good donor bikes? Would a elongated style tank fit on to monster or SS frame easily of would i have to stick to the original tank style? How hard/ easy would it be build a cafe racer style bike? Im not in a rush to build the bike and would just do it when parts and funds are available. The style of cafe racer id like to build would be simialr to the links below. Ducati SS Cafe Racer ~ Grease n Gasoline RocketGarage Cafe Racer: NeroFumo Thanks in advance for all your help.
Both very nice café. Tricky decision. Monster has rising rate rear suspension + the rear head is removable in frame, not on the SS. The SS frame shows the rear cylinder better and the SSie frame is a quicker steering bike to the Monster and carb SS. The 1st Black one is a carb SS with possibly a Paso 750/906 swinging arm and fabricated top shock mount.
Isn't a GT1000 already halfway there in terms of a donor bike? Or is it the challenge you are looking for, in which case start with a multi
750 ss Based Cafe Racer Hi, I built this a few year ago, it started off as a tatty standard 750ss, I sold the standard parts not required and bought the replacement parts for not much more. I never rode it, just sold it and moved on, maybe one day I'll build another :biggrin:
I was considering going all Cafe Racer with my M600, hence my question elsewhere on the forum about fitting wire wheels to a Monster... I have a mate who built one from a BMW R80 ( for a bet ! ) so it can be done with pretty much anything, just depends how much time / effort / money you want to spend on it. The problem with changing the tank on a Monster is that's where the battery lives... Check out He11cat's profile pic - I think that's her Monster Cafe Racer, unless I'm mistaken... ( which I sometimes am, it's an age thing... )
Monster. Perfect for it. Google monster cafe racer for some great ideas, and as the frame is suited to a fair number of other tanks gitta be easier than an SS to mess with
I would go for SS. I'm yet to see a Monster based cafe racer that looks good. The flatter the top of the frame the better as I should be easier to get classic cafe racer look. But at the end of the day it's all down to individual opinion.
Heres an example of ow easy it is to change the look. Not exactly cafe racer as such but very different tank, fireblade seat unit, 916 shock for better ride, custom system and end can. Started life as 620 monster
It's that gap between the Monster frame and the tank that I don't like. IMHO it makes the bodywork look completely out of place. That being said the bike in He11cat's avatar looks nice.
Just to show versatility really, but sure with imagination or custom tank it could easily be sorted. This is a race bike so less is more, some of the radical or other custom tanks look good. Altho some of the stuff people have done with a ST is also nice
The bike in He11cat's avatar is, she informs me, her minimoto - not a monster cafe racer... My varifocals must need cleaning...
check this guy out for inspiration on ducati cafe racers... Walt Siegl Motorcycles | Motorcycles Designed and Built by Walt Siegl in Harrisville New Hampshire
@ pegboy - Noooooo... That is SO wrong on so many levels... It looks like the bastard offspring of a Diavel and a 1970's American Custom Car !
The street fighter style seems to be the natural descendant of the cafe racer. I don't know where you would draw a line between the two but for me, I like cafe racers but not so keen on street fighters (does that make sense?). I couldn't really say what makes a bike one thing or another, it's just a feeling that it looks right or it doesn't. Too many of the examples given here aren't my idea of a cafe racer.
