The Cafe Racer Phenomenon book
Added on Monday, November 30th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
The Cafe Racer Phenomenon book
This latest book from motorcycle journalist Alastair Walker provides a compact history of the cafe racer motorcycle from the 50s to the 90s revival.
Packed with photos from the past, kindly loaned by bikers young and old, plus unique black and white images from the Mike Cook collection, the book is a fascinating trip down memory lane.
Before motorways were built every main road had transport cafes where motorcyclists were welcome late at night on their BSA, Triumph and Norton machines. Young lads would gather and race their bikes in the days before the UK had a national speed limit. Some began to customise their bikes, fitting Triumph or Vincent engines into Norton featherbed frames - generally renowned as the best chassis around in the late 50s/early 60s.
The urge to make faster, better handling machines prompted Paul Dunstall, the Rickman brothers, Norman Hyde, Dave Degens and many more tuners and specials builders throughout the 60s and 70s. An alternative British bike industry sprang up, ready to offer riders all the cafe racer goodies they wanted - and the factories wouldn’t supply. The book features exclusive interviews with Paul Dunstall, Norman Hyde and Dave Croxford, plus the personal memories of everyday riders who simply wanted to get more more fun from their bike.
Factories slowly caught onto the trend with models like the Ducati 750SS, Guzzi Le Mans, Royal Enfield Continental 250, Phil Read Honda CB750 and more appearing. But as the cafes closed down and the 80s saw Japanese bikes like the GSXR750 offer racetrack performance `straight from the crate’ the demand for cafe racers fell. Even the Ace Cafe in London closed its doors becoming a tyre warehouse.
A revival had to happen and in the 90s the retro boom promoted interest once again in the cafe racer, both at grassroots level and from the factories. Bikes like the Hyde Harrier, Triumph Thruxton 900, Moto Guzzi Clubman V7 or the new Norton Commando 961 are keeping the flame alive.
The book also has a directory listing UK and some overseas companies still making complete bikes, bodywork, brakes, fuel tanks, seats, electrics etc and contact details for suppliers of original and NOS spares for cafe racer enthusiasts.
The Cafe Racer Phenomenon paperback costs £14.99 and you can buy it online for Christmas at; www.veloce.co.uk
