I bought a 1980 Honda CM400 last september for $800 and have spent the last few months furiously researching every little piece that I want to customize. I've spent just over $2200 on parts/supplies so far and only have the mufflers and a few small bits left to purchase. I stripped it to the frame and painted everything, it's turned out beautifully so far. I can't wait to finish it so I can show it off and ride it again in a few short weeks! This channel has been a big inspiration for me and has been a big help! Hats off and many thanks to you!
Show the bike, show the bike, show the bike! Dude, this videos are up for a long time, and I just found this one, and I’m clicking through dozens of build videos just to get a glimpse of the finished bike. I’ve seen your logo for as many seconds as I’ve seen the bike!
I don't actually think This is the "cheap" way...i am building a Suzuki GS 450 café racer, and i'm looking towards a calculated 1.500€. Roughly 1.750$. I have a complete bike, and i wil use the frame, engine, tank, wheels, front fork, rear bridge. So i Just need to invest in carburators, air filter, nuts& bolts, rubbers, coating, tires,lights, painting and some minor things. Everything else will be done by me. Except the painting.
To be honest, all the unexpected costs were bits that wasn't included in the bike purchase, such as exhaust, brake calipers, cables, electrics etc, all those hidden costs soon mount up.
I like your style, mate. I'm here in the UK now, but grew up in Oz. Built a few specials and cafes over the years. i'm making 2022 the year I get back to building things.
This is completely the right mind set! Seeing people tear apart perfectly good condition Hondas only to make them into cafe racer style bikes that are worth less and look average is heart breaking, But rebuilding a written off or damaged bike to your own specs is fantastic
U r creative and a cool guy! I can only dream of building a cafe racer. After coming out of the super-sport motorcycle world i enjoyed watching your channel more than anything.. building a vintage typa bikes is now on my bucket list and all because of you 🤍
I got an xs650 on its way to being a cafe, the thumper in it definitely makes you aware that everything needs to be tightened like crazy lol, im having fun with it, the fact that it'll be MY bike is super cool, and just the connection you get with your machine is well worth it imo.
My advice - There's no shame in picking up a Yamaha sr400 for about $3500 new, or a used Triumph Bonnie. When you're shopping, have a list of mods in the front of your mind, and if you can find a lightly damaged bike that needs those parts, jump it. I picked up an 05 Bonnie that was dropped. Tank, bars, footpegs, exhaust and some covers were a little banged up, but I was already planning to change all of that anyway. A lot of the modern classics have a range of direct bolt-on pieces, so what I paid up front for the bike and parts, I saved in time and labor down the road. The only things that I had to pay a specialist for were grinding and rewelding the cheap-o Thailand tank I bought, and cutting and re-welding my fairing mount where it bolted to the headstock. Picked up the bike for $2k after taxes and title, and finished it just under $5k. People sometimes mistake it for a new $12k Thruxton. Bike looks ace, starts every time, runs great, and I could ride it at any stage of the build process.
great Chanel mate . much as I like racer tv the computer voice kills me lol. Been watching loads of these. Got plans to do a aprila rs125 . want something to rip around town on and potentially light enough to take on a boat . Think the standard back end would look awesome with the seats retrimed in brown fit a bullet break light into the cone with a bikini fairing . so the shape of the front light is mirrored at the same height at the back . Tanks already the right kind of shape.
Hi have you got a video with the bike up and running, I watched all of your videos of your build Amazing, I love the orange and grey colour Brilliant , I showed a long time friend of mine as back in 1978 we both purchased two Suzuki GS 550E's at the same time when we picked them up on a Friday morning we had taken the day off from work, I had a red one with a red tank and gold alloy wheels and he had a blue one with gold alloy wheels, we rode all day Friday on them and Saturday and Sunday we thought we were the dogs.
it had taken me two years and I'm up to 6 grand. I inherited the bike from my dad. The following list includes all the following work I did myself. all new electronics including the wire harness and all parts. rebuilt the clutch, alternator, chain and sprockets, all new signal lights, progressive shocks, seat from a local company, tank painted my self. new bars , new points plate , balanced heads, crabs, carpy exhaust and ceramic coated local. all new front brake lines, rotor, Master cylinder, caliper. the only thing I did not work on is repainting the frame and front forks. in other words prepare to spend a lot. all the little things you need to do the work will add up
Yup.... Every time I need to replace stripped screws it's 20 to 40$ at the hardware store. But your right there is a lot more satisfaction in building your own and having that history behind it, apposed to a new bike. Not to say a new bike would be a hell of a lot safer.
+Matthew Behning Ha, yeah you are putting your life into your own hands when you build bikes. But you're right, you can have the pride in explaining to people what bits you've changed / done etc.
I would shop around for powder coating. I've had a bicycle done for £20 but that was 'any colour you like provided we have a bigger job of the same colour going in'. Black is common. That included the bead blasting to clean the frame up.
I just just started looking into cafe style motorcycles and I wanted to build my own. I expected the price to be a little more but its about the same as I would spend on a drift car haha. Thanks for the info man.
To give another perspective, I've found a mint condition 1978 GS550E. Without modern wheels and breaks, and a modern front end my project is going to cost ~$2,560.00 after tax and shipping + 1k for the bike. Assuming I'm not going to build the following: With new 3.5x17" spoked wheels, GSXR brakes, hubs, a custom triple clamp, and hub bearings I'm looking at ~$5560.00. This is all assuming I don't fabricate any of the parts myself. I found a lot of the items that are for sale on cafe racer parts sites on Chinese manufacturer's eBay stores (but without the branding) for 1/10th-1/2 the cost.
That's a great breakdown of how much we love to get it the way we want it. Definitely should have started with a "whole" bike. In my experience building the last couple of years, if it's all there and you don't sheer it off cuz it's so rusty it breaks, you can salvage a lot. Re-freshing rubber bits or recycling leftover parts from other builds that just happen to fit on is great! If you got a shitty $500 bike with a title that's money you can make back, if that's what your interested in doing. It's sad though when you'll make something pretty darn sweet and then you need to oh, let it go cuz you have too many bikes... you'll probably never get your money back.
