One of our favourite bikes is the XJR1300. We wanted to follow the feel of the squarish tank etc through the back end of the bike so rather than the standard looking loops and kicks that go on the back of cafe racers we decided to do a squarer cut off but still have the front of the seat look like it flowed straight down from the tank. The finished product on the back end we think is pretty spot on. The 2 wasp exhausts make an awesome noise and although we didn’t get it on the dyno, it felt smooth all the way from idle through the rev range and got there a lot quicker than stock.
All the electrics we were able to hide up under the seat and it has a really tough front stance and shows off the ohlin rear shocks nicely.
We could go on about what Suzuki was thinking when they made this bike. To be honest it’s not the worst looking bike they ever made (arguably the GSXF wins that title.. don’t even bother looking it up)
Occsaionally even in this market barn finds make their way to us. An old CB750 or KZ etc. still with race gear all over it that we get to dust down and ogle over. A customer of ours brought his rolling dust hill to us so we thought we might have something quite exciting.
Once the cobwebs were cleared away we found an ordinary looking VX800 in standard trim that hadn’t been ridden for many years. We could go on about what Suzuki was thinking when they made this bike. To be honest it’s not the worst looking bike they ever made (arguably the GSXF wins that title.. don’t even bother looking it up). The idea of transplanting their successful cruiser 800 motor into a road bike and giving it a longer lower stance then most was bucking the trend.. but sometimes trends are trends for a reason!
So the first thing was to get it running. Naturally the carbs were gunked up with something that could have easily come from a 70’s horror movie. Once they were sorted and brakes rebuilt we had something that would at least roll down the road. Turns out it didn’t just roll down the road it picked up with quite a bit of torque. More than our metal fab guy Josh was expecting. All this low down power perfect for rolling ont he throttle and pushing through curves etc.. exactly what we like!
Next thing was the strip down to see where the bare lines were. With about 20 kilo’s taken off and that ugly exhaust we started getting a feeling for what we wanted to achieve. So we mutated a back end we have used on some old cafe builds to the side panels of the existing bike. Nobody (I hope) likes that look of parts thrown onto a bike and looking totally out of place so we had to integrate the lines that match the tank etc to a much smaller, lighter back end. It was about now when the customer came to us with pics of a few different bikes he had been perving on for some time. Amongst them was this back end from a Norton. Normally the exhausts look heavy and too long for our bikes but this time it would fit what we were trying to achieve.
Exhaust sorted and electrics underway. Around the workshop we always give our bikes nick names. Most are favourable… some are not. This one became the ‘Commazuki’ and while chatting about it over a drink with the owner I let the name slip out. Definitely not the lines of a Norton Commando or a Suzuki but the name stuck and next thing the purple ‘phantom’ paint job was ditched for something a little more traditional. in Black and our own gold mix.
Airbox was removed and pods put on to save weight and getting the motor breathing easier and low and behold even with the new exhaust the bike ran better. Anyone who seriously mucks around with Suzuki’s knows how asthmatic they can be and how much better they perform when let breathe properly.
Time for a trip to the dyno where we found out the front was lean and the back super rich. Now we have a nice fat torque curve and another 15% on top. Add the weight savings and we are in rider heaven again.
Final touches are the indicators and new tyres and the new owner Heath has a very unique bike that turns heads everywhere he rides.
we would rather wrap gum boots to the rims and baste ourselves in vaseline during a torrential rainfall then put a set on a daily rider.
Recently we had a call from a guy chasing an SR400. To be honest it sounded terrible. There were plenty of modifications necessary, it was to a deadline and he already saw a bike that he wanted to borrow heavily from. Having said that, we did just have a container of bikes come in from Japan and even though we weren’t even 100% sure on what had made it into the container we thought there would be an SR that might be a good starting point. We worked out a budget and realised we could do everything he wanted for less money than it would cost for a new stock SR.
The deadline was a big national ride coming up with all proceeds going to Prostate cancer research and the customer really wanted to do the ride with his long time friend who has been diagnosed with cancer recently. We can’t think of a better reason to help get a guy on the road and it had been a few months since we did a pre-fuel injected SR.
First up the strip back including getting the motor out and painting/polishing. The bike we chose for the donor had an aftermarket hotdog pipe on it and air pod from Japan. It seemed to run ok but later we found out that the bike had still had the standard jets in it.
Most of the parts on this bike are off the shelf. Posh make the headlight and bracket as well as indicators and indicator brackets. Maybe not totally cafe racer style but at this stage there were plans afoot (more on on this later). We also stock the guards and the seat is a Mostyn one so overall we thought it could be done in time for the ride. Anyone into SR’s knows how many aftermarket options there are for them and with our catalogue of over 250 parts specifically for SR400 and SR500’s we might even have breathing room.
Turns out we didn’t have to worry as even the tank was one of ours and within a week of us getting the bike on the hoist, we had it in it’s current form. The notable exception were the tyres. Chester really liked the look of Firestones but unless the bike is only for display purposes we would rather wrap gum boots to the rims and baste ourselves in vaseline during a torrential rainfall then put a set on a daily rider. Instead we heard Shinko had bought out a new ‘classic’ tyre and it handled better and still had that look he loved. We did have to wait for them to come into the country but it was well and truly worth it.
Now that the new exhaust and manifold were on the bike and we had the air inlet the way we wanted it was time to see how she went. Average is about the best you could say. We never need much of an excuse to get one of our bikes on our state of the art dyno so that is precisely what we did. Turns out it was mega rich except at idle. Plenty of cursing and a couple of changes later we had a smooth power line running with a perfect mixture right from idle. We got so much more top end out of it, I have no doubts this one could join the ‘ton up’ club!
