Cafe Racer Project...

[Nemo]

Now I know I've just posted about wanting to get a Honda CB125 TDC and everyone's opinions.

This is kinda the same, but different, because want I want to do is cafe racer it, and whether it is actually possible.

I know that getting the bars is easy, but I'll need round clocks, which I don't know if I can use from an older modal?

Exhaust - gonna need something that sounds quite a bit nicer, but will I need to replace the lot, or just the ends?

Seat - is there anywhere in Kent than can custom make me a seat?

Rear light - don't know is I can get a light that isn't cased in that fairing?

Anything else I might have missed out?


Oh, and at some point it will be going gloss black, white stripe through the middle.
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Previously owned: Kawasaki KH125, Suzuki GP125, Suzuki GX 125, Honda CB125 TDC '83, Honda ntv 600, Kawasaki ER5, Kawasaki ZZR600, Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille
Now own: Ducati 848 evo

[sickpup]

[Frost]

Mine had a microm 2-1 system. sounded better and looked aight.

[Nemo]

I was thinking of maybe just having a straight through? Or would that be too loud/kill the bike....
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Previously owned: Kawasaki KH125, Suzuki GP125, Suzuki GX 125, Honda CB125 TDC '83, Honda ntv 600, Kawasaki ER5, Kawasaki ZZR600, Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille
Now own: Ducati 848 evo

[warped one]

If you need spares, PM me, I have about 8 barrels, 4heads and a complete engine sat in my garage taking up space.
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amnesia - Never in the history of usernames has one been more accurate. Warped indeed. You sir are a fecking oddball.

[Frost]

[Teflon-Mike]