When it is small expenditures it is not too bad as it kinda dilute during the weeks and months you are building it. My problem is with the big ones like powder coating. I'll do my wheels, break drums, frame and the odd part. So far the quoting I got was £100 for the wheels alone. And I don't even want anything fancy, just plain old black. Will definitely need to shop around.
+Tiago Santos Definitely, I was going to have a play with the current jets once they're clean and plug in a sync tester to see how they go, more so to keep costs down and see what I can do with tuning it that way first
Thanks for the videos, I love the "honesty" in them. How much does a Cafe Bike cost to build? Well how long is a piece of string? Here in South Africa we don't have easy access to all the cool Cafe bits and bobs.....
I disagree with powdercoating the frame. They make good durable paint. If you want to modify the frame after powdercoating, it's a big deal. With paint, it's just a touch up. Paint is much cheaper and easy to fix.
Damn, I would like to make a modern Cafe racer, something based on the Street Twin, but then starting with the Street Cup already is much cheaper, add ohlins shocks and forks and the price is near the Thruxton R... which also has twin brakes...
Let's be honest, it can cost 2000, even less if you have parts or find them dirt cheap. Or it can cost 50 000. If you buy like ultra high end parts and pay someone to do it all
Hi there. I love the way you are building this bike. Keep up the good work! Was it a direct fit for the rear shocks or were there adjustment to be made. Cheers mate.
my grandpa built several motorcycles, he made a drag bike for Bonneville salt flats and raced it there. hes making me a racing bike right now. I want to build a cafe racer so badly. I guess this will be out next project
I think that is good price to pay for such a nice bike and you know the history cos you built it .my one will take time and I wil probably spend the same but I don't care its never going to be for sale.and your right bikes do need that last chance to look great again ✋🏾
Il keep you updated with mine as it goes along, whether it's you mate or fellow viewers. I'm a 16 year old (uk) and recently purchased a 1977 Suzuki a100 as my first bike off of my uncle for £25, being stored for the last 15 years in a garage it has not aged well from the outside, but my investigation under the thick layer of stickers (my uncle sticker bombed it in like 2001 before the cool kids ;) ) and grease lies an all original bike with only 12,000 miles. There's some problems with the bike etc not being run in 15 years and leaky forks, rusty fenders but the rest is well. Il keep you updated with my build!
+Callum Taylor The most important thing you will probably get out of this bike is experience. I don't know how many times I figured out how something works after breaking it. (Cars are the worst for blind fasteners and welds.) So this is the bike you will makes your mistakes on. Ride safe. Car drivers just doing what's convenient can kill you.
I wish I could post pictures I currently pulled everything apart today to get it power coated. And honestly your right it's the best thing to do, it's a 20 year old bike I started it's a complete full restoration it started with a engine rebuild but once your do that you might as well go all the way with a complete restoration if you think you need it in the back of your mind haha I felt guilty .but yea cafe racer bro yamaha xj600 top out upgrade it's don't matter about the price either your right just the love
I'm approaching the $5000 (usd) on my xs650 build. lots of parts I originally thought I would reuse like blinkers ect, but if your going to do it do it right to avoid regrets later right? It's for the pride of it more than the cost. Knowing it's not an investment it's a hobby. All the little things add up quick those are what I overlooked. Bolts, nuts, rebuild this rebuild that kits gaskets, seals, improved parts here an there all add up $$$! But so far it looks great and hope it goes like hell.
+Nathan Robbins I completely agree, it is pride, and even money is spent on places where people wouldn't see, like you say to avoid regrets it's worth doing right the first time, like oil seals etc. :)
Save where you can. I just bought an xv750 and a cb550 for $140. Complete bikes and one has the title. Anytime I see these kind of deals, I jump on em.
That's not a bad price in american dollars for a build. Not to mention you learned a lot along the way and it's a great personal satisfaction to create something you imagined along your journey. Obviously labor is probably as much as the bike costs and that's if you know what you are doing from the start. As you mentioned you can run into things along the way that are unexpected. Did you purchase the motor separately?
Great videos! You made me take the step to build a cafe racer. I bought a GS750 for $350. Where did you order all the bolts since you stated you replaced all of them?
Thank you. Do you know how envious I am of you buying a project for $350, here in the UK I'm looking at spending $1,000 just on a donor :( The bolts were just ordered off ebay, there's plenty of sellers on there that will sell them individually. You just have to go through the painful process of measuring and making a list of all of them. Also be careful of the distance between the thread as they vary a lot on this bike.
I would love to have someone like you to bounce problems off of to help me on my 62 cafe racer. Carborator is a leak and throttle sticks like mad. Cheers
Jip agree with the peeps from South Africa. To buy stuff is really expensive here as the sellers know that what you want is not readily available. I'm doing a XV400 racer and the one dude wanted R4500 ( +- $319 ) for a wiring loom... Problem solved.... I'm making one myself. Not easy but with some effort and time it will be done.....
My way: on cbt so limited to 125cc so got a sinnis cafe 125, got tail tidy new indicators, ace bars and put a suzuki gn125 standard exhaust because the stock one was snapped
Do you have a list written out somewhere of the exact items and what they're called or such? That'd be super awesome. Those shocks are incredible and I'd love to learn more about them, but also about the rest of the stuff too.
dreegez That would be incredibly helpful! I've created my own excel sheet because of you and it's nice to finally understand the costs of such a project. But knowing exactly what you've done and the costs you've gone through would be incredibly helpful (plus because I like so many of the things you've put on your bike, it'd be nice to know what they are!)
I think the important thing to remember is profit margins on these bikes are very small if any at all. There needs to be an update of this video as I think the total cost has doubled. Plus the hours put into these builds is something that you'd never cover the cost of. Unless you're a big builder. And the other thing I've found is there's a lot of interest in these types of bikes, but for people to build themselves.
