After...

Tonight I took the Cafe Racer for my first ride.  But first I put it in front of the same brick wall where I took pictures right after I bought the bike and I took some of the same photos.  That was the "before," here is the "after."

The tank is now so glossy you can see my reflection in it.

Here is the profile which features the tail pipe I spent an afternoon polishing.  The previous owner, who saw the bike tonight at Vintage Bike Night, thought I had purchased a new one.

The handlebars are nice and low, which I think creates a more aggressive stance.

This pictures shows off the seat and the paint job a little more.

And here is one with me, the bike and Griffin, the shop dog.  He's a sweet dog, and he has seen a lot of the build process.

The 400cc engine would require a lot of revving to get it up to highway speeds, so this will be a surface street motorcycle.  But this was never meant to be a highway bike; it's talent is its agility.  This thing loves winding its way down the road.  Tonight was my first opportunity to ride it more than a short distance and I was nervous about the new handlebars.  I didn't know if they would wreck the balance or the handling.  Fortunately, I could not be happier with how it feels.

The engine has more pep than I expected also.  Between 3,000 and 5,000 RPM it accelerates pretty well.  It helps that 45 mph on this bike feels about the same as 75 mph on my CB750.

There are still a couple of things I would like to do, but it is all cosmetic.  I would like to re-chrome the pipes, and the engine could use a good cleaning.  But for now it is fun little bike and it looks just like the image I had in my head when I bought it in January.  That being the case, don't expect any updates for a while - I'll be out riding.

Just pictures with short descriptions now - more to follow.

First was the installation of the tail light with the new tail section.  That should have been a very easy process, but it ended up being very difficult because of faults in the wiring.

Eric finishing off the light.

More work on the light - good shot of the seat though...

After the light was done we turned to other pressing issues.  Eric re-built the petcock valve.

Finally it was time to place the gas tank back into position, being careful not to scratch any paint.

Then the cafe racer got a new fuel line.

Eric bled the front brake and reconnected everything.

 

By the end of the night it started and ran well.  It is leaking a little bit of gas out of the carburetor, but that will be a pretty quick fix.  Then it's ready to ride.  Here is how it looks on the lift. 

And here I am seeing how it all feels (it feels great).

I Have a Seat (for real this time)

This is just a short post to show off my new seat.  The top is black suede (which has been weatherproofed) and both the leather and the seat pan were done by Rich Phillips (www.bikersaddles.com or other leather goods at www.richphillipsleather.com).  I'm really happy with how it looks and feels.

Right now I have an appointment on Wednesday evening to complete final assembly and hopefully there won't be any insurmountable obstacles at that time.  My goal is to ride the Cafe Racer to Vintage Bike Night on September 10.  Fingers crossed that everything runs smoothly on Wednesday!

For now, here are seat pictures:

It looks soft and cushy but has a good amount of firmness.  As you can see in the photo below it also has a low profile.