Those of you who know me well will already know that my tolerance for the current “cafe racer” and “bobber” craze is very low. Mostly the results of these efforts look nothing like what the terms intended and, to add insult to injury, they are usually based on an old, underpowered Japanese bike from the 70s that wouldn’t have enough power to get out of their own road let alone race from cafe to cafe.
Such is not the case here. Pilfered unapologetically from an article on my good friend Guido’s AllMoto site, this piece of motorcycle art is the epitome of everything that a cafe racer was always intended to be. The lines, the seating position, the clip-ons, the drum brakes, the upswept exhaust pipes, all blend beautifully into an achingly pretty motorcycle. And, as for performance, well, there is the stand-out feature. Instead of featuring an asthmatic two cylinder commuter bike engine, the motive power is an awesome Japanese four cylinder, lifted from the Yamaha FZR1000. The whole thing evokes the iconic Imola Ducati 750 and the builder makes no apologies for that.
It’s the sort of thing that, the longer you look at it, the better it looks. Now, on the subject of originality, you also know that I always strive for that. A blog that is merely a rehash of what someone else has already created is not for this writer and it never will be. BUT, that doesn’t mean that, every now and again, we can’t pause and admire the work that someone else has done, so here is the link to Cord Nacke’s own site, called Rocket Garage and you can see more photos. Unfortunately, the site does not appear to have the ability to be translated into English so you’ll have to make do with just the piccies.
Looking at the site will also show that not all the angles of the bike are as harmonious as the one at the top of the article, but, who cares? This bike brings back so many memories of my early years of motorcycling where we bought fairings, rear-sets, bar-end mirrors and all the other frippery that made our bikes stand out from the crowd.
Could he park this bike in my driveway? Hell, yes, any time of the day and twice on weekends. I adore it and bet it goes at least as well as it looks. Modern cafe racers and bobbers? Keep them, I’d have this REAL one any day.
Oh, and by the way. Today is the 15th Anniversary of when I started this blog.