AMAZING BIKE AT LOW COST I LIKE IT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH THE WAY U MODYFY THE BIKE I WAS 19 I WANT TWO MODIFY YAMAHA RX 100. TODAY I HAD SAW UR ALL VEDIOS AND I CAME TO ONE IDEA TO MAKE RX100 INTO CAFERACER I WILL GIVE THE THUMB AND SUBSCRIBE UR CHANNEL
Enfield already sells its own cafe racer - the continental GT. You can just get that and mod it up. You can convert an existing bullet, but it would involve a lot of work. It's doable but only if you're completely invested.
That doesn't seem too bad TBH, ignoring the cost of your labour (your time has value!). I bought a CB750 for £2500 that had duck tape where welds should have been, carbs that needed rebuilding, still has starting issues. So like for like, I'd always buy the project, because the 'running' bikes always need work anyway!
+Tom B Pretty much all of it was done by myself apart from the powder coating, removing the broken bolts from the exhaust manifold and welding the exhaust join, but you're right with all else being done by myself I did save a heck of a lot. Any garage would probably charge double what I just spent on parts
I originally wanted a motorcycle for school and work. (because its cheaper than a car) My friend told me about Café bikes and I think they are cool. building one seems like fun. Thing is, I have no knowledge about Motorcycles... nothing. Any tips or suggestions? I'm currently thinking about a Yamaha Virago as a base. Nice video!
Hey, glad you're venturing into the world of cafe racers. Personally, a virago as a first time might turn out to be a massive project, not impossible, but a lot more work than if you were choosing a Suzuki GS or a Honda CB. As for experience, I say learn on the job, nothing better than hands on.
Hey! Thanks for the reply. I actually just watched your top five donor bike video and noticed you mentioned that the virago requires a little more skill than the others. You also mentioned that the Honda CB Four was probably the easiest bike to work on for a beginner! I think that's the bike ill be looking into. Thanks for all these awesome videos. I'm on part four of your Honda CX500. I'm learning a lot, thank you.
dreegez nice video man, it seems to be pretty affordable to have a simple simple but pretty nice motorcycle done. It is my dream, one day I want to have one.
+Jasper de Knegt I was fortunate enough on this bike to have new tyres from the previous owner who started working on it and had the wheels powder coated as part of the cost. But yes I had forgot the bearings cost but they weren't too much, but they're all something that should be considered for others when they're starting their build.
+dreegez Hi, thanks for the quick response! I'm from the Netherlands. The café racer scène over here is growing fast. Perhaps in the near future when you make another video with costs you could include euro's. There are some Dutch websites where you can buy all the parts for your café racer or scrambler build. I once filled up a basket for a total of 1300 euro's for my Honda CX500 Scrambler build.
Great videos, Dreegez! I need to change all my bolts on my GS550 aswell, do you have any shopping cart I can copy? Hope you can help me out! Keep up the good work!
I'll see if I can dig out my last order for this, I measured the bolts as I went and have jars of different ones here, but watch out for the thread as there's a huge variety of them
Thank you! Another question. Do you have any good tips syncing the carbs? With new pods and jets it's hard adjusting them. Is a synchronizer gauge the only and best way?
@@forthebold Found your videos and inspired to pull the trigger on a PAIR of GS550s for $750 USD (one running and with papers)! Any chance you found that list of bolts and still have it laying around? Figure it's worth the ask :)
Suppose it's how far you want to go , I've got a K75c & would love to alter it , but mainly altering , Headlight , taking the bikini top off , the old speedo and replace all indicators seating , with straight bars , braced , replace a more compact E C U , God I can see the money disappearing , think ill just buy another bike 😂😂
Tools obviously not included, that's up to the person to buy, cost of powder coating included, and the bike was £400, bare in mind this was back in 2016 it was filmed
Wow. I spent 3500USD on my bike. 03 Harley 883r, and almost 3000USD on the RYCA cafe racer kit for it. Shoulda done that differently... hindsight is always 20/20 I guess
Hey! This vid came up in my inbox and since it is about something I love, could you please tell me how much would it cost to upgrade a brand-new bike to a cafe racer? I'm looking forward to doing that on the XJR1300 that I want to buy.
+Alexandru Gherghescu Gosh, hard to say, but at a guess the only real costs you'd have to consider is only body shaping, as the electrics and shocks / forks would be perfect. And depends how much you do yourself. So frame cutting (If needed but guessing it might be an aluminium frame) seat, tank, muffler, adn you might be alright with just those. Before costing anything probably best sourcing parts and a look.
+Alexandru Gherghescu Sorry I can't give more costs in my answer, but all depends on what style you go after, you could do it for as cheap as £500 if you're careful
+dreegez It's all right, I think I've got a great idea about what values I have to pay. Fortunately, I'm sixteen and have got five more years until I'm able to legally own a bike, so I think I can gather the amount of money needed. Of course I could pass through a loophole in my country's regulations, but that requires me to buy another bike under 125cc. I won't do that since I have to pay attention to my evolution in school, but I think the time spent waiting makes it greater when I finally see myself behind the handlebars of my new and customized bike. :)
It's cause these RFY shocks are made in China and are pretty horrid quality. They're made to look good and that's about it. Also 100 quid is pretty steep for these shocks, I've seen them selling for 15-20 quid brand new, although they're usually marked up a fair bit more. Shows how cheap they're making them for though. I'd steer clear of them if you want something decent
hello, great video, im in the proccess of collecting parts to rebuild my cafe racer, this video is been very useful, i need your help with a queation, about that red ballistic battery, i guess i read it just cannot be put on a bike just like that, that it needs a battery tender or something to get charged or itherwise the battery would get damaged, im not sure what is that on a bike, i have a battery tender that i connect to the wall to charge my current battery when needed, but im confused on what is a tender on a bike, it means i have to replace a part of the bike with that, please enlight me!
