Café racer

Café racers were standard production bikes that were modified by their owners and optimized for speed and handling for quick rides over short distances.

Noted for its visual minimalism, a 1960s café racer would typically be an English parallel twin motorcycle with low-mounted clip-on or "Ace" handlebars with rear-set footrests.

Young people were eager to buy such cast-off motorcycles and modify them into café racers, which for them represented speed, status, and rebellion, rather than mere inability to afford a car.

However, author Mike Seate contends that record-racing is a myth, the story having originated in an episode of the BBC Dixon of Dock Green television show.

[10] Some bikes had swept-back pipes, reverse cone megaphone mufflers, TT100 Dunlop tires, and larger carburetors (often with inlet trumpet rather than air filters).

In the mid-1970s, riders continued to modify standard production motorcycles into so-called "café racers" by 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,[25] without any modifications made to make them faster or more powerful,[26] a trend that continues today.

[33][34] Major manufacturers, such as BMW, Norton, Ducati and Yamaha, have responded to consumer interest in ready-to-ride café racers[37] and have exploited this niche market.

[38] A shared design foundation that can frequently be found among many café racers are clip on handle bars, a flat alignment of the passenger seat and fuel tank and spoked wheels for a distinctive look.