Can this become that???

I love Cafe Racers. I have written about this before and talked about them on our Podcast. My good friend Erik is way into them (check out his blog at caferacers.wordpress.com). Almost any bike can be turned into a Cafe Racer. But...what is a Cafe Racer? I'm glad you asked.
A Cafe Racer is more than just a modified motorcycle, it's also a type of motorcycle rider. The roots of a Cafe Racer go back to a British counterculture of the 1960's. Did you ever see the movie Quadraphenia? The Mods and The Rockers. The Mods on their scooters...highly modified and stylized and The Rockers on their motorbikes...highly modified and sylized.Your basic culture clash of the 60's. Both groups arrive at Brighton Beach, England for holiday. A brawl ensues ...arrests are made, bikes and scooters destroyed. But wait, these guys were basically doing the same thing to two wheels, just a bit differently. The Mods were into modern music and style... picture The Beatles; The Rockers into classic 50's American Rockabilly and leather jackets...picture Fonzie on the TV show Happy Days.

The origin of the Cafe Racer culture is really interesting. Post World War Two, soldiers coming home with some cash in their pockets and buying motorcycles. In Britain it started as a contest between riders sitting in a cafe drinking coffee, bragging about how fast they are...the race was on. But, this race was a bit different, it was not two riders on the road racing each other, that's too easy.. This race was one rider racing against... the song on juke box in the cafe??! You pop your nickel into the juke box, pick a song, run out the door start your bike and ride to a designated turnaround point and back to the cafe before the song ended. Crazy indeed. Back at that time most songs were only about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes long and the roundtrip was somewhere around 3 miles. Do the math. You had to be riding really fast, usually over 100mph to make it back in time. That my friend is where the phrase 'doing the ton' came from. The 'Ton' was 100mph. Enough of Cafe Racer culture education, I want to build one.

So, how do I make a Cafe Racer? The basics are strip it of everything that is unnecessary. The lighter the better. Here in the USA that is how 'Choppers' got started, on The Continent (Europe) it was the Cafe Racer. I need to add here that there is ONE, count 'em, ONE American Cafe Racer and it is the only Harley Davidson I would love to own...the 1978 Harley XLCR.


I'll start with this little old Honda SL350..why the SL?? Well, first off...it's because I have one that runs great and no one wants to buy (it's been on e-bay and Craigs list for a while) and because it has a double down tube frame instead of a flimsy single tube chassis, a steeper steering angle for quicker steering and it's kick start only..very vintage and the cool factor is higher.
Drop in a CB front end so I can easily stick a better 18" front wheel and tyre combo. Fork mods are easier on the CB as well. From there it's simple stuff like brake shoe upgrades, better shocks, a set of clubman handlebars and a cool paint job.

My friend Erik is also going to build one out of the spare parts that I have. We're going to make a contest out of this...looking at what he has to start with...and what his vision is...his will be cooler for sure. But I'll be riding mine a lot sooner. Good luck Erik.

Back to the original question...can I make this out of that??? I'll keep you posted. Should be a fun winter project.

Motorcycle Jeopardy

Happy Monday boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen...I just flew in from Philadelphia...and boy are my arms....just kidding.

Welcome to Motorcycle Jeopardy..

I'll take motorcycles for $1000 Alex..
Alex.."The answer is, "the Honda CB350"
DING...'Paul'...That would be "what is the biggest selling motorcycle of all time?"
'Alex'...Thats right

In 1971 I bought a brand new Honda SL350. I had been riding my step dads Bultaco Matador 250, his was still street legal, mine wasn't (I was racing mine in the desert at the time). My friend Eddie had bought a new Yamaha DT1 250.. a neat little bike and a lot less of a pain in the fanny than the Bultaco. We rode all over the So Cal area..before fences and lawyers. But as motorcyclists tend to be, it came to who can outdo the other?? So, I just had to have a bigger bike! Next stop, the local Honda dealer...an hour later I rode off with a new Honda SL350..."hey Eddie..try to keep up now!!" I rode that bike everywhere, even took a date to the Drive-In on it, she carried the lawn chairs, I think we saw Fritz the Cat...it was a great bike.

One race, my not so trusty Bultaco stranded me in the desert. Next thing you know, it's in the deepest darkest corner of the garage. Wait...I have another race in two weeks...now what?? Hey, the Sl is supposed to be on AND off road bike...off come the lights, blinkers, mufflers (hey, I should have kept those..they're worth a lot of $$$ nowadays!),replace the fenders with Preston Petty plastics..you have to have an AARP card to remember those...a pair of little shorty muffler/spark arrestors and a better skid plate. Ready to go. A bunch of races, a few trophies, that SL350 was a great motorcycle.

The SL eventually went to another owner. I guess I should repent for that one...

Twenty Five years ago I was talking with my dad about motorcycles and Honda 350's came up. Well, a week or so later my dad called, he had found one, a yellow CB350, in a back yard in Riverside and they wanted to sell it. A few hours and $100 later, I'm back on a Honda 350. The biggest selling motorcycle of all time.

I have ridden that little motorcycle somewhere in the vicinity of 30 thousand miles. All over California..the Sierra's, the coast, to the US GP at Laguna Seca (back in the 2 stoke days). These bikes won't die..change the oil once in awhile, clean the points, new plugs and some tyres.

"The Mighty 350", as it's known in our family, is still in the garage and still runs great. Both our kids learned how to ride on that bike and still like riding it. Heather and I took it for a ride with friends just yesterday...when we arrived at the Cactus Patch Restaurant for breakfast even a couple of Harley riders commented on what a cool little Honda it was.

In this time of $5 gas (remember, I'm in California), small motorcycles are the perfect vehicles. Motorcycle Daily.com recently conducted a poll asking readers what they think manufactures should make now in light of gas prices. I sent my response...they already are, look around the rest of the world..small displacement motorcycles. Simple.

'The Mighty 350' lives, proving that 'Cool' never dies...and I love riding that little bike.

Ride safe, ride fast, I'll see you on the road...on 'The Mighty 350'
Paul