+REACTORVISUAL Thanks for the comment. The Ballistic is a plug and play when it comes through your post, they're pre-charged, but yes you will need a charger to keep it maintained and balanced, a ballistic advanced charger is what they recommend as you can't use other chargers that has desulfication mode etc, and it needs to be charged to around 13.4 V. As far as plugging it into the bike you shouldn't need to plug anything else in to use this battery.
I wish I could do this! I had a great plan but then was told it would cost me about 6000 euros just to homogenate the "new" bike here in Spain. Damned annoying! It's basically impossible to rebuild here.
Honestly 2400 isn't that much for a pretty much new bike that's made to look exactly the way you like it, if you're cut out to do the repairs :D
+sade Exactly, to have something the way you want it to look it's not a bad price
If you were not up for doing the repairs before you start your first conversion, you will be by the time you finish. :-)
Definitely :)
+sade No shit, I paid about 10k for my little putput.
I bought a 1980 Honda CM400 last september for $800 and have spent the last few months furiously researching every little piece that I want to customize. I've spent just over $2200 on parts/supplies so far and only have the mufflers and a few small bits left to purchase. I stripped it to the frame and painted everything, it's turned out beautifully so far. I can't wait to finish it so I can show it off and ride it again in a few short weeks!
This channel has been a big inspiration for me and has been a big help! Hats off and many thanks to you!
Thanks, glad it's been an inspiration.
Show the bike, show the bike, show the bike!
Dude, this videos are up for a long time, and I just found this one, and I’m clicking through dozens of build videos just to get a glimpse of the finished bike. I’ve seen your logo for as many seconds as I’ve seen the bike!
Check out the one of me riding the bike
I don't actually think This is the "cheap" way...i am building a Suzuki GS 450 café racer, and i'm looking towards a calculated 1.500€. Roughly 1.750$. I have a complete bike, and i wil use the frame, engine, tank, wheels, front fork, rear bridge. So i Just need to invest in carburators, air filter, nuts& bolts, rubbers, coating, tires,lights, painting and some minor things. Everything else will be done by me. Except the painting.
To be honest, all the unexpected costs were bits that wasn't included in the bike purchase, such as exhaust, brake calipers, cables, electrics etc, all those hidden costs soon mount up.
Toi t'es francais mdr !
I like your style, mate. I'm here in the UK now, but grew up in Oz. Built a few specials and cafes over the years. i'm making 2022 the year I get back to building things.
Absolutely. Enjoy 2022
I knew of people here in the states using Brittish flags on pillows but I didn't know it was a thing over there as well
yeah it's quite common, when I was younger I had stars and stripes bed sheets XD
Was purchased from Pottery Barn on my visit to America, I love the flag
nice video fam, can u say what playing in the background?
TreeK SaintP It's just a standard royalty free TH-cam track, sorry, I can't remember the name at the mo, but it's in their creator library
dreegez oh, ok, thx u)
Please i want a list with the exact name of parts, so i can order them , and that bike that you made is great.
This is completely the right mind set!
Seeing people tear apart perfectly good condition Hondas only to make them into cafe racer style bikes that are worth less and look average is heart breaking, But rebuilding a written off or damaged bike to your own specs is fantastic
Giving these bikes a second chance.
U r creative and a cool guy! I can only dream of building a cafe racer.
After coming out of the super-sport motorcycle world i enjoyed watching your channel more than anything.. building a vintage typa bikes is now on my bucket list and all because of you 🤍
Thank you and thanks for watching
I got an xs650 on its way to being a cafe, the thumper in it definitely makes you aware that everything needs to be tightened like crazy lol, im having fun with it, the fact that it'll be MY bike is super cool, and just the connection you get with your machine is well worth it imo.
+Lane Cummings That's it, it's all about connecting with your bike and the work you put into it is worth it.
Have an old 750 I'm considering converting. Anything unexpected to watch out for?
My advice - There's no shame in picking up a Yamaha sr400 for about $3500 new, or a used Triumph Bonnie.
When you're shopping, have a list of mods in the front of your mind, and if you can find a lightly damaged bike that needs those parts, jump it.
I picked up an 05 Bonnie that was dropped. Tank, bars, footpegs, exhaust and some covers were a little banged up, but I was already planning to change all of that anyway.
A lot of the modern classics have a range of direct bolt-on pieces, so what I paid up front for the bike and parts, I saved in time and labor down the road. The only things that I had to pay a specialist for were grinding and rewelding the cheap-o Thailand tank I bought, and cutting and re-welding my fairing mount where it bolted to the headstock.
Picked up the bike for $2k after taxes and title, and finished it just under $5k. People sometimes mistake it for a new $12k Thruxton. Bike looks ace, starts every time, runs great, and I could ride it at any stage of the build process.
great Chanel mate .
much as I like racer tv the computer voice kills me lol.
Been watching loads of these.
Got plans to do a aprila rs125 .
want something to rip around town on and potentially light enough to take on a boat .
Think the standard back end would look awesome with the seats retrimed in brown fit a bullet break light into the cone with a bikini fairing .
so the shape of the front light is mirrored at the same height at the back .
Tanks already the right kind of shape.
+Steve L Yeah that voice isn't the best but the vids are interesting.
Good luck with your Aprila. Sounds like you've got good plans for it.
Thats the only reason i dont watch that channel. The voice makes me want to kms
Hi have you got a video with the bike up and running, I watched all of your videos of your build Amazing, I love the orange and grey colour Brilliant , I showed a long time friend of mine as back in 1978 we both purchased two Suzuki GS 550E's at the same time when we picked them up on a Friday morning we had taken the day off from work, I had a red one with a red tank and gold alloy wheels and he had a blue one with gold alloy wheels, we rode all day Friday on them and Saturday and Sunday we thought we were the dogs.
Great background song but its to loud! I could barely hear what you saying. but thanks for the info though.
