Cafe or cafe racer?

Thanks for the clarification Clive, you must let the modern cafe racer hordes know that they are riding the wrong bike:)!

Does that mean that there are no superbikes after 1975? Modern bikes being influenced by and developed from classic bikes! Is that a thing? ;)
 
Thanks for the clarification Clive, you must let the modern cafe racer hordes know that they are riding the wrong bike:)!

Does that mean that there are no superbikes after 1975? Modern bikes being influenced by and developed from classic bikes! Is that a thing? ;)
Well you could be really cynical about riders on 'modern' café racers who were never part of the café racer scene poncing around in their Goldtop jackets and Lewis Leathers boots ermm I think I need to stop there:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I think it has become one of those 'I cant define it but know when I see one' subjective things.

Of course superbike is a relative and therefore rolling term which will soon be exclusively applied to electric performance bikes which will very effectively trounce petrol bikes on all fronts except in the minds of us true petrolheads.

Hey - what is the equivalent of petrolhead for EV's? Wireheads? Any suggestions from you bright sparks?:D
 
Thanks for the clarification Clive, you must let the modern cafe racer hordes know that they are riding the wrong bike:)!

Does that mean that there are no superbikes after 1975? Modern bikes being influenced by and developed from classic bikes! Is that a thing? ;)
No it's not the wrong bike for them, each to their own
 
I am as far from the Cafe Racer scene as you can get, and I can’t grow a beard dammit! Oh, and I’m not remotely cool either however if we were a little more open minded we may view that the scene has just changed or developed over time. They all do. The bikes have changed, obviously, although many loosely follow the original design tenets. The riders are entering the scene (in part) because they can afford to, instead of it being the only form of transport they could afford. The riders have aged (significantly) and many definitely fall into the ‘too cool’ for any other bike crowd but, in escence are they not in it for similar reasons. Riding fast bikes of a certain styling, with a group of like minded mates, dressed in a certain way and looking to have some fun. The bike and the bloke - a modern cafe racer combination? Or are they all just ‘poncing around’!? Any group that brings more people to motorcycling is a great thing IMO - more power to use against the restrict em‘/ban em‘ bureaucrats.

“If your bike has’nt run flat out around the North Circular then it isn’t a cafe racer” “.... any bike after the 60’s isn’t a cafe racer”. “ ...... if you have’nt ridden your bike flat out around the North Circular ....... you have’nt ridden a cafe racer”. Really guys? We bikers need more rules and labels? I’m for let em’ ride what the f#*k they want, however they want to, as long as they are riding! ;)

Long live Norton.
 
Lighten up Stephen, my statement was nowt more than a bit of satire.... like the statement that goes something like "If you don't buy your spare parts from Andover then it isn't a 'real' Norton" (except those guys are serious). I'm with you, life is too short to be bothered by labels. If someone has a problem with what I ride then it is they that have the problem, not I ;)
 
Well it could be viewed like this as well. In America we started the hot rod scene in the 30s, 40s, 50s and to this day people still live and love that era and lifestyle. From rock n roll, Levi’s, white tee shirts, ray bans and leather boots.

People still build period type cars of the era and have clubs and social gatherings. Some go as far as camping and everything must be period correct. Meaning, if you have a camper, it must be towed by a 30s-50s vehicle, all the clothing, camping gear, etc must match the time as well. Including a fire pit or a Coleman cook top, lawn chairs, fishing poles, ice coolers etc.

Personally, I’d give anything to be 20 something years old in the 1950s.
The cars, the bikes, the lifestyle. Hell yeah.

People love nostalgia, whether it’s a original car or bike or a modern version of a older one. I mean, we’re all on this forum because we own or have owned a 961. And the reason why most of us bought a 961 is because it looks cool and it’s a Norton.

I wasn’t born during the cool years of vintage British bikes of the 50s and 60s. Same with cars. I’d sell my organs to have an original 1965 Shelby GT350R. Instead I had to settle for a 2018 shelby GT350R.
It’s not the same feeling as driving a classic. But in many ways it’s better. It’s faster, handles and brakes better, way more hp and tq etc. But it’ll never have the classic feel or looks or smell of a classic.

Same goes for the 961, it looks great. Makes more hp. Brakes and handles better. But it’ll never replace an original like the iconic classics.

We all wish we could be kids again, a simpler time for sure. But I wish I was a kid of the 40s and 50s. (After the war). I’m now 49 years old, and I enjoy where I am in life and grateful for what I have.
 
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