First up, the classic cafe-racer has wire wheels.
As stock, CB125TD has com-stars. As does the earlier CB125T, twin-shock.
Next, classic Cafe-Racer has twin-shocks. CB125T has'em, TD don't, it has mono.
As said, the motor HOWLS, it has 12K red-line, and wails like a '60's racer when its on the cam.
If you want something that sounds cafe-racer, then a more plodding motor, like a single, open pipes, you want a pre-77 reg-plate, pre noise regs! And you want Conti-Mage-phone ala the Jota & other italian exotica of the era..... pipe from a Morini 3 1/2 would do the trick nicely on a small bore bike.
Actually, a Morini 3 1/2 IS the classic cafe racer.......
Doing it on a 125?
Every-one does it to a CG125... dare to be different.
That CB125TD you are looking at on e-bay, is to 'neat' to be torn to bits for a Cafe-Racer anyway, and its probably only the cosmetics that are actually worth anything!
I've watched about half a dozen CB125TD's go for under £200 in recent months that would make much better project bases, IF it has to be a twin, and you do want to be different....
Keep the GenII Com-starts, they are a classy wheel, but the hubs are painted, not polished, they need care to make them look good.
Front & rear mudguards, I'd look for a pair of patern aluminium pre-65 trials guards, probably bantam rears.
To make it look 'right' at the back end, may take the sub-frame lopping off and a new loop welding on.
TD frame ends in two arms, so wont go round a curved guard, and the rails would be too high to sit the guard 'low' for the classic line.
A patern numperplate and tail lamp could be used though.
Twin-clocks of an earlier CB-T would work at teh front, but you'd probably want to spray them silver.
Tank you'd want a more rounded 60's style one, and the TD has a curiouse slope to it. Would take a bit of alignment to make it 'sit' as the bike has a high head-stock.
Seat is probably one of the last worries, Cafe seat ios either a bm-stop or thin slab. Proprietry bum-stops are available and can be trimmed to length, or a flat slab made from plywood, foam and vynal off the market, old-skool style.
Pipes, the OE patern twin-pipes are teh right mega-phone style, and fit. Baffles may be removed, but the engine wont like it.
side-panels on the TD will be a niggle zone. Big empty space behind the slabby plastic panels, the air-boxes fill it, one on each side, with a step for the battery compartment.
Remove those, and a) the engine wont like it much, and b) you'll have big space, where a pair of open K&N's or bell-mouths would look right, but you'd want to do 'something' curved and triangular like and old school dry-sump oil tank and battery box, but have very little to hang it from or space to work in and show off the carb-mouths.
End of the day, anything is possible.....
I have half a dozen on these wee beasties, and plenty of ideas what COULD be done with them, but practically, for a 'custom' its the Irishmans directions..... I wouldn't be starting from here......
In snowie's case, what she's done is a lot more concervative, she's 'mildly' customised as part of a renovation, and the bits she's done have mainly been upgrades to the stock equipment, so she's got heated grips and a sat-nav, slightly wider bars, goodridge brake hose.... nothing spectacular, just niceties.
Then styling wise, working with what we got. Bodywork is all original, but detailed out the switch-gear in panel-colour. The green-house window-frame under the tail-cowling has gone panel colour. Clock-Case has gone panel colour, and she's got custom picture fasias behind the dials. Graphics will be the TD-E vynal, with the 'Deluxe' badge replaced by 'Super-Dream'...
small, subtlke changes to enhance whats there rather than try and make it something completely different, that the bike isn't.
And.... well bill on her bike has just topped £1700... £200 of that is electrical equipment, alarm, heated grips, LED lights, and crap to make it all work. But £200 on the rear suspension alone. Another £200 in the brakes, and another £200 in tyres steering and front forks.... Another £200 has gone on having the frame and swing-arm blasted, and into paint.
Its not a cheap game, especially if you are doing it to a standard.
What makes it worthwhile doing it to a shit-box super-Dream in Snowie's case, is that she wants a 'decent' bike, first and foremost. She wants to learn mechanics and do a 'full' project. And given choice of bikes, being a girl and only 5'5" the size & weight is 'right' for her. She's still on learner-licence, but even so, could have chuked her through test on a school bike three times over and got her a big-bike to mess mechanics on and be worth more of the money she's spending... but her preference was for cheaper to run, more manageable bike...... and post test, on 33bhp restrict, chance to use barels from a rebel bored 55mm to hog it out to 200cc and maybe 20bhp to live out her restriction on & possibly beyond, as part of her engine rebuild.... but thats another ecconomic nonsense only made viable by fact she WANTS to do a 'full' rebuild, and I have a conveneinetly dead engine for her to mess with!
Depends what you want at the end of the day, BUT for cheap fun with a tiddler, something like a CB125RS would be a better starting point for a Cafe-Project.
Ecconomically?!?!?1
Triton!
Build the real-deal!
Parts that make it are almost as expensive whether you fit them to an old Jap nail or a propper brit classic... but when done, which stands some chance of being worth what you spend on it?
For something a tad more every-day freindly and on teh cheap, I'd look at a Kwak W650, the Bonnaville copy...... classic looks modern build, already half way to what you want, minimum of stuff to buy to give it the full 'style' and most of it available off the shelf, and OK not as valuable as a propper Triton, but still a bike with 'some' intrinsic value for the time, money and effort put in....
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Nemo]

I think what I might do then is just put lower bars on it and keep it at that, then find a little stroker to use as a cafe racer project.
I'm currently without a bike and need one to get to work, and I don't know what's so appealing about these things but I've always wanted one.
How much would it be for a decent paint job and where would be the best place to go?
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Previously owned: Kawasaki KH125, Suzuki GP125, Suzuki GX 125, Honda CB125 TDC '83, Honda ntv 600, Kawasaki ER5, Kawasaki ZZR600, Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille
Now own: Ducati 848 evo

[greetingsfrom...]

CD185 and 200 front ends will bolt straight up to the superdream frame giving you a much more classic looking wire wheel/drum brake

Rear wheel from the above models will also fit the rear spindle - you will probably have to make up a couple of spacers

BSA Bantam tanks are cheap usually and fit over the spine frame - you will need to fab up the mounts for them.

For the seat either use a fibreglass seat unit from ebay or cut out a metal seat base, stick foam to it and carve it with a knife into a bum stop type seat