Sub'd because this is a hobby I've been wanting to get into.
great stuff :)
it had taken me two years and I'm up to 6 grand. I inherited the bike from my dad. The following list includes all the following work I did myself. all new electronics including the wire harness and all parts. rebuilt the clutch, alternator, chain and sprockets, all new signal lights, progressive shocks, seat from a local company, tank painted my self. new bars , new points plate , balanced heads, crabs, carpy exhaust and ceramic coated local. all new front brake lines, rotor, Master cylinder, caliper. the only thing I did not work on is repainting the frame and front forks. in other words prepare to spend a lot. all the little things you need to do the work will add up
+Matthew Behning It's true, it's the little costs that add up.
Yup.... Every time I need to replace stripped screws it's 20 to 40$ at the hardware store. But your right there is a lot more satisfaction in building your own and having that history behind it, apposed to a new bike. Not to say a new bike would be a hell of a lot safer.
+Matthew Behning Ha, yeah you are putting your life into your own hands when you build bikes. But you're right, you can have the pride in explaining to people what bits you've changed / done etc.
I would shop around for powder coating. I've had a bicycle done for £20 but that was 'any colour you like provided we have a bigger job of the same colour going in'. Black is common. That included the bead blasting to clean the frame up.
Always good to shop around, I had around 20 pieces going to be powdered with this one. Some spares also and some to sell on.
I just just started looking into cafe style motorcycles and I wanted to build my own. I expected the price to be a little more but its about the same as I would spend on a drift car haha. Thanks for the info man.
No worries, good luck for when you start your build
To give another perspective, I've found a mint condition 1978 GS550E. Without modern wheels and breaks, and a modern front end my project is going to cost ~$2,560.00 after tax and shipping + 1k for the bike. Assuming I'm not going to build the following: With new 3.5x17" spoked wheels, GSXR brakes, hubs, a custom triple clamp, and hub bearings I'm looking at ~$5560.00. This is all assuming I don't fabricate any of the parts myself. I found a lot of the items that are for sale on cafe racer parts sites on Chinese manufacturer's eBay stores (but without the branding) for 1/10th-1/2 the cost.
A wise
man told me to never keep a talley of the monies you spend.
I wish I hadn't to be honest, ignorance is bliss
Until the tax man wants to see receipts 😂😂😂
The British amount is my birthday. Great video.
That's a great breakdown of how much we love to get it the way we want it. Definitely should have started with a "whole" bike. In my experience building the last couple of years, if it's all there and you don't sheer it off cuz it's so rusty it breaks, you can salvage a lot. Re-freshing rubber bits or recycling leftover parts from other builds that just happen to fit on is great!
If you got a shitty $500 bike with a title that's money you can make back, if that's what your interested in doing.
It's sad though when you'll make something pretty darn sweet and then you need to oh, let it go cuz you have too many bikes... you'll probably never get your money back.
I need to re-update this video, probably another £1,000 spent since. I'm a true hoarder, I just collect them
the music gives me anxieties.
i can barely hear him lmao
😂😂😂
It costs $3,188.00 USD as of April 25th 2017.
Scary.
Jake Wagner actually, it would still cost $3,547, it's the British pounds that would change due to the fluctuation of the British pound
Thanks for the breakdown that doesn’t seem that bad. I’ve always wanted to build my own cafe bike
It wasn’t bad at that point but I think it doubled from there on.
When it is small expenditures it is not too bad as it kinda dilute during the weeks and months you are building it. My problem is with the big ones like powder coating. I'll do my wheels, break drums, frame and the odd part. So far the quoting I got was £100 for the wheels alone. And I don't even want anything fancy, just plain old black. Will definitely need to shop around.
That’s pretty cheap!!! Fun project for not too much cash! Nice work
I think since then the build has doubled
Sounds like a pretty reasonable price for a bike, much more so for a hobby that's probably been a source of passion for you.
Yeah, I think I've paid over the odds on getting the bike to a reasonable state, but it's still not a bad price.
Thinking of getting a monster 821 and lowering the handle bars, removing mirrors, and changing the seat to make it look more care racer style
I love the Monsters, all the best, will look great.
you can buy them for about $200 at wallmart
It's worth it! Aren't you changing the jets considering you're going for pods and different mufflers?
+Tiago Santos Definitely, I was going to have a play with the current jets once they're clean and plug in a sync tester to see how they go, more so to keep costs down and see what I can do with tuning it that way first
Thanks for the videos, I love the "honesty" in them. How much does a Cafe Bike cost to build? Well how long is a piece of string? Here in South Africa we don't have easy access to all the cool Cafe bits and bobs.....
+SA Adventure that's the thing. There is no right answer. Like you say depends on location, condition of the bike etc.
Bike culture isn’t big here... at least in Durban. Cape Town is a lil better, but still not what it could be...
I disagree with powdercoating the frame. They make good durable paint. If you want to modify the frame after powdercoating, it's a big deal. With paint, it's just a touch up. Paint is much cheaper and easy to fix.
Top video. An idea for a future video (unless I missed it) is a video of where to find good parts and the basics such as forks hoop seat.
nice idea, I tend to get all my parts from Dime City
For The Bold - dreegez wicked! Cheers mate. You have inspired me to start a build soon.
Hi great video - Thanks. Where did you buy the shocks? Good price for such good looking shocks. Cheers.
Damn, I would like to make a modern Cafe racer, something based on the Street Twin, but then starting with the Street Cup already is much cheaper, add ohlins shocks and forks and the price is near the Thruxton R... which also has twin brakes...
Let's be honest, it can cost 2000, even less if you have parts or find them dirt cheap. Or it can cost 50 000. If you buy like ultra high end parts and pay someone to do it all
Absolutely, it's entirely up to how much you're willing to spend, both time and money
Excellent video, thanks for the USA friendly addition
Conversion probably way off by now :(
Hi there. I love the way you are building this bike. Keep up the good work! Was it a direct fit for the rear shocks or were there adjustment to be made.