Initially the idea was to fix this one up for the one ride (just cafe racer enough) and then do a proper pull down and make a hardtail SR that would go like a cut snake. After Chester rode it there was a slight change of heart and now it looks like this one will stay as it is and another SR or XS will be sourced to do the hardtail conversion. Check out our facebook page for that update:)
If you want something similar or want to know more about this (don’t bother asking about jetting as we’ll take this info to our graves hahaha) hit us up on our contact page or through any of our social media pages.
“It’s been in its roller state for the last year or so and I firmly believe that everyone (yes absolutely everyone) needs a bobber in their life”
There’s nothing quite like sitting in your garage or workshop and checking out your latest project. It might be a complete rebuild, nothing but a roller or even a stock standard bike you have big plans with. You can envision the raw pleasure of flying down the road on a bike that grown men faint at the sight of and as you get to your favourite ride destination other riders throw down their leathers like a black and tan ‘red carpet’ for you to roll up on. Unfortunately that’s the best case scenario and it doesn’t always go that way…
In my home workshop for instance, I have the start of an awesome little hardtail bobber. It’s going to be low, fast, clean lines and totally utilitarian. Every time I sit on it my mind swoons with all the great things that this bike and I will do together one day. The XS650 motor is the heart of my beast and yes the frame was made by hand. The wheels came off a shelf that has so many layers of parts on it it’s like counting the rings of a tree as I search for parts I put away in the 90’s. The tank was a new tank I bought years ago and now has so much rust on it, I’m sure it would be overlooked at the local tip.
Have there been haters? Absolutely. Many the casual observer has been known to use words like “trap” “waste” and the most hurtful of all “junk”. It’s been in its roller state for the last year or so and I firmly believe that everyone (yes absolutely everyone) needs a bobber in their life. Hardtailed and not necessarily complete. For me, it’s sitting in my garage, cracking a beverage, putting on some Moby or The Cult and taking great pleasure in putting on that part that I know is exactly right for THIS bike. I know it because it took me 2 months to make a decision on and the same time again to find.
There are other Hardtails out there. Maybe an early Triumph motor would fill another hole in my life or a little BSA. If I didn’t have the patience I could go with the best Triumph motor Triumph never made, the W650. Now that would be fun. On the opposite end of the scale to my bike I could go a stock production bike like the Heist, from Cleveland CycleWerks. We upgrade them with a 300cc motor now and these bikes are already engineered and on the road for just under $5k. Even with my never ending supply of second hand bits it’ll cost me easily twice that for my bike..
But then what would be my excuse for sitting like an idiot in my garage drinking bourbon and making vrooming noises…
“If I didn’t have the patience I could go with the best Triumph motor Triumph never made, the W650”
The Mostyn Envy has been one of our favourite Cafe Racer builds to date.
The Braaap Mercury was the basis of the build. Easy to convert and light, the 250cc motor had ample power for this around town scoot.
The call was for a british racing green ‘but in metallic’. The chocolate diamond stitch seat works really well with the colour.The upgraded carb meant we were able to clean out the space where the airbox would have been and get another 10% performance out of the bike. Small touches like the headlight grill, bars and mirrors just finish it off. The total price I hear you ask: $6500.00
This beautiful example of an SR500 has spent some time in our workshop. The bike now runs as good as it looks. Hat’s off to the owner Lauren for having the vision to follow through on such an eye catching bike.
Had this cool looking CB750 come into the workshop. Lots of Mostyn products including grips, headlight, taillight, indicators and seat. The exhaust was changed from standard to this great sounding 4 into 2 system. The gauge is the new Daytona unit that looks the part on this cafe/fighter.
We love our imported SR400’s. We never thought we could love anything else more…..
Turns out Yamaha bought out the NEW SR400 and we’ve gone all googly eyed again.
Knowing that boys will be boys (and girls will be boys too) we have come up with a 4 stage upgrade kit specifically for the Fuel injected SR400’s. We’ve drawn together parts from our favourite suppliers, POSH, Nitroheads and our own Mostyn range, to make customising your new SR400 that much easier.
Pick styles, products and finishes to make your bike one off. We send each kit out in a box with instructions and you know we can be contacted if you need further advice.
We just finished a TU250 for a customer. With upgrades including seat, exhaust, mirrors and indicators we think it made a big difference on a small budget.
As any of the visitors to our workshop know, we’ve been limited to choices when it came to front and rear fenders for our Bobbers and Cafe Racers. We’ve always sold the Stainless Steel SR500 guards but look what we got! That’s right, our very own ‘English Wheel’:)
Here is the first guard off the wheel
Excited much?.. You could even say we’re having a Wheely good time!!
If you need a fender made up we can help you. Get in touch with us with tyre size, diameter etc and how long. We are also working on CNC brackets to fit all the popular forks so email us whether it’s your front or rear guard!
Chris turned up recently and had a bike that needed a lot of work to get it on the road. Here it is. A CX500 with airbox removed, new back end and custom seat. There’s the usual touches with the gauges and the grips etc but we think that this bike will make the owner very happy with a few more small mods. Nice one Chris.
We got a nice little SR400 in that was a bit to Cafe for the current owner. Luckily a lot of the hard work was done. The airbox was removed and a nice little Peyton Place exhaust already on the bike.
You know we aren’t going to say anything bad about the Nitroheads flat seat find them here! With a couple of choice little items like the handlebars, grips, gauges and front guard (not pictured) the bike really handled differently and looked a lot better.
Of course, we had to take it for a ride and it’s not often a 400 brings a smile to the face, like this one did. Well done to the new owner and his vision.
