Café racer

Triton: Triumph engine and Norton Featherbed frame

The term café racer (/ˈkæff reɪsər/ kaff racer or less commonly /ˈkæffi reɪsər/ kaffi racer) developed among British motorcycle enthusiasts of the early 1960s, specifically the Rocker (or ton-up boy) subculture,^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} The term describes a style of motorcycle for quick rides from one "transport café"^[7][8] or coffee bar to another.^[9] Cafe Racers were also common in Italy, France and other European countries.^[10]

In 1973, Popular Mechanics said the term Café Racer was originally coined as an insult toward riders pretending to be road racers but instead only parked outside cafés.^[11]

Typical configuration

The café racer is a light and lightly powered motorcycle that has been modified for speed and handling rather than comfort. The bodywork and control layout of a café racer typically mimicked the style of a contemporary Grand Prix roadracer, featuring an elongated fuel tank, often with dents to allow the rider's knees to grip the tank, low slung racing handlebars, and a single-person, elongated, humped seat.

One signature trait were low, narrow handlebars that allowed the rider to "tuck in" — a posture with reduced wind resistance and better control. These handlebars, known as "clip-ons" (two-piece bars that bolt directly to each fork tube), "clubmans" or "ace bars" (one piece bars that attach to the standard mounting location but drop down and forward). The ergonomics resulting from low bars and the rearward seat often required "rearsets", or rear-set footrests and foot controls, again typical of racing motorcycles of the era. Distinctive half or full race-style fairings were sometimes mounted to the forks or frame.^{[citation needed]}

The bikes had a utilitarian, stripped-down appearance, engines tuned for maximum speed and lean, light road handling. The well-known example was "The Triton", a homemade combination of Norton Featherbed frame and Triumph Bonneville engine. It used a common and fast racing engine combined with a well-handling frame, the Featherbed frame by Norton Motorcycles. Those with less money could opt for a "Tribsa"—the Triumph engine in a BSA frame. Other combinations such as the "Norvin" (a Vincent V-Twin engine in a Featherbed frame) and racing frames by Rickman or Seeley were also adopted for road use.^[10]

Evolution

1977 Harley-Davidson XLCR

Café racer styling evolved throughout the time of their popularity. By the mid-1970s, Japanese bikes had overtaken British bikes in the marketplace, and the look of real Grand Prix racing bikes had changed. The hand-made, frequently unpainted aluminium racing fuel tanks of the 1960s had evolved into square, narrow, fibreglass tanks. Increasingly, three-cylinder Kawasakis and four-cylinder Hondas were the basis for café racer conversions. By 1977, a number of manufacturers had taken notice of the café racer boom and were producing factory café racers, most notably the Harley-Davidson XLCR.^[12]

In the mid-1970s, riders continued to modify standard production motorcycles into so-called "café racers" by simply equipping them with clubman bars and a small fairing around the headlight. A number of European manufacturers, including Benelli, BMW, Bultaco and Derbi produced factory "café" variants of their standard motorcycles in this manner, without any modifications made to make them faster or more powerful.^{[citation needed]} Eventually the café racer style became just a styling exercise that served no functional purpose and simply made the bike less comfortable to ride; so the trend quickly waned in popularity. Soon afterward, most new sport bikes began featuring integral bodywork from the factory, negating the need or ability to retrofit an aftermarket café fairing.

Subculture

1960s Rockers under canopy outside Busy Bee Café, Watford, England, UK.

Rockers were a young and rebellious Rock and Roll counterculture who wanted a fast, personalised and distinctive bike to travel between transport cafés along the newly built arterial motorways in and around British towns and cities.^{[citation needed]} The goal of many was to be able to reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h)—called simply "the ton"—along such a route where the rider would leave from a café, race to a predetermined point and back to the café before a single song could play on the jukebox, called record-racing. They are remembered as being especially fond of Rockabilly music and their image is now embedded in today's rockabilly culture.^{[citation needed]}

The sub-culture continues to evolve with modern café racers taking style elements of the American Greaser, the British Rocker and modern motorcycle rider to create a style all their own. Although slow to catch on, the trend has grown in North America.^[10]

Present day

Suzuki S40 customised in a café racer style

Honda CB 400 Four café racer

Classic café racer style has made a comeback recently, thanks largely to the increased interest in vintage motorcycles in general. The baby boomers were responsible for a surge in motorcycle sales in the late 1960s and 1970s, and many of this generation now find themselves with the time and discretionary income to recreate the bikes they had—or wished to have—in their younger years.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Outline of motorcycles and motorcycling

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Café racer .

• Café racer at the Open Directory Project
• Classic Motorcycles on the Open Directory Project