Cheers mate.
Thank you, on this bike the shocks I used were a direct fit.
my grandpa built several motorcycles, he made a drag bike for Bonneville salt flats and raced it there. hes making me a racing bike right now. I want to build a cafe racer so badly. I guess this will be out next project
That's amazing, I admire those salt flats riders
dreegez might be going to the flats this year for the 250cc group. either this year or next year. So I'm excited
Good luck on it.
could you possibly post a parts list of where you bought all of your parts. If you don't have one made don't worry about it!
+Kio Murayama Sure, I'll see if I can remember them, I'll post them on here
Great! Thank you so much!
I think that is good price to pay for such a nice bike and you know the history cos you built it .my one will take time and I wil probably spend the same but I don't care its never going to be for sale.and your right bikes do need that last chance to look great again ✋🏾
Il keep you updated with mine as it goes along, whether it's you mate or fellow viewers. I'm a 16 year old (uk) and recently purchased a 1977 Suzuki a100 as my first bike off of my uncle for £25, being stored for the last 15 years in a garage it has not aged well from the outside, but my investigation under the thick layer of stickers (my uncle sticker bombed it in like 2001 before the cool kids ;) ) and grease lies an all original bike with only 12,000 miles. There's some problems with the bike etc not being run in 15 years and leaky forks, rusty fenders but the rest is well. Il keep you updated with my build!
+Callum Taylor Good luck with your build.
+dreegez thank you my man! Il keep you updated as I go along 😊
+Callum Taylor The most important thing you will probably get out of this bike is experience. I don't know how many times I figured out how something works after breaking it. (Cars are the worst for blind fasteners and welds.) So this is the bike you will makes your mistakes on. Ride safe. Car drivers just doing what's convenient can kill you.
+tug0jackson cheers man, yeah I agree I have to expect some mess ups on the way
I wish I could post pictures I currently pulled everything apart today to get it power coated. And honestly your right it's the best thing to do, it's a 20 year old bike I started it's a complete full restoration it started with a engine rebuild but once your do that you might as well go all the way with a complete restoration if you think you need it in the back of your mind haha I felt guilty .but yea cafe racer bro yamaha xj600 top out upgrade it's don't matter about the price either your right just the love
+gohardorgohome505 Exactly, good luck with your build,
I'm approaching the $5000 (usd) on my xs650 build. lots of parts I originally thought I would reuse like blinkers ect, but if your going to do it do it right to avoid regrets later right? It's for the pride of it more than the cost. Knowing it's not an investment it's a hobby. All the little things add up quick those are what I overlooked. Bolts, nuts, rebuild this rebuild that kits gaskets, seals, improved parts here an there all add up $$$! But so far it looks great and hope it goes like hell.
+Nathan Robbins I completely agree, it is pride, and even money is spent on places where people wouldn't see, like you say to avoid regrets it's worth doing right the first time, like oil seals etc. :)
Save where you can. I just bought an xv750 and a cb550 for $140. Complete bikes and one has the title. Anytime I see these kind of deals, I jump on em.
Awesome video mate but please mute the music next time it's bothering a little bit cheers
That's not a bad price in american dollars for a build. Not to mention you learned a lot along the way and it's a great personal satisfaction to create something you imagined along your journey. Obviously labor is probably as much as the bike costs and that's if you know what you are doing from the start. As you mentioned you can run into things along the way that are unexpected. Did you purchase the motor separately?
No the motor came with the bike. Unfortunately I need to make an updated video for this bike as the price probably doubled after this one.
@@forthebold was the costs increase from a motor rebuild?
Other parts that needed changing such as more electrical parts, intake boots, shims, decent pods
@@forthebold Okay... an update would be great for everyone to know. Did you end up rebuilding the original motor?
i could spray it with cerakote or duracoat and its more durable than powdercoating
Great videos! You made me take the step to build a cafe racer. I bought a GS750 for $350. Where did you order all the bolts since you stated you replaced all of them?
Thank you. Do you know how envious I am of you buying a project for $350, here in the UK I'm looking at spending $1,000 just on a donor :(
The bolts were just ordered off ebay, there's plenty of sellers on there that will sell them individually. You just have to go through the painful process of measuring and making a list of all of them. Also be careful of the distance between the thread as they vary a lot on this bike.
BTW, your videos alone, made me get up and start on this project. Thanks for the inspiration. Please keep it up
Amazing to hear, I'm glad they inspire people.
I would love to have someone like you to bounce problems off of to help me on my 62 cafe racer. Carborator is a leak and throttle sticks like mad. Cheers
Jip agree with the peeps from South Africa. To buy stuff is really expensive here as the sellers know that what you want is not readily available. I'm doing a XV400 racer and the one dude wanted R4500 ( +- $319 ) for a wiring loom...
Problem solved.... I'm making one myself. Not easy but with some effort and time it will be done.....
I have a spring brake line it was 90 usd, I prefer them over the rubber ones for intense stopping.
+gohardorgohome505 Stopping is a must so thumbs up on getting decent lines
My way: on cbt so limited to 125cc so got a sinnis cafe 125, got tail tidy new indicators, ace bars and put a suzuki gn125 standard exhaust because the stock one was snapped
Hope you like the Sinnis
Thanks for doing the us dollars. I want to build my own one.
Good luck with yours.
I appreciate the conversion values you listed!
+- The illestrator - Hopefully they're correct!
whoaa its you
I'm kinda glad that you didn't mention how many hours it took, because that would truely piss you off.
Ha, oh boy there's an update to this video with the increased cost, and yes, if time was considered it would be in the hundreds of hours.
That's nuts! I really thought that it's going to be much much more!!
It actually is I’m afraid. An update video of cost is coming in the next few weeks. I counted too soon
@@forthebold haha, fair enough. I already thought that I'm doing something wrong with the amount I'm spending 😅
Do you have a list written out somewhere of the exact items and what they're called or such? That'd be super awesome. Those shocks are incredible and I'd love to learn more about them, but also about the rest of the stuff too.
