125cc cafe racer

[TomH05]

Hello, I had an idea to get a 125cc a couple months before I am old enough to ride it with the plan of doing a cafe racer style build but nothing too crazy. This would be my first project bike and I have little experience. Is this a great idea or a terrible one that will end up on the marketplace? Any advice or recommendations for a good bike to build from would be greatly appreciated. I don't plan on spending a ton on this either.
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Tom

[A100man]

Mostly terrible, but if you buy Japanese and restrict yourself to clip-ons, a loud exhaust and chequered tape you won't do too much damage to the bike or your kudos.
However these are massive no nos..

Brown seat
Exhaust wrap
knobbly tyres
no front mudguard
Bar end mirrors
Side mounted number plate

Bon chance.
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[Easy-X]

My advice is to not post threads with swear words in the title

Why? Why waste money?
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Royal Enfield Continental GT 535, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Nobby the Bastard]

Cafe racer isn't a swear word. What people call a cafe racer these days is an abomination and they should be flayed alive for even considering purchasing one. Creating one should result on anal rape whilst being flayed, just because.

The principlee behind the cafe racer (and bobbers) was to take a bike that's speed is limited by weight and drag and lose weight whilst introducing a racing crouch so that the bike would go faster. The name comes from its purpose to race from place to place. In the Eagle, one of my old drinking places, cause it was a village on the mendips they used to put a song on the duke box and see who could get round a specified loop of roads back to the village before the song finished. Getting one to do the ton was also a thing.

On a 600 cc Brit in the 50s and 60s it made sense. They were heavy and really un-aerodynamic.

On a 4 stroke 125 created in the last 20 years it's absolutely pointless and is form over function. They are already made as light as possible and drag isn't really a massive issue at 60ish mph.

Dip your head down under the bars in top and the revs don't really get close to the red line.

So, in summary, you won't be doing it to make it faster so don't call it a cafe racer. In addition unless you make it perfect from an asthetic point of view you will be called a cunt for ruining a perfectly servicable bike.

If you do make one asthetically pleasing I suggest you approach gallery owners rather than riding it.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[Honda434]

Like a100man said if you do it keep it simple a few bolt on goodies so you don’t get over your head. You want to learn to ride not work on the bike all the time.
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Honda434

[Ayrton]

I wouldn't purely because it'll take longer than a few months to do and you are much better off just having a bike you can actually ride. If you still want to do the project then get another bike to turn into a cafe racer while you ride the good one around.

[stinkwheel]

They can look really cool but if you don't want to ruin it don't do the following:

Remove the airbox. It will never run right unless you really know what you are doing.

Mess with the wiring. If you want to fit different lights etc, plug them in to the existing wiring in such a way as the originals will go back on again. So many ways to fuck up the wiring.

Remove the mudguards. You are in the UK, it rains.

Cut bits off the frame. I've seen more than a few "mods" which structurally compromised the frame. If it has a bolt-on subframe, you could make something up which would sensibly replace it.

Hacve a good idea of what you want to do. Many people say they want to build a cafe racer when they mean a brat chopper.

This is a cafe racer, it is cool:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/1960s-triumph-triton-cafe-racer_2.jpg

This is a brat chopper. It is also cool:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/girl-with-dragon-tattoo-motorcycle-1.jpg

This is a bobber. It's not my cup of tea but is also cool:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/1950-panther-600-chopbobber-chopper-vintageclassicharley.jpg

This is a fucking dogs breakfast being sold on ebay as an unfinished cafe racer project. It is an absolute abortion. Do not be this guy:
https://www.bikechatforums.com/files/dogs_breakfast.jpg
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[A100man]

for another point of reference take a look at this thread to see what the cool guys of BCF think is realy shite..

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=329814
____________________
Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[Bhud]

Don't do it - save your money, time and effort.

I've done a few bike projects because I really liked the idea of the bike at the time, and/or I wanted to do something to it that made me think I'd enjoy riding it more. In retrospect, a lot of what I did was an unnecessary process and a series of experiences in learning. What's the effect of clip-ons, or dropping the fork through the yokes, etc. Honestly, why bother running a real life experiment to find out, when it's been done thousands of times by others, and there are clear engineering principles and physics which will tell you what will happen.

Learning stuff is good. Generally, biker-y sort of stuff is useless. And project bikes are biker-y. Therefore, you do them with surplus funds (do you really have them?) with surplus time (do you really have that?) Sometimes people make a lot of money out of it (e.g. Bike Shed, importers, etc.) Sometimes people rinse the hell out of doing something simple, to build a Youtube channel to serve their vanity and ego, by impressing the foolish (and these come in all ages, up to 90 or so years old!) about how biker-y and experienced they really are (not).

I will definitely do more project bikes in the future. However, they will just be personal projects, for fun. In your case, what you propose to do simply isn't worthwhile. You will end up with a bag of crap 125, with lots of mistakes and regrets behind you. It won't be fast or fun. It may be dangerous. It is likely to be very unpleasant to ride, when you're done. You will get rid of it at a loss, etc.

Now, even when I was in my 20s, I wouldn't have taken advice from a guy in his 40s. What could he know, etc. However, look up a 60-something self-taught project bike hobbyist trying to build a Youtube channel on the strength of a 125 project... Is that where you want to be? Is that the cue you want to follow? No, of course not. The way forward is to invest in learning about mechanical engineering, or any automotive related field.

[slowasyoulike]

For an alternative perspective none of those things posted by Stinkwheel are in any way cool. The Panther, in particular, is an utter abomination.

By all means fuck up your bike by turning it into a 'Cafe racer', just don't expect anyone to be impressed. Most people will be laughing at you.

[A100man]

.. of course there's a fair chance that Tom is a youngster and wandered here by accident. He therefore doesn't (and shouldn't)
give a t'penny toss about the views of the ancient old fuck-ups that mostly contribute to this site
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[MarJay]

Just buy a brand new AJS Cadwell 125.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/reviews/bikes/ajs/cadwell-125
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Blah blah]

or a Skyteam Ace 125 (then go to ooracing and buy the fork kit)

[to v or not to v]

[MarJay]