A lot of work went into this project, it once again shows that anything is possible if you have budget and/or skills. One day I'll have my footpegs backwards and the clip on handle bars!
A cafe racer seat shouldn't be too difficult either.
Yeah that works except I wouldn't do that to the swingarm (don't want monoshock) and the front is raked out too far cos they never started out with an R. Do'h!
Mono-shock with extended swing-arm looks good....but the exhaust would burn your inner right thigh/calf. Gravel & road debris would spray your face w/o front fender.
That's the trouble - you start off wanting a slightly different look and before long one thing has led to another and you have to sell your house.
Realistically if I did the seat I'd want to do clip ons and I reckon that would make an R a pretty heavy-steering bike so then I'd need carbon wheels and if I went that far I'd want paint and hell why not forced induction/big bore.
Actually I hate to admit it but I have the caff racer bug so bad I did consider that. This got me really interested - http://www.the-norley.com/
and the thing that stopped me was I couldn't find a decent sportster motor/trans anywhere around here without spending stupid money. Then I thought (which is unusual because I normally do first and think after) the oncosts and problems of building a bike even with a made to fit frame are always more than you bargain for.
Then I remembered how much I love my R and how it's a living classic right there in my garage and I thought (that's twice.....) it would be easier to reversibly deck out the R in the style of a cafe racer and just admire myself as I rode past shop windows (don't say you've never done it) and that would be enough. Which led to this post.
IMHO with the cafe racer conversion what you need to be conscious of is the riding position and how to make it work for you after the conversion. I also love the look, not so much for a Vrod though some examples here look great, but if the riding position makes it uncomfortable after a few miles then It's a failed attempt.
Apart from the amazing motorized chassis the exhaust on that thing is one of the most beautiful pieces of fabrication I ever saw and I want one. Probably cost more than my bike.
Caff racers came into being cos people wanted to off all the extra weight for performance so you have a good point. I suspect with that bike you'd just find the setting you were most happy with and leave it there.
I don't think they are BST's. Closest wheel to these is the Black Mamba for Duc and MV. The rear wheel isn't even close to a BST, especially the hubs, they aren't marked BST and the spokes look way too thin to be cf.
I'm agree with Fastvrjohnny I think the wheel spokes are too narrow to be made from carbon fiber.
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