I don't have a list at the moment but I can try and put one together one day.
dreegez
That would be incredibly helpful! I've created my own excel sheet because of you and it's nice to finally understand the costs of such a project. But knowing exactly what you've done and the costs you've gone through would be incredibly helpful (plus because I like so many of the things you've put on your bike, it'd be nice to know what they are!)
Moneeb Nain I haven't forgotten about the list, I need to find some time somewhere to put on together.
I'm confused by the first item on the list. For $400 you had the frame of the bike but also the engine? Or did I miss the engine on the list?
C'mon, let's see the beauty!
you sir have got a new sub best channel of come across in yonks
Thank you. Always makes my day to hear comments like this.
Hey Mate, a new fan of your work from India. Need to know, do you build them on orders too?
Thanks. No I don’t build for others.
@@forthebold Thank you for your reply. But you do great work mate. 👍🏻👍🏻 Looking for more of such content.
Great vid just the info I needed straight talking what's the bike worth dun I've Honda 400 four with the same plan hope to see a small profit
I think the important thing to remember is profit margins on these bikes are very small if any at all. There needs to be an update of this video as I think the total cost has doubled. Plus the hours put into these builds is something that you'd never cover the cost of. Unless you're a big builder. And the other thing I've found is there's a lot of interest in these types of bikes, but for people to build themselves.
AMAZING BIKE AT LOW COST I LIKE IT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH THE WAY U MODYFY THE BIKE I WAS 19 I WANT TWO MODIFY YAMAHA RX 100. TODAY I HAD SAW UR ALL VEDIOS AND I CAME TO ONE IDEA TO MAKE RX100 INTO CAFERACER
I WILL GIVE THE THUMB AND SUBSCRIBE UR CHANNEL
Make a video on how to build a cafe racer using Honda CG125
can I convert a royal enfield bullet into a cafe racer?
if you ready to
Enfield already sells its own cafe racer - the continental GT. You can just get that and mod it up. You can convert an existing bullet, but it would involve a lot of work. It's doable but only if you're completely invested.
+varun009 Yeah true but the continental isnt all that just a excuse of a cafe racer
Darren Gurson Same goes for the bullet. Why waste time making a not-so-good cafe racer when you can buy one off the production line?
+varun009 the cage racer "spirt" doesn't seem to be appropriate with something of the production line
That doesn't seem too bad TBH, ignoring the cost of your labour (your time has value!). I bought a CB750 for £2500 that had duck tape where welds should have been, carbs that needed rebuilding, still has starting issues. So like for like, I'd always buy the project, because the 'running' bikes always need work anyway!
Unfortunately that was a long time before the end of the project, I'll be releasing a new video but I'd guess the amount ay have doubled
I like this video, the answer to the tittle is given within 19 seconds
Pretty much the honest truth, if you want to spend more or less there are ways.
Das
I feel like alot of money could have been saved in the build by doing the work yourself although you would need the tools to do so already.
+Tom B Pretty much all of it was done by myself apart from the powder coating, removing the broken bolts from the exhaust manifold and welding the exhaust join, but you're right with all else being done by myself I did save a heck of a lot. Any garage would probably charge double what I just spent on parts
Hi, please could you tell me what make and model those beautiful rear shocks are? Awesome bike by the way!
These shocks are RFY, not anything like Ohlins but they're decent enough
I originally wanted a motorcycle for school and work. (because its cheaper than a car) My friend told me about Café bikes and I think they are cool. building one seems like fun. Thing is, I have no knowledge about Motorcycles... nothing. Any tips or suggestions? I'm currently thinking about a Yamaha Virago as a base. Nice video!
Hey, glad you're venturing into the world of cafe racers. Personally, a virago as a first time might turn out to be a massive project, not impossible, but a lot more work than if you were choosing a Suzuki GS or a Honda CB. As for experience, I say learn on the job, nothing better than hands on.
Hey! Thanks for the reply. I actually just watched your top five donor bike video and noticed you mentioned that the virago requires a little more skill than the others. You also mentioned that the Honda CB Four was probably the easiest bike to work on for a beginner! I think that's the bike ill be looking into. Thanks for all these awesome videos. I'm on part four of your Honda CX500. I'm learning a lot, thank you.
More than 3.5 lakhs of Indian rupees but thankfully we can do a pretty good job under 1 lakh, that is about 1000 dollars
Wow! that tremendously more expensive then I thought.
It has mixed thoughts, some saying it's a lot and others saying it's cheaper. Interesting to hear both
It is not bad at all for a nicely finished bike!!!
not too bad is it
dreegez nice video man, it seems to be pretty affordable to have a simple simple but pretty nice motorcycle done. It is my dream, one day I want to have one.
Thanks for the video. But imo you forgot one of the more expensive parts. Tires! And wheel paint or powdercoat. Perhaps new wheelbearings.
+Jasper de Knegt I was fortunate enough on this bike to have new tyres from the previous owner who started working on it and had the wheels powder coated as part of the cost. But yes I had forgot the bearings cost but they weren't too much, but they're all something that should be considered for others when they're starting their build.
+dreegez Hi, thanks for the quick response! I'm from the Netherlands. The café racer scène over here is growing fast. Perhaps in the near future when you make another video with costs you could include euro's.
There are some Dutch websites where you can buy all the parts for your café racer or scrambler build. I once filled up a basket for a total of 1300 euro's for my Honda CX500 Scrambler build.
Great videos, Dreegez! I need to change all my bolts on my GS550 aswell, do you have any shopping cart I can copy? Hope you can help me out! Keep up the good work!
I'll see if I can dig out my last order for this, I measured the bolts as I went and have jars of different ones here, but watch out for the thread as there's a huge variety of them
Thank you! Another question. Do you have any good tips syncing the carbs? With new pods and jets it's hard adjusting them. Is a synchronizer gauge the only and best way?
