With this post I’ll try to inspire cafe racer enthusiast to start working on their own Low Budget Cafe Racer. Café racers come in a lot of different setups and prices, from bikes under $1000 and even up to $60,000 (like the CX500 Café Racer from Sacha Lakic). I think it’s not necessary to spend thousands of dollars, so we’ll hook you up to the bare essence of building a cafe racer.
Low Budget Cafe Racer – Must Haves
So you’re building a cafe racer on a budget. Good news: that is totally do-able! So what are the must haves for a typical cafe racer? That’s difficult to say, because everybody has his own taste, but if we follow our unofficial description of a cafe racer, these modifications are an absolute must:
- Cafe racer seat (solo seater)
- Low handlebars (clip ons or “clubmans”)
- Weight reduction (= remove all unnecessary parts)
- Sport exhaust
Back in the 60’s and 70’s this would do the job just fine. So if you’re working on an absolute minimum budget, you can have yourself a cafe racer for a few hundred of dollars, depending on the price of the base bike. Two other important must haves are: the willingness to learn working on a motorcycle (if you have to) and time.
The Base Bike
Here’s an important tip:
If you decide to have minimal modifications, please make sure that you have a proper base bike which is in descent, (ride-able) condition.
Let me explain this: I’m sure you can pick up a cool base bike under $500, but in what shape? Follow this rule: “if you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys”. In other words: you will have a crappy, rusty and maybe even an unsafe bike. No matter what you ride: always make sure it’s safe.
A cheap base bike could mean a lot of extra work or parts you didn’t calculated.
- Worn out brake pads (and/or disc(s))? Count $50 per set and $100 for a single disc.
- Worn out brake lines? New (get steel ones!) will easily go over $100.
- Old tires? A new set of tires will cost you around $200.
- Dead battery? From $50 (or just leave it!).
- Engine runs poor? Hopefully rejetting the carbs will help, otherwise: $$$
When it’s your first bike, try to find a Honda CB or BMW R-series. There are plenty produced in the early days and still many of them out there. Reliable and relatively simple machines. There are lots and lots of resources online and there is a huge market with parts.
Since the cafe racer scene boomed the last couple of years, prices of these machines increased rapidly. You really have to look out for a bargain. Also try to look for a machine that’s not in a 100% original state.
The Expensive Works
If you’re working on a low budget cafe racer, it’s good to know which works or parts are the most expensive. If you wan’t to keep yourself on the budget, please be cautious with:
- Paint jobs and coatings
- Laced wheels
- Engine overhauling
- Bodywork
- Gas tank
- High end parts like:
- USD forks
- Suspension in general
- Custom made parts
But also don’t forget all those small parts together like the headlight, taillight, fenders, inicators, grips, suspension, rearsets, controls, battery, wiring, liquids etc. These will add up fast and will drain your budget! And maybe it’s a good idea to pack a small motorcycle tool kit!
Low Budget Cafe Racer Inspiration
Since the Honda CB seems to be a great machine for building a cafe racer on a budget, we’ve listed some pictures for inspiration. The bikes below are all built with a minimal budget.
I have cd 100 for modification and I want to build a cafe racer bike and sell so I want proper guide and please help me or sent you email id so I can connect with you .
_you follower
Hey there. i was wondering if anyone knew how to get a cafe racer styled tank for a 1981 cb750 that fitted without any real trouble, i don’t think i will be able to get a original but is there anywhere i can get a good replica or a similar model that doesn’t require anything to difficult to fit? thank you!
I have a 1995 Honda Shadow vlx600. I want to get the CAFE RACER look. If I follow your ‘low budget’ guide can this be done relatively easy; any welding involved?
Thanx you ????
Hi Tonya,
That’s completely up to you… But for a cafe racer look, the Shadow is not ideal if you don’t want to weld. I would suggest to cut of the rear end and weld a small loop in the frame.
I have a CM 250 and am looking to do it up Cafe style. Could it work and should it go over quite easily as well?
An early 80’s Honda CM 250
Yes, the Shadow isn’t ideal bike. I’m purchasing a 1985 cb750! Thanks
i’d take any of those budget inspiration bikes in a second
really like the budget cafe racer look but not interested in building one
any recommendations on where i can get one built for me in south florida and what i should be looking to spend for a bike similar to your pics above?
this would be my first dive in cafe bikes and my first motorcycle so dont want to spend too much though i still want it to look good 😛
thanks in advance for your positive feedback
The blog looks great as well as the low budget inspirations. I was curious – what ‘low budget’ here refers to? Can you give me an approximate number as to how much these modifications might have cost?
seat £55 ,,, exhaust £35 headlight £30 tyres £200 paint £200 odds n sods £300
mates rates labour £ bacon butties n coffee
Hi
Can anyone help me…where can i get the seat of the bike on the second photo?
Im in Europe.
Cheers
We have a Skygo Wizard 125, it’s been running for more than 12 years already and helped our family a LOT. From delivering livestock, as a school service and now I’m almost graduating as an Mech.Engineering. Our business is doing fine as well these days. I know it’s not the ideal motorcycle but I wanted to give it something in return for it’s service. I just need some tips if it’s ok. Thank you.
i have a 1987 BMW R100 that I’ve been trying to transform into a cafe racer for a long time now. Are there any suggestions you can give me on this particular bike!
Thank you.
Thanks going to start an FJ1200, So will post picks
Rodney
Have an 81 cb750 custom, 30,000 k is this a good candidate for brat or cafe custom ?
How easily would a ’95 Suzuki Savage LS650 convert? Looking for a project and the bike was recently handed down to me. I’ve spent about $1000 fixing it to get it up and running safely but want to change comestics/ overall style of it now.
It really depends on what you have in mind.
You can strip it down completely and turn it into a Bobber on quite a low budget.
The devil (when it comes to money) is really in the details (welding, custom seat, accessories, paint job etc)
But a Savage is a nice basic platform to start with.
Keep it simple.