Jacob Myrer Yeah that'll be your best best, once you have your setup run the synchronizer gauge and that'll get it right for you.
@@forthebold Found your videos and inspired to pull the trigger on a PAIR of GS550s for $750 USD (one running and with papers)! Any chance you found that list of bolts and still have it laying around? Figure it's worth the ask :)
WHERE DID YOU GET THE REAR SHOCKS?
+Jaye Agar I'll have a quick look to see where these ones came from, I'll post the link on here. So many parts from different parts of the globe ;)
I'm a complete noob when it comes to this, but how easy is something like this to insure?
As long as it's road worthy, and you're honest about what you've done etc, should be fine.
I'm building a GS550 cafe racer and looking for a seat and cowl. Can you tell me where you got your cowl from? It would be a great help.
I got it from caferacerseats.co.uk, but needed modifying after
For The Bold - dreegez thanks mate appreciate the help
well glad I came across this Vid, I got shit loads of parts cept a battery.Thankyou got 2 GS550s to play with cheers m8
+billy walker Enjoy your build
i have been keeping track too and its already in 5g, but i had to go through everything.
Were some parts universal or made for certain models & years? Thank you friend!
+Eric War Most parts were after market and so either luckily fitted or needed work to get them to fit.
Thumbs up thanks for sharing And thanks for answering a good Question
Peace
Thanks for watching
Can you do this without any experience except a bit in electrical engineering?
Anyone can start anywhere with bike building. Just up to the individual.
Suppose it's how far you want to go , I've got a K75c & would love to alter it , but mainly altering , Headlight , taking the bikini top off , the old speedo and replace all indicators seating , with straight bars , braced , replace a more compact E C U , God I can see the money disappearing , think ill just buy another bike 😂😂
do you have a link for those shocks their just what i need for my cx 500 build
Just subscribed your years on me of experience will be looking at your stuff cheers
Amazing, thanks for subscribing
how about homologation, all the tools, extra for some professional paint job etc? and bike 400? sure..
Tools obviously not included, that's up to the person to buy, cost of powder coating included, and the bike was £400, bare in mind this was back in 2016 it was filmed
I have no ideal how to build one but I love to have one. May I ask if you do a custom request? and how much will it cost?
No, sorry I don't build for anyone else. Hookie do but prices are around €20,000
Hi look up cypher cycles in Warwick they build for you.
Omg you sure did rack your self up a bill just to build that bike. Wow thats some dedication from scratch bar bones build.
+Matthew Crandall yup. I couldn't let it go to a scrap yard but it goes to show the cost of it getting a running bike
Thanks man, This was super helpful, keep it coming.
Thank you
note to self: renounce US citizenship, become UK citizen, travel to US and buy everything. 30% currency difference.
Wow. I spent 3500USD on my bike. 03 Harley 883r, and almost 3000USD on the RYCA cafe racer kit for it. Shoulda done that differently... hindsight is always 20/20 I guess
Hey! This vid came up in my inbox and since it is about something I love, could you please tell me how much would it cost to upgrade a brand-new bike to a cafe racer? I'm looking forward to doing that on the XJR1300 that I want to buy.
+Alexandru Gherghescu Gosh, hard to say, but at a guess the only real costs you'd have to consider is only body shaping, as the electrics and shocks / forks would be perfect. And depends how much you do yourself. So frame cutting (If needed but guessing it might be an aluminium frame) seat, tank, muffler, adn you might be alright with just those. Before costing anything probably best sourcing parts and a look.
+dreegez Thank you for your advice! It's been of great help. ;)
+Alexandru Gherghescu Sorry I can't give more costs in my answer, but all depends on what style you go after, you could do it for as cheap as £500 if you're careful
+dreegez It's all right, I think I've got a great idea about what values I have to pay. Fortunately, I'm sixteen and have got five more years until I'm able to legally own a bike, so I think I can gather the amount of money needed. Of course I could pass through a loophole in my country's regulations, but that requires me to buy another bike under 125cc. I won't do that since I have to pay attention to my evolution in school, but I think the time spent waiting makes it greater when I finally see myself behind the handlebars of my new and customized bike. :)
Spent it all on your bike and now you are stuck with that shirt.... not a bad trade at all:)
Them shocks are a bargain, I've looked for one shock for my K75 and their coming in at stupid prices .
It's cause these RFY shocks are made in China and are pretty horrid quality. They're made to look good and that's about it. Also 100 quid is pretty steep for these shocks, I've seen them selling for 15-20 quid brand new, although they're usually marked up a fair bit more. Shows how cheap they're making them for though. I'd steer clear of them if you want something decent
hello, great video, im in the proccess of collecting parts to rebuild my cafe racer, this video is been very useful, i need your help with a queation, about that red ballistic battery, i guess i read it just cannot be put on a bike just like that, that it needs a battery tender or something to get charged or itherwise the battery would get damaged, im not sure what is that on a bike, i have a battery tender that i connect to the wall to charge my current battery when needed, but im confused on what is a tender on a bike, it means i have to replace a part of the bike with that, please enlight me!
+REACTORVISUAL Thanks for the comment. The Ballistic is a plug and play when it comes through your post, they're pre-charged, but yes you will need a charger to keep it maintained and balanced, a ballistic advanced charger is what they recommend as you can't use other chargers that has desulfication mode etc, and it needs to be charged to around 13.4 V. As far as plugging it into the bike you shouldn't need to plug anything else in to use this battery.
I wish I could do this! I had a great plan but then was told it would cost me about 6000 euros just to homogenate the "new" bike here in Spain. Damned annoying! It's basically impossible to rebuild here.
And I thought being in the UK was bad enough with people battling for used bikes and sending the price for parts and scrap way up!
I got a 1980 Yamaha xs400 the was starting to build a cafe race I got it on a trade but no title is there a way I